SATC (Sweat and the city)

Hi friends!

Today I had a wonderfully relaxing, yet productive day! Despite going to bed late last night (reading blogs is entirely too addictive), I woke up at 6am today for a run. My sweet husband actually volunteered to run with me, even though he usually hates running! We knew it was going to be deathly hot today, which is why we got up so early.

Even so... at 6:15AM when we left the condo it was ALREADY extremely hot and muggy. I didn't check the temp at that time, but I can only imagine it was in the upper 80s with a very high humidity. Thank goodness my marathon training only called for 3 miles today!!! However, despite the short distance, I had a heck of a time today. Truly, it was a very, very, very tough run for me. I should note that I am a sweater - in the way that strangers at the gym have commented to me about how much I sweat! But in today's heat, I was just sweating all over myself, and yes it was very unpleasant. I tried my best to get some sips of water along the way and I stayed in the shade as much as I could, but I just could not escape the heat. Plus one unfortunate thing about running up the Magnificent Mile is that the exhaust from the cars is so hot, on top of the weather temps.

Mike had to get to work so he did a mile with me and turned around to head home; I had a very difficult time completing my 3 miles. I truly almost quit, but I knew I would have felt disgusted with myself so I pressed at it! But this was one hell of a run. It was up there with the Chicago Marathon of 2007 where temps were over 100.... that bad! I felt like I was going to pass out the entire time. I hate to be such a wuss, but today's run makes me very nervous for my upcoming runs. Saturday is only 5, and I will be with my group so that should help, but the ones after that (9 miles, 10 miles, and longer) will be super tough if the temps don't get cooler!!

What are your favorite tips on how to beat the heat while running???

I mapped out my run so that it ended at my gym, where I took a pilates class. It must just have been one of those days because even though I love pilates, I was still so tired from getting up early and from that brutal run that I wasn't fully into it. After class I did literally about 3 minutes of arms, and then walked home (20 minutes). I was glad to be done with today's workout!!

For breakfast, of course I had to have a GM. I knew it would perk me right up!! Today's had a twist: I tried my new Amazing Grass Wheatgrass, along with Almond Breeze almond milk. It was the first time I tried almond milk, and it wasn't bad. Not as sweet as the vanilla soy milk I am used to, but it has 1/3 the calories so that ain't bad! The flavor was ok - but not amazing - so I threw in 2 T. of PB2 and a banana. Voila, tasty Green Monster!!! I ended up loving the Wheatgrass addition. It actually did smell a bit like grass, but the taste was great. Very fresh and delicious!

About an hour after my GM, I got hungry - maybe from working out, maybe because I am used to protein powder in my GM which I did not have today? I really wanted something sweet - I think my body is still used to having about 10 desserts per day. I was going to have one of my Amazing Grass energy bars, but I decided that might not be enough, so I chopped it up into small pieces and threw it into my Kitchenaid mixer with some coconut, oat brain, and a splash of milk, trying to recreate the awesome cookie dough that I made last week. Well, the bar must be much harder than I thought because the Kitchenaid did nothing to mix it up! So I took the mixture out, plopped it onto a baking sheet and baked it for a few minutes. It was a nothing fancy or wonderful, but it was a nice snack :)
I had a few cups of cold tea throughout the day until lunchtime, where I had some leftover zucchini soup from yesterday. I loved the flavor of the soup (mostly zucchini and tofu blended together), but I wanted something a bit more "chewy". So, I loosely chopped an onion, dipped it into a bowl of egg whites, and then added in some bread crumbs that I had seasoned. I then baked this mixture (and toasted some walnuts at the same time) by baking it in the oven at 375 for 10-12 minutes. I put this mixture over the warmed up soup, and it was SO GOOD. I will definitely be making this easy, nutrient-dense soup again!!

FYI: Funnily enough, a little bit after I finished eating this soup I saw "Hungry Girl" on the Bonnie Hunt show, where she showed how she makes HER version of onion rings. She grinds up Fiber One cereal, dips the onion rings in some Egg Beaters, and then the crushed cereal, and bakes them. I love this idea of a healthy, whole wheat coating that has lot of fiber, too! But my recipe works great too if all you have on hand is breadcrumbs, although panko would be good too :)

For a mid-afternoon snack, again I was craving something sweet (chocolately in particular), so I threw a frozen banana and a 1/2 c. of chocolate soy milk into the blender. It was awesome (like a chocolate milk shake!) but not enough to fill me up, so I also had an Amazing Grass chocolate bar. Yum!!

After spending a lot of my day looking at recipes and food blogs, I was in the mood to bake. AND my dad's birthday is today (even though I won't see him until Saturday), so I decided to make him.... walnut brittle!!

Here's how I did it:

1 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup/maple syrup/molasses/honey
½ c. water
1 T. butter
1 1/c c. chopped walnuts
1 ½ ts. Baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat up a pan at 200 degrees while you are making the sauce so that it remains hot – it will be easier to spread the mixture this way.

Then, line pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter in a pan. Cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Then, stir in walnuts and continue to stir over high heat. Then remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Quickly pour mixture over pan; cool completely before breaking brittle into bite-sized pieces.

I used sugar-free syrup because that was all I had on hand (I don't eat the sugar-free crap, but we have it in the house because Mike likes it, and I knew my dad wouldn't care what the ingredients were!)

It is still cooling on my counter... I clumsily forgot to see if the pan FITS into my fridge (it does not!) so hopefully they cool ok by just sitting on in the open. So I can't tell you how they taste yet, but the warm sauce that I sampled tasted quite good! :)

Happy Father's Day (belated) and Happy birthday (today), Dad!!! :)

Back to work?

So, to any of you who may be jealous that I am now on summer vacation, don't hate TOO much - I had to go back to work all day today, and will have to work again tomorrow!

This morning I woke up feeling pretty nauseous from a large dinner last night. I love, love, love lasagna, and I can never limit myself to one helping. (In fact, I helped myself to three "formal" servings, and then later after the company left I dug in again with a spoon.. shameful I know!) I don't make it that often so I really can't help myself. I also had quite a few of those Fabulosity Cookies, and thus I woke up with a bit of a stomach ache.

Who came to the rescue? A Green Monster of course!! It really hit the spot and was so light and refreshing :) Over the summer I'm trying to lighten up on my coffee intake in the mornings, and to try to get by on GMs instead, since they usually provide me with a ton of energy! They did that today, but not as much as I would have liked. However, my lack of energy can probably be attributed less to the beneficial qualities in the GM and more to the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night!

Today I had to attend a mandatory training for work. It is an empirically- and evidence-based practice for working with students with anger issues. If you think about it, many of the issues that school social worker address - lack of focus, verbal aggression, lack of social skills, fighting, low frustration tolerance, etc. - often comes down to anger, plain and simple. Unfortunately, many of my students have gone through troubling and traumatic events, and many of them are so hyperaware of the potential for violence around them that they jump to anger because this reaction is often the safest thing for them to do. I may complain about having to go to a training during the first week of my summer break, but I think it's going to be a great program and I look forward to learning more tomorrow!

I was SO excited to find out that the training took place not on the other side of Chicago, but only a few miles from my condo!! Because I live so close, I was able to drive home to make some lunch here as opposed to eating leftover cold lasanga. I liked the green bean/blue cheese combo that I made a couple days ago, so I switched things up this time by making scrambled egg whites with the green beans and blue cheese. I love blue cheese!! (When I was little I remember people thinking it was weird that my favorite salad dressing was blue cheese, since many adults don't even like it!)

When I arrived home after the training, I really wanted a Green Monster before my run, but I had some leftover Romaine lettuce that I wanted to get rid of. Hmmmmm, I thought. I wonder how Romaine would be in a Green Monster? Turns out... NOT BAD!!! I added Silk soy milk, ice, and a banana. I could taste the lettuce a bit, but it was not at all a bad taste, just a bit "fresh" and slightly, slightly like lettuce. However, I didn't want there to be a chance of feeling sick on my run because of the new flavor, so I also threw in 2 T. of PB2. Perfect!! I would certainly recommend this combo to anyone who enjoys the regular GM!

Today was yet another 3 miler. The short runs (at least for the plan I'm using) stay pretty short for the first couple weeks, which has helped me segue in the training schedule. I had a nice, easy run, and ended it at the gym where I did 10 mins of elliptical. I cut my workout short so that I could walk from the gym to the Harold Washing Library (the main Chicago lib) to meet Mike. It was our first time at this lib, and his first time getting a CPL library card! I actually didn't find any books today since I spent so much time browsing, but Mike got a couple books about jury selection... and also a couple about how to become a better gambler, in preparation for our upcoming trip ;)

For dinner, I knew that I really wanted to use up the red peppers and green beans that were on their last leg and wouldn't make it until we got home from our trip. So, I threw together vegetarian fajitas made from Morningstar vegetarian chicken starter strips, red peppers, onions, green beans, and seasonings.

On the side, I made some guacamole per Mike's request.. made with our HOME GROWN CILANTRO!!! Cilantro is such a key ingredient in guacamole, and it's been awesome having fresh cilantro at our fingertips, for free!! Thanks to Mike, The Constant Gardener :)

This dinner filled me up soooo much, but the flavors were so intense that I really wanted something sweet. I also wanted something with peanut butter (I used PB2), so I experimented with making a new cookie recipe. Basically, I just wanted to eat the dough, and it was good (although I will tweak it more in the future!)

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OK readers, exciting news!! Jay Robb - the maker of my all time FAVORITE protein powder - is giving my readers a 15% coupon!!! Check back tomorrow and I will list the discount code!! :)

Long posting ahead!

I'm so impressed with all of the bloggers out there who many to post upwards of two and three times per day! Although I did post earlier today, it was a late posting about yesterday... so I really wanted to make sure that I actually posted about today, today!!!

This morning I got up with just a few minutes to spare before heading off to the gym, where I was planning to go to the morning spinning class. I quickly made some coffee with a splash of soy milk, and sat down to check email/my blog while I downed my caffeine. I was sooo pleasantly surprised and excited to find that I had gotten a lot of great responses to my blog! I'm not sure how soon bloggers typically develop a solid reader base, but I have a feeling it takes quite a while. So, when I received some emails about my blog I was quite pleased :)

Unfortunately, I was so excited about all of this that I left for the gym much later than I should have. By the time I got to the gym, although I was only about 3 minutes late, the class was already full :( Now, for the longest time I have hate a "hateful" relationship with spinning! I would go to class just because I knew it was good for me - basically it was a less injury-prone exercise that was good for cross-training on my non-running days. But recently, after finding some awesome, exuberant spinning instructors that make class a lot of fun, I have changed the status of my relationship with spinning to "love/hate". Hey, baby steps right?

But regardless of my newfound appreciation for spinning, I was secretly a bit happy that the class was full! I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, and then went to do the hip abductor machine. I continued to do a few other weight machines, and relished in the fact that I had escaped an hour of long, torturous spinning class. However, I happened to look up only to see that an older couple was leaving the spinning room!!! I actually struck up a conversation with them and found out that it was their first class and that they enjoyed it, but that it was harder than they thought and also that they "had to leave to get ready for a party in a few hours". Haha, yeah, that's what we all say!! I am constantly inviting reasons in my head why I need to leave spinning class early ;)

I went back and forth for a few seconds, and then decided that I may as well suck it up and go back to the class - since there was finally a seat for me - and therefore there were no excuses not to! I typically go to the Tuesday and Satuday classes but had never been on a Sunday morning, and I found that I really liked the instructor today. In the end, although it is always a pretty intense workout, I was definitely glad that I stuck it out!

After spinning class was over, I hopped onto one of the reclining bikes and did 20 minutes. Then, a few more minutes doing weight machines and some crunches, and then called my dad from the gym...

A bit of background info: my grandmother, as of yesterday, has been in the hospital for a heart arrythmia, pneumonia, kidney problems, and possibly some other issues, and once my dad had to go back to work tonight he called to see if I could go to stay with my grandpa while my grandma stayed in the hospital. The plan was for me to stay a couple days - until my grandma got back from the hospital - so after I left the gym I went to the grocery store to get a couple vegetarian staples to bring with me, since my grandparents are GREAT people - but definitely not the healthiest eaters!! I went back to the condo to get packed up and to say goodbye to Mike for a couple days, only to find out that the plans had changed and that my dad was going to be staying with my grandpa for another couple days, so I didn't have to make the trek to Mishawaka, IN (which is a few hours by train and car).

Since I was then free to follow my original plan for the day, I made us a quick breakfast before Mike and I left to go to his parents' house for the day. Now, I should mention that when I came back from the gym, Mike SPECIFICALLY requested this particular breakfast. That is how good it is... despite the fact that I'm sure there will be many skeptics out there when I tell you what the "secret" ingredient is!!!

All of you food bloggers out there are very familiar with the Green Monster smoothie, but for my friends and fam who aren't, this is how I make it:

Morning mix: 1 cup vanilla soy milk, a few handfuls of spinach, half a scoop of Jay Robb's chocolate whey protein powder, 2 T. of PB2, and some ice - blend until ALL of the spinach is completely blended.

When I have it later in the day, I usually make a similar smoothie but since I don't always need to protein powder at that time, I make it instead with soy milk, spinach, and a banana, forgoing the PB2 and protein powder. But, I've tried many combos and it turns out great every time!

I have been making these GM's for a while now and I am so proud to have hooked Mike on them too. Even better, one of our friends from IU, Matt, crashed at our place last night after a late night, and he was fortunate enough to sample my GM for breakfast too :) I'm happy to report that he liked it! For those of you who have never had the joy of slurping down an ice-cold Green Monster, you CANNOT taste the spinach AT ALL if you do it right!! Just blend, blend, blend away.

Off to the in-laws house: when we got there, Yaya (my Greek grandmother-in-law) had prepared some vegetarian dolmades for me, which typically are stuffed grape leaves, but she used cabbage instead of the grape leaves. I don't have the picture of her version, but here is a pic off the internet:



I also had some of Yaya's pizza - and here is the delightful Yaya posing with me, sporting her "Anthony L" apron:

We spent most of the afternoon outside on the patio - it was a gorgeous day!! - and getting very excited for our upcoming weekend in LAS VEGAS!! We will be staying at the Monte Carlo. I am of course incredibly psyched for the unlimited, endless buffets, and you will be sure that I will be taking pix for you all to drool over! ;)

Later that night, I had some salad - compliments of Yaya - and some delicious BBQ shrimp that my father-in-law put on the grill for me. A little while after dinner, I wanted to weird out :) the family by making them Green Monsters. Suprisingly, they all seemed to love it!!!! It could be a charade - but I'm pretty sure they actually really liked it. Most everyone asked for seconds, which is always a good sign ;) I forgot to take a picture of this GM, however. I also enjoyed a bowl full of cherries and blueberries.

Once Mike and I returned to the South Loop later that evening, I cut us a couple pears, which were juicy, cold and delicious. A bit later I was of course craving another GM (the banana kind this time), which hit the spot, but I wasn't quite satisfied until I completed the day's snacking by having a Chocolate Raspberry Luna Bar which is VERY YUM!! Alright, I am going to go post this and cross my fingers that I do a better job posting the pictures this time - although I already know that one of them will be sideways and not right-side-up - I'm learning! :)