Weekly Recap

This weekend...

 

...made a trip to Wegman's (45 minutes away) - so good! 

...tamed the front of my house!

...bought some plants at Lowe's and mulched my back yard!

...got sweaty in aerobics class at the gym - sweated in the shape of an upside down heart! I <3 exercise="" p="">

...whipped up this graduation gift (thanks, Pinterest) and went to a graduation party for a former youth group student!

...ran - I was supposed to run 8 miles, but then I was crazy sore from my gym workout so I decided to back down to 6, then my IT band/knee area was feeling achy so I ended at 4.23

 

...made single-serving berry rhubarb baked oatmeal from Edible Perspective. YUM!!!

Workouts last week:

Monday - 20 minutes elliptical + 60 minutes yoga

Tuesday - 30 minutes Arc trainer + 45 minutes weights

Wednesday - 2.23 miles run + 1 mile hill repeats

Thursday - 30 minutes Arc trainer + 45 minutes weights

Friday - rest

Saturday - Athletic Challenge class (like a boot camp class)

Sunday - 4.23 miles run

What I've Been Eating Lately

Last week's jar salad - Lemon Strawberry

Taco Salad with grilled romaine lettuce

Coconut flour pancakes - topped with PB2 syrup (2 tbsp. powdered PB + 1 tbsp maple syrup + water to thin) and banana

Sweet Potato Nachos - recipe from Peas & Crayons

Caffe Misto and a Spinach Egg White Wrap from Starbucks

Sliced mango and strawberry, pear balsamic "pizza" (whole wheat tortilla drizzled with balsamic, topped with thinly sliced pears and Swiss cheese)

This yummy salad - Spring Mix, strawberries, grilled chicken, walnuts, lemon juice, balsamic

Super Green Pasta - whole wheat pasta, asparagus and spinach tossed with homemade pesto

Egg White Frittata - egg whites, asparagus, greens, tomatoes - cook on the stove until it starts to set up, then transfer to a 350 oven until it's cooked through.  Top with melty cheese!

Bottom of the Jar Oatmeal - from Peak 313

Mexican tortilla pizza - whole wheat tortilla topped with salsa, black beans, corn, peppers, cheese, and fajita seasoning!

The Misto

When I hear of a beverage called a "Misto", I typically think of this:

That delicious combination of Rita's Italian Ice and custard...

But have you ever seen the "Caffe Misto" on the menu at Starbucks?  

Last night I got a coupon in my email for $1 off of a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks.  I also had earned my free drink with my gold card, so I treated myself to Starbucks this morning.  The thing was, I didn't want to spend a ton of calories on my drink, and I wasn't feeling the heaviness of my usual soy latte. 

I did, however, want something other than just plain coffee.  What I really wanted was plain coffee with steamed soy milk in it.  I did a little Googling and found that's exactly what the "Misto" is!! It's also known as "Cafe Au Lait" at most coffee shops.  It's equal parts brewed coffee and steamed milk - exactly what I was looking for!

Here's the real bonus - it's a calorie saver!!!

Tall Soy Latte: 130 calories
Grande Soy Misto: 100 calories (If you're a skim milk drinker, it's 70 calories)

Yep, that's more drink for less calories!!  It's also cheaper than a latte - around $2.50 for a grande! 

Less money, less calories - more drink, same flavor?!?  This is the best discovery I've made in a long time.

(P.S. - I got the Spinach Egg White Wrap - which is my favorite sandwich there - and only 280 calories!)

Lemon Strawberry Mason Jar Salad

This week, I'm eating what might just be my very favorite "salad in a jar"!  It's so delicious that the first time I ate it, I actually had the same reaction I do when I eat ice cream - when it was finished, I immediately wanted more.  This has never happened with salad, but frequently happens with food like ice cream and chocolate.  So, this salad is a winner!!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Marzetti Simply Dressed Lemon Vinaigrette (or any lemon dressing you like)
3-4 stalks chopped fresh asparagus (raw - not cooked...it's awesome this time of year since it's in season!)
4 oz. grilled chicken (I marinated mine in a Pomegranate Vinaigrette first - but do it however you like!)
0.5-1 oz crumbled goat cheese
4-5 sliced strawberries
shredded carrots (enough to make a layer)
lettuce of choice (this salad ROCKS with "Spring Mix" or arugula - they have such great flavor!)
1 tbsp sugared almonds (here's a link to an easy recipe for those - I used coconut sugar, and only 1/6 cup, and added cinnamon)

Directions:
Layer the ingredients in a jar in the order listed (except the almonds) and store in the fridge for several days!  When you're ready to eat, simply dump it in a bowl and sprinkle with the almonds!

 

Check out my other "Mason Jar Salad" posts here and here!

Grilled Lettuce

Grilled lettuce - sounds weird, I know!  If you've never tried grilling lettuce before, I am about to revolutionize your salad making world!  

There's a great local restaurant that serves a "Grilled Caesar Salad" here in town.  Since I love it so much, and it looked super easy, I decided to recreate it at home.  For this blog, I made a "Grilled Taco Salad".

You could probably grill any full head of lettuce, but the romaine hearts work really well.  They sell them in bags of 3 at the grocery store.

Cut the lettuce in half. Spray with cooking spray or olive oil.  You can also drizzle it with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or any kind of salad dressing.  I find though, that just some olive oil and lemon or balsamic is enough flavor and I don't even need dressing!

Sprinkle on any spices you might like.  For the Caesar, I typically do pepper and garlic salt.  For the taco salad, I have pepper, garlic salt, cumin, and chili powder.

Grill the lettuce for just a few minutes on each side.

Towards the end of the cooking, I like to sprinkle it with a little cheese.  I use Parmesan and/or mozzarella for the Caesar, and I used a Mexican blend for the taco salad.

When it's warmed and slightly wilted, take it off the grill.

Roughly chop or tear with your hands and you can use this lettuce like you normally would in any salad.

 

(topped with corn, black beans, turkey taco meat, tortilla chips, and guacamole!)

The restaurant I like serves the two halves just drizzled with some dressing and topped with croutons!  It's delicious!

Race Recap - Turkey Hill Country Classic 10K

This morning I ran my first 10K race - the Turkey Hill Country Classic in Lancaster County, PA.  I'll start by saying that this race was AWESOME!!!  It's run through some beautiful Lancaster countryside, and features a 5K, 10K, bike race, and tons of stuff for kids.  Also, they gave Turkey Hill iced tea and ice cream at the finish.  If you're from PA, you know that is reason enough to run this race!!

The weather could not have been more perfect - right around 60 with clear blue skies and no wind!  My friend, Dawn, was running the 5K (and she PRed under 30 minutes!!), which went off about 10 minutes before the 10K.  I didn't do a lot of research on the course, but the website described it as "challenging, but beautiful" - and it was both!  I'd say about 5 out of the 6.2 miles was up and down hills.  Running through Lancaster farm land and along the Susquehanna River provided a lot of great scenery to look at though!  

One of the fun things about this race was that I got to meet and run with my friend, Melody.  We have been "online friends" for awhile now through a mutual friendship with Michelle, but this was the first "in real life" meeting we've had.  We ran the whole race together, and it was great!  I also got to meet Stacey, who is running "Run or Dye" with Melody, Michelle, myself, and a few others in June!

My goal was to run it in 1:05 - and my watch time was 1:00:58!!  I was so pumped!  That's one May goal already checked off my list!  I have a long term goal to run an under 60 10K, so I'm close!

The race also featured some running events for kids, and my pal Michelle's little guy, Levi, ran his first race!  How cute is that?!?

This race was great - I'd highly recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a race next.  Also, it was only $15!  I'll be doing it again for sure!

Good Resources

Looking for some inspiration for getting healthy or walking the healthy living journey?  Want some places for new workouts or recipes? Check out this list for some of my faves!  This list will also be accessible on the top toolbar of my blog page.  I'll update it as I find new resources!

Books For Getting Healthy:
I wrote a blog listing a few of my favorite titles last year - check it out here!
Slim for Life (Jillian Michaels - Go buy this book!!! It has every tip and trick I use and then some!)
Skinny Rules (Bob Harper)


Blogs I Love:

Mostly Food:
Edible Perspective
Peas and Crayons
Dashing Dish
Nourish
Queen of Quinoa
The Garden Grazer
Oh She Glows

Mostly Fitness:

FitFluential
Peak 313
RunChat
She Rocks Fitness

A Little of Both:
Peanut Butter Runner
Through Heather's Looking Glass
Delighted Momma
No Meat Athlete
A Foodie Stays Fit
(never)homemaker

Favorite Magazines:
Shape
Fitness
Oxygen
Self
Women's Health
Health
Clean Eating
Women's Running
Runner's World

Documentaries to Watch: (most are available for streaming on NetFlix!)

Hungry for Change
Forks Over Knives
Food Matters
Food, Inc.
Vegucated
The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue
Jamie Oliver's TED Talk (you can watch this one online here)
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead