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Happy Monday friends. One down, 4 to go I realized today that I have just 8 more days before departing for my Thanksgiving holiday and I am getting pretty excited! On top of that, it was a gorgeous fall day … Continue reading
For dinner on Wednesday night I wanted risotto but I also wanted to take advantage of the precooked rice in my fridge. Enter – Lazy Risotto:
While I still formulated my plan of attack, I got my veggies roasting in the oven. I roasted up butternut squash, baby portobella mushrooms, and brussel sprouts at *425 for about 45 minutes.
When the veggies had about 5 minutes left, I got to work on the risotto. In a small non-stick sprayed pan I added 1/2c brown rice and frozen peas and let heat for a couple of minutes. Then I added a splash of vegetable broth and spices, stirred it all up, and pulled my vegies out of the oven. I added the kidney beans, ~3/4c butternut squash and mushrooms, and more broth and soy sauce and stirred until slightly creamy. The broth did a great job of hydrating the rice and the soy sauce and spices brought everything together.
Topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. This was a winner!
A few weeks ago I found this recipe and couldn’t get it out of my head. I used one half to make my own Twice Baked Acorn Squash and it was delicious. I only stuffed mine with frozen spinach, broccoli, and a bit of grated cheddar and it was delicious. I ate the whole thing, skin and all!
As promised, here are the pictures I took on my short little stroll yesterday afternoon. Fall is officially in full swing in DC!
Posted in dinner, fall, gluten-free, healthy, new recipes
Thanks to the Cowboys, I was up way too late on Monday night :-/ I have kind of been struggling to have a normal sleep schedule over the past few weeks but hopefully with a more regular schedule now I can get back on track.
Yesterday I brought breakfast with me to the office this morning – hot cereal with blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter. No matter what alternative I find for breakfast while traveling, I always look forward to a bowl of hot cereal when I get back. Mmmm.
I had a training appointment scheduled for my lunch hour so I had a snack of an egg white on a slice of Udi’s bread for a snack. Carbs and protein in my favorite form 
When I showed up for my appointment, I discovered that my trainer (who is also a physical therapist) had been double booked. Another trainer was nice enough to meet with me still but we didn’t work out as I asked for the appointment to be rescheduled at this point. I made good use of my gym time though and tackled my running workout for the day. I picked the Women’s Health running plan since it builds up to running for 30 minutes straight utilizing the walk / run method. I’ve committed to the plan and getting back my cardio fitness which I hope to put to the test at this year’s Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K!
I grabbed a salad with grilled chicken breast for lunch for protein. This salad had: romaine, spinach, spring mix, carrots, baby corn, black bean mix, roasted broccoli (from home), olives, and cucumber with a small piece of chicken on top plus 1 piece of veggie sushi.
The afternoon flew by but boy was it hard. My legs were restless after a mid-day workout and my butt did not want me sitting! I took a short stroll to enjoy the quiet skies and beautiful foliage. I’ll be sharing more of my walk later this week but here’s a sneak peek:
I took care of a few errands after work including canceling my old gym membership and another trip to Whole Foods. I forgot a few things on Monday and just had to go back
For dinner I tried out a new soup recipe from one of my favorite magazines, Vegetarian Times. This soup featured some of my favorite veggies plus buckwheat! Since I copied the recipe exactly I can’t type it up but it included onion, grated carrot, corn, black beans, bell pepper, vegetable broth, bay leaf, and buckwheat.
I served up a bowl with some blue corn Food Should Taste Goods, a bit of cheese, and hot sauce. Delish.
It was a typical Tuesday night of Biggest Loser as I developed a headache while cooking. Otherwise I would have been at the High Heeled Drag Race My snack was a pear with cinnamon and some almond butter.
I got a good night’s sleep and woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I mixed up my standard bowl of hot cereal by topping this one with some heated fig jam and maple syrup, pecans, and almond butter. My taste buds appreciated the change of pace!
The morning flew by and I enjoyed another bowl of soup with chips and a simple greens salad for lunch.
I was hungrier than usual for my afternoon snack so I had some baked beans, the rest of my salad greens, and a cheese stick.
With all the antsy feelings I had yesterday, you’d think today I’d feel the same. However, this was not the case. My legs were tired, heavy, and slow to move. I guess that’s the beauty of a rest day, right?
Not sure what’s on tap yet for tonight but I’m guess it will include some Rangers baseball, a new recipe, and Modern Family
Do you workout on a whim or do you put together a training plan? How do you deal with antsy feelings during the work day?
I always appreciated the phone – growing up, it let me speak with my grandparents who lived in Pittsburgh, keep in touch with family and friends, and the super long twirly cord in our kitchen was pretty fun to play with
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When my dad got his first cell phone that was pretty cool too. Even though it was the size of a brick it was a phone! That you could use in a car!
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I guess it was around the time of college and I’d long since (~2 years) had a cell phone of my own and our house had cordless phones instead of a few with fun elastic cords to play with. I started hating my phone because it was constant access. I was president of my sorority and balancing 100 other things and the thing always seemed to ring and buzz when it needed a problem fixed. The one perk was that the phone was mobile, as was I, so that I could walk while I talked and distract my body so my mind could focus on the call.
A few things have changed – like the fact I love my Blackberry but overall I still kind of hate the phone sometimes. Unless I’m walking somewhere and moving my body that doesn’t always love sitting still, it’s hard for me to concentrate and I get easily distracted.
Why am I telling you all of this? Between yesterday, today, and early next week I am logging some serious hours on the phone (in my “spare time”) to conduct phone interviews for a leadership program I run. Don’t get me wrong – I love it and it’s fun to get to speak with 20 undergrads from across the country. I just hate the idea of sitting someplace quiet (my apartment) for hours at a time being on the phone and trying not to get distracted. To keep myself sane I pace the length of my studio 100s of times and clean up when I can. My brain works best when my body is moving and therefore can’t distract me.
Anyone else have a love / hate relationship with the phone and mobile technology?
Last night after work and then interviews I had a few errands to run. Somewhere along the way I got the craving for: barbecue beef, Asian food, and my couch. Of course I would crave barbecue Asian food – it’s my inner Texan screaming hello, and I thought long and hard about my various options to remedy those cravings until one dish at a neighborhood restaurant popped into my head.
I ordered the Korean BBQ Skirt Steak lettuce wraps from Raku and headed home for a date with my couch, Invictus, and a delicious dinner.
I added a simple spinach salad on the side, drank maybe half of this glass of wine, and somewhere along the way snacked on a pear as well.
This morning after 10 wonderful hours of sleep, I had a craving for my first true Fall bowl of hot cereal. Into the mix went:
This was amazing and I expect many more breakfasts with a bit of mashed sweet potato mixed in.
Now I’m getting set for more phone interviewing along with some pacing, straightening up, and at-home activity while I do so!
What are you up to this weekend? Do you volunteer in any way?
