VEGAN Spring Bean Salad

Today I decided against cardio! All I wanted to do was take Harper on her walk and come home to do some weights in front of the TV.

After a day off and returning to a really busy work day I opted out of running. It was also 90° and humid and I didn’t have the energy to do all that sweating! I felt good about my decision and had no regrets. Then I got the great idea to do walking lunges up a really steep and really long hill! Why I thought this would be easier in the heat than running I’m still unclear. I sweat more than I would have running.

When I got home I realized I hadn’t gone to the store in over a week and we had no food. With a husband out with the guys for dinner I had to get creative.

Luckily we keep beans, grains, and frozen veggies in the house or I would’ve been stuck with PB&J minus the J. I’m not against this combo, but I had it for lunch. I really need to go to the store.

I mixed some things together and ended up with a really good VEGAN spring bean salad.

Spring Bean Salad

I was honestly impressed with myself and thankful we had some veggies I had forgotten about that didn’t go bad. This batch made a lot, so I can hold off on going to the store at least one more day.

Spring Bean Salad(makes about 6 cups)

• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 can drained and rinsed black beans
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup spelt berries(you could use lentils too)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp cumin

In a medium-sized pot boil quinoa in 2 cups of water and let simmer for about 20 minutes. In another medium-sized pot boil 1 cup of water with spelt berries(or lentils), let simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Cook peppers and onions on medium high heat in large pan with half the olive oil until cooked thoroughly. Add black beans stirring to heat with veggies. Microwave lima beans and add to mixture with salt, pepper, cumin, remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Once quinoa and spelt berries have cooked add them to mixture(drain excess water before if there is any). Stir everything together to heat up.

Serve and Enjoy!

My Day Off!

Today was my first day off since Easter. Thirty six days since I’ve had a day to do whatever I want.

The day started with a great run and an even better breakfast! Whole wheat banana and blueberry pancakes, egg, and bacon.

Perfect meal on a day off

Then it was off to the Braves game!

Great Seats

It was a scorcher and I almost melted, no exaggeration! They were handing out paper fans so I jumped on that fast and it was more than useful.

Helped cool me down

For lunch I had to go with the black bean burger, it was so good and way better than a hot dog.

DELICIOUS!

Dessert was the best part!

Ice cream with Butterfinger

Such a fun and relaxing day! I couldn’t have asked for a better one!

Whole Wheat Banana and Blueberry Pancakes

• 1 and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 mashed banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients. In another bowl mix eggs, melted butter, milk, and mashed banana together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

Let better sit for about five minutes.

Cook on a skillet add blueberries to batter once sides of pancake start to bubble.

Gratitude

As I study for my test on the skeletal and muscular system I can’t help but to think of how grateful I am to have the support of so many people in my going back to school. Travis, my family, my friends have all said how proud of me they are and that means the world. But that is an obvious gratitude.

I think about the gratitude journal that Oprah would frequently talk about on her show. I try to think of little things throughout the day that I am grateful for that may seem minute, but that could change the course of my day.

Today I had a few grateful moments. They aren’t life shattering in any way but they added a certain brightness to this Friday.

Today I was grateful for:

• no traffic this morning when I was running late for work
• free bagels for breakfast in the office
• slow half day at work so I could organize my e-mail folders
• having a half day of work
• the sun coming out as I got home
• the sun staying out while Harper and I ran
• ice drawer was full when we got home so I had cold water after a sweaty run
• being able to find so many skeleton and facial muscle group quizzes online
• Harper still being tired from her afternoon run and letting me study
• Funny cat pics online to distract me when I get bored
• And most of all Sleepytime tea after a long week!
  

  Most grateful for tea

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop with those. I know that this list may be lame, but to me it was the little things that kept me to stay positive. Some days just flat-out suck, so on days that don’t I keep a list of things to help me look back and realize that I need to be grateful of the small things.

What are you grateful for?

Supper Club

Having lunch at my desk when I’m super busy is such a bummer. It makes the day seem that much longer since I spend the entire day in one place. Today the only thing that made it bearable was the free lunch I got.

Free Chipotle

One of my co-workers won a free lunch for the office so I lucked out and had a free chicken salad. I added corn salsa and that made it super good! I’m not a huge cilantro fan and Chipotle adds it to everything, but if I’m not paying I can deal.

After work I drove home in the rain hoping it would be over so Travis and I could take Harper on a run before our Monthly Supper Club. It held off long enough for us to get pretty far from our house, then the bottom dropped and we got soaked!

Soaked

Harper wasn’t too thrilled with running in the rain, it was a super down pour plus thunder and lightning so we ran faster than normal. It worked out though since we needed to wear her out so we could go to dinner.

Tonight was our Monthly Supper Club and we went to Leon’s. I had eaten there before, but the place we had originally decided to go to had no power because of the storm so this was our second choice. I’m so glad we went, my dinner was really good.

Yummy

Leon’s serves local organic food that is very reasonably priced. I had the beef brisket which was served on a slice of sour dough and topped with fried onions. The Quiche looking side is a zucchini and cheese casserole that was out of this world! I loved it and I plan on trying to re-create some time soon!

We’ve been having the Monthly Supper Club for about 6 months now and it’s such a great way to stay connected with friends. Travis and I have such busy schedules that it’s easy to lose touch with people, but having a once a month meet up keeps us all in touch.

I had read an article once that said when people have a commitment that is at least once a month their happiness and overall attitude about life is more positive. That really resonated with me because I always look forward to my scheduled occasions. Whether it be yoga once a week, monthly meal dates, or face time every other day.

It’s important to give yourself these dates for your mental health and not to get too busy with stresses in life that don’t matter in the long run.

Three Amigos

I would like to introduce my three amigos that helped me get through the morning.

Super GREEN, Coffee, Water

Super GREEN, coffee, and water.

I packed a great breakfast of blueberries and greek yogurt, but I wasn’t too hungry for it so I settled on these guys. I’ll save the yogurt for tomorrow. I ate my weight in cookies last night as well as a Moscow Mule so I decided that 4 servings of fruits/veggies, caffeine, and something rehydrating would be perfect. I was right, they are helping me!

Last night was a doozy! We watched the last three hours of  The Oprah Show and it was so inspiring, but sad at the same time. I was teary eyed the whole night, but didn’t break down until after JoJo and Melissa left(I’m not a public crier). After my melt down I looked so pitiful.

After the breakdown

I fully embrace my ridiculousness(is that a word), but she is one of my idols and I was so distraught. I had to Face Time my mom since I knew she watched it too and we were sad together. Don’t you feel sorry for me? No? Ok.

Luckily the meal I made included amazing cookies that helped ease my pain.

My medicine

I made them bite size which turned out not to be such a good idea since I ate almost all of them.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip(adapted from the Quaker Oat recipe)

• 1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 3  cups oats
• 1  cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets.

Bite size

To go with our cookies I made a really healthy meal.

Oprah Finale Dinner

Tuna steaks, Two bean salad with cherry tomatoes, and Spring Veggie Carbonara.

The tuna steaks didn’t turn out how I wanted them to, I used a grill pan since I don’t have a grill. They tasted good, but not the same as a good without the chargrill marks. The sides were really good. I had Dr. Oz in mind!

In all the meal, the company, and the night were the perfect farewell!

Two Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups lima beans(I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan bring water to boil. Add green beans; cook for about 7 minutes and drain. Microwave lima beans and add to green beans in saucepan. Add cherry tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil and let simmer, stirring to coat with liquids until tomatoes have wilted a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spring Veggie Carbonara

• 12 oz asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 oz uncooked pasta(any shape, I used cavatappi)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 chopped red bell pepper

Cook asparagus in boiling water for about 3 minutes then drain and throw in cold water. Cook pasta based on box directions. Sautee bell pepper in pan with tsp of olive oil stirring occasionally. Drain pasta and combine with veggies. Combine cheese, salt, pepper, stirring constantly. Add pasta mixture and cook until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat and stir in egg mixture. Return to heat and let sauce thicken slightly while stirring.

Oprah’s Farewell

Last night after work my run was GREAT!

It wasn’t as hot out as I thought it would be so I got in a solid 3.5 miles. Plus a little break in the middle to stop and see some friends.

play time with friends

We have an un-official dog park that a group of us meet at everyday. Harper and I run our route that always ends up here and then run home. It’s such a great group of people and dogs. It’s really funny that we all knew the dogs names before we knew the people names. That’s how it usually is at dog parks I was known as Harper’s mom for the longest time.

Ready for some water

After a great run I did a few sets of arms while watching an episode of Oprah: Behind the Scenes.

Speaking of Oprah, today is a somber day for this Oprah fan.

Oprah

I’ve been watching Oprah since I can remember. She’s been a part of my daily routine for so long.

I remember coming home from school and eating my snack with my mom while we watched Oprah. When I got to college I scheduled my classes around 4p so I could watch and started subscribing to her magazine.

My Oprah 20th DVD set is worn due to the amount of times I’ve watched over the years. It never gets old.

I could go on and on but I don’t want to sound like a creeper so I won’t. I know I still have OWN(I DVR everything on there), but it’s not the same.

Tonight I’m having over a couple of ultimate viewer friends to watch this weeks final episodes. We’ve waited until tonight to watch and boo-hoo together. The ugly cry is bound to come out. 

I’m working on an “Oprah Farewell” menu but not too sure what I’ll make. I do know that there will be Moscow Mules and multiple boxes of tissue!

Gearing Up

I’ve been gearing up for a really good workout after work all day. I’m going to shoot for 4 miles, but it all depends on my running partner. It’s gonna be a hot one today, but she got her summer cut so we should be ok.

My yogurt breakfast wasn’t all that great or filling so when 11:30a rolled around I was famished and turned my afternoon snack into my mid-morning snack.

Laughing Cow Cheese and Wasa

I really can’t get enough Wasa and Laughing Cow, so good.

For lunch I had packed the last of my Spinach and Pesto Zitibut wanted a side salad. I went to the cafe in my building and wasn’t too impressed with the selection(or lack of) of veggies so I stuck with the basics. The only non creamy dressing they had was Italian, which tasted like vinegar and nothing else. I avoid using the cafe in our building as often as I can, and today reaffirmed why.

Gotta have my veggies

I was glad to get some veggies in my lunch though, I would have been starving right after lunch if not.

I think I’ll start packing some Super Food in case run into a salad dilemma again.

Today is one of my co-workers last day and the office is throwing him an ice cream party. I would usually be all over it, but I’ve had so many sweets in the past few days that I can’t look at another sugary treat. I’m hoping to coach myself into not giving in because that will just slow me down on my run!

Also I don’t want that awkward conversation when people ask, “Why aren’t you having any?, Are you on a diet?”. So annoying!

Ready for the day to be over so I can hit the ground running, literally!

Bath Fizzies

I just realized today that next Wednesday is June!

It was such a busy weekend that I didn’t have a minute to take a break and just relax. I got a facial in class which was nice, but in all honesty we were chit-chatting and having fun so it wasn’t the same as if I was in a five-star spa. It’s a little better;)

I wanted to share what we made in class as a cute little activity. Homemade “Bath Fizzies”(same as a bath bomb). I always see them in stores and they retail for $5-10, but this recipe will make six fizzies for less than $3.

Bath Fizzies

Supplies:

• 2 cups Baking soda
• 1 cup Citric Acid(can be found in health food store and most grocery stores)
• 1/4 Corn Starch
• 3 Tbsp of Jojoba Oil
• 2 Tbsp of water
• Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
• Color of choice
• Fragrance of choice
  

  Bath Fizzies

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl. If you are adding color, add it after dry ingredients are mixed. Add fragrance by drizzling in different locations of mixture and not pouring in one spot. With a fork, mix well by breaking up fragrance lumps. Once batch is mixed spray rubbing alcohol, with gloved hands toss while being sprayed. Once mixture is moist enough to stick together when pressed you can add to your mold. Fill your mold with mixture and wait about 15 minutes before removing. Allow 1 hour before packaging.

*You can add dried petals, glitter, flower buds, herbs etc to your fizzies, but when you do make sure to add before spraying with alcohol.

The best part about these are the price! You could easily make these and give them as inexpensive gifts or keep for yourself! The shelf life is only about two months so it gives you an excuse to go ahead and get your relaxation on!

Spinach and Pesto Baked Ziti

After my run with Harper and a killer arm workout I came to the conclusion that I deserved something great for dinner. I deserve some comfort food! Comfort food is my all time favorite!

I love anything that reminds me of home whether it’s fried chicken or cornbread. Dinner tonight was another favorite comfort food. Pasta! I could eat pasta for every meal. Especially when it’s made in one pot. That really makes me happy because I don’t have much to clean. Unfortunately this pasta dinner used a few more dishes to prepare, but it was so worth it!

Pasta Is the BEST!

Baked ziti is my go-to pasta dish. I’m not a huge lasagna person, mostly because I’m intimidated to make it, but this ziti is a hybrid of lasagna and baked pasta. The mozzarella, ricotta, spinach, and pesto make it for me! I rationalize that it’s really healthy because it has three vegetables in it, and that’s ok. I had broccoli as a side instead of buttery garlic bread(which was what I wish I had) so I get that credit at least;)

Spinach and Pesto Baked Ziti(adapted from Neeley’s)

• Salt
• 1 pound whole wheat ziti(I used rotini this time)
• 1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 ounces of corn kernels
• 6 ounces pesto
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 (9-ounce) package washed spinach
• Butter, for baking dish
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, plus more for topping
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute turkey sausage. Add onion and saute until the sausage is cooked through. Use your spoon to break up the sausage while it cooks. Add corn and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the ricotta cheese, spinach, Parmesan and mozzarella to a large bowl, and stir to combine.

Spray baking dish with vegetable spray, add the cooked pasta, then sausage mixture and cheese mixture. Top with a sprinkling of mozzarella.

Bake until completely heated through and golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes.

Best Milkshake EVER

Last night’s workout was really good because it mixed up my normal routine. Not having a gym membership keeps my workouts interesting because I’m able to constantly change my running course and do lunges, squats, and push ups in random places along my route. My once a week yoga and occasional Jillian are good too! Variety keeps things interesting.

The workout included:

Warmup

20 lunges

20 jump squats

high knees

jogging around the track( I think a little over 100 yards)

plank of 5 minutes rotating hips side to side as if a ball was under us(tough)

Workout

sprints straight up a hill for 5 minutes

sideways suicide on an incline, both sides 10x

jump rope 2 min

sit ups with 15 lb dumb bell 2 min

writing the alphabet with one foot while the other is straight(random but worked my glutes)

sprints for about 5 minutes

ab workout for 5 minutes

running up a hill with resistance bands around our waist while another person holds trying to slow up down

Cool down

lots of good stretching

I have to admit that the workout was a bit scattered. He had stations we were going to use, but then we did the alphabet thing and we never got back to any stations. I enjoy mixing things up though and I can easily do the alphabet leg writing in front of the TV. Trying new workouts keeps exercise fun. I don’t have a gym membership because there are so many more fun ways to stay active. And for less $!

Because I had a good 90 minute workout last night I treated myself to the best milkshake EVER!

Best Milkshake EVER!

I went to Flip for a work lunch and decided on the blackened shrimp which wasn’t good but the milkshake made me forget all about it!

Nutella ice cream milkshake topped with burnt marshmallows(sigh). I’m a little freaked out by anything burnt because of carcinogens so I didn’t eat the marshmallows. It was so good, but I couldn’t finish. I usually fight through the fullness pain, but knowing I couldn’t nap after I decided to only have half.

I will gladly work out for 90 minutes if I’m able to have this for dessert, gladly! My sweet tooth was sufficiently satisfied! At least until tomorrow;)