Food Finds – Kentucky Style

Miss me much? Sorry to bail this weekend, but the little man and I went on a whirlwind trip to visit a friend of mine in Kentucky. My friend Nicole and I (and Lincoln) flew up to Kentucky on Friday to visit our friend Kelli.

I was nervous about flying with Lincoln without the Hubby, but he did great! He was so excited to see the airplanes.

We did a lot of eating out while we were in Kentucky. My most favorite place that we went was Wallace Station. It was a neat little sandwich shop in the middle of nowhere.

I was surprised to see signs in the window saying that the restaurant would be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network on June 28th.

I was impressed with the vegetarian options they had, especially at such a little hole-in-the-wall place. I ordered the Mediterranean Wrap.

Deeeeee – lish!

Another food I tried while I was in Kentucky was a Hot Brown. According to Wikipedia a hot brown is:

A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923. It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late-night suppers.

The Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. Many Hot Browns also include ham with the turkey, and either pimentos or tomatoes over the sauce, and imitation Hot Browns sometimes substitute a commercial cheese sauce instead of the Mornay sauce, but fans of the dish usually decry this substitution. Some restaurants even offer a ‘veggie brown’ nowadays to attract vegetarians, as the recipe is easy to modify with avocado, or, less commonly, soy burger.

I had my Hot Brown at a restaurant called Ramsey’s. It included: bread, mushrooms, tomato, asparagus, zucchini and ALOT of mozzarella cheese.

Honestly, It didn’t do alot for me. I wish I would have gotten their zucchini burger or a veggie plate instead. Who can eat that much cheese anyway? It was interesting to try though.

Ramsey’s did have an awesome Key Lime Pie though, that may be the best I’ve ever had.

I also had the most amazing Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pretzels that we randomly found at a grocery store, that I must find again.

All in all I had a great trip, but its always nice to come back home. One plus was that because we were flying into Birmingham instead of Montgomery, I was able to eat at my favorite restaurant, Surin West, today for lunch. I had my usual – Tofu Massaman.

And Veggie Tempura sushi …

Yummy!

Its time for me to get back into my normal routine. Waaay too much eating out, and waaay too little exercise has occured lately. I did run twice (3.1 miles, and 3 miles) while I was out of town though.

Now I’m off to fight the ant infestation that I was welcomed home by.

Every Trick in the Book

If you’ve been exercising regularly for any length of time you’ve surely had those days where you just weren’t motivated. Maybe you were tired, stressed or just feeling lazy. Today was one of those days for me.

When my alarm went off this morning at 6 am for my run, I just wanted to turn it off and go back to sleep. Instead I forced myself to get up and get ready for my run. I knew that once it was over I’d feel proud that I got out there when it would have been too easy not to.

I have a small arsenal of tricks that I use to motivate myself when I’m having days like this.

1. Turn some lights on! – Its hard to get going (especially early in the morning) if you try to get ready in the dark. I find it much easier to wake up and get motivated if I turn some lights on.

2. Think about others. – On days when I just can’t find my motivation I think of all the people that would love to be able to go out and run, but can’t for various reasons. I try to think of specific people I know or have seen in my life.

This morning I thought of the man I saw driving his electric wheelchair down the road yesterday. I bet he would have loved to be able to get up and run.

3. Think of motivational quotes. – One of my favorite ways to get motivated is thinking of motivational quotes. I usually like short quotes that are easy to remember that I can chant to myself.

One of my favorite quotes (I’m not even sure where I initially heard it) goes something like: There will come a day when you can no longer do this, today is not that day.

I also like: You’ll never regret a run, only a missed run.

Make a list of your favorite motivational quotes to read when you need inspiration.

4. Wear your favorite outfit. – Pretty self-explanatory. Wear something that makes you excited to get up and get going. Today I wore a new Bondi Band that I was excited about with a matching outfit.

 
5. Go to your favorite workout spot or do your favorite activity. – I never try a new running route when I’m really “not feeling it” that day. Some people may find that trying a new location keeps things interesting, and I love finding new places to run, but on days when I need that extra push to get out there I stick with the tried and true.

 
6. Have a back-up plan or the 5 minute rule. – Sometimes when I’m not feeling my best I tell myself “just do it for 5 minutes, if you still want to quit then you can”. When I finish that 5 minutes I tell myself, “come on, you can do 5 more!”. I have never quit a run after only 5 minutes when using this method. If you break your activity into 5 minute increments its much easier to mentally prepare yourself instead of saying “I’m going to run for 45 minutes”.

Some days I have to make a back-up plan. If I decide I just can’t follow through with my run I’ll commit to doing something else physical instead. I’ll do the elliptical at the gym and read a book, or I’ll take a spinning class.

Today my back-up plan was music. I’ve been trying some runs without my iPod lately. (More on that later) But today I took my iPod in the pocket of my water bottle just in case I needed to pull it out to get me through.

 
I didn’t use it.

7. Reward yourself. – Think of a special way to reward yourself for completing your workout. My special reward this morning was a huge omelet!

My omelet contained squash, zucchini and mushrooms sauteed in balsamic vinegar, steamed broccoli, Madras Lentils (tastes kinda like chili) and a sprinkle of cheese.

 
It was an interesting and delicious combination of flavors.

8. Make it Fun. – Invite a friend to workout with. Make a new exciting playlist. Do something to make your dreaded workout fun.

9. Positive Visualization. – One thing I do when I hit a wall mid-run is to use positive visualization (along with chants) to get me through. I pretend that I am running in my first marathon and I imagine myself coming up on the finish line, finishing strong. I swear, it works.

10. Listen to your body. – Above all else it is important to listen to your body. There is a difference in pushing yourself past a mental barrier and pushing yourself to the point of injury. If your barrier is physical and you risk dehydration or injury by continuing, then by all means stop. If you are sore, sick or injured then take a rest day (or two). Let your body heal itself so that it can go the distance in the future.

What tricks do you use to help motivate yourself?

Skirt Update and Mexican Bliss

The little man and I ran some pretty boring errands today. The only thing that made it worthwhile was stopping for mexican food. A little known fact about me … I can eat mexican food 24/7 and never get tired of it, especially if margaritas are involved. Today they were not.

I love this particular restaurant because they have a more extensive vegetarian menu than any of the other places I have been to. I had “Vegetarian Quesadilla #1”.

When we got back home from our errands I was happy to see that my package from Running Skirts had arrived. I was surprised to find that they sent me not only a running skirt, but also a shirt and a headband. A complete running outfit!

Unfortunately the skirt was a little snug and not flattering. I’m going to send it back for the next size up. Hopefully the next size will look better. The material was really comfortable and I was actually getting excited about running in it.

The top is really cute.

And I love the back …

I briefly thought about going to the gym tonight for either an elliptical session or a spinning class, but I ultimately decided to give myself a rest day since I exercised every day last week. Sometimes you just need a break! I truly believe working out is more mentally challenging than physically challenging most of the time, atleast for me.

Tonight will be about spending time with family, vegging out and relaxing. Aaah! 🙂

Egg-sellent

Good morning! This morning I was needing something seriously comforting for breakfast. So I decided on a true southern classic … grits. I love mixing a scrambled egg and a little cheese into my grits, it makes it so much more filling.

Obviously I am no vegan, but one of the things that I have committed myself to is eating more consciously. One of the ways that I plan on doing that is by eating eggs from the chickens my dad raises instead of buying eggs at the grocery store from chickens who live in cramped cages. He has about 20 chickens that live on his property and have ample room to move around and live their lives. Everyday my family collects about 12 eggs.

My mom brought me a huge basket of eggs recently. These are definitely not your grocery store variety. They are still covered in dirt and feathers.

I scrambled an egg and added it to my grits with a bit of shredded cheese.

It was egg-sellent!

I had the best intentions of going on an early morning run today, but when my alarm went off at 6:00 I decided to listen to my body and get some more rest. I don’t sleep well (or long enough) on my 12 hour work nights so I’ll take some quality sleep whenever I can get it. There’s always tomorrow.

Now I’m off to run some boring errands. I’m secretly hoping my Running Skirt comes in the mail today. Have a great day!

This is Love

 

Adrenaline GTS 10 = Love.

No time to talk, must break these babies in.

But I will say, 49 people can’t be wrong so I asked my hubby to call up Cindy at Running Skirts today and get me “skirted”. I will soon know what the craze is all about. Stay tuned for my official thoughts on the matter soon 🙂

Rails-to-Trails

This morning when I checked my mail I got a letter from an organization I had never heard of before, but instead of throwing it away something actually caught my eye and made me take a look. The letter was from Rails-to-Trails.

What an amazing idea to turn old unused rail lines into walking/bicycle trails! I immediately went to their website to get some more information.

The mission of Rails-to-Trails as stated on their website is:

to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

One of the really cool features on the website is the ability to search for trails in your area. I found several trails in Alabama that I never knew existed.

I encourage you to take a look at the website. Find out about trails in your area, and donate to this worthy cause if possible.

Please Explain

Running skirts. Function? Fashion? Both? … Neither? I do not get. Please explain.

BFFs

Missed you guys yesterday! The BFF came down from Birmingham for a visit and spent the night. We so rarely get to see each other it seems like that there is just no time for blogging when she is around.

My best friend is Vanessa.

We’ve known each other since we were 18, so about 10-11 years.

Check out those glasses and those hideous bangs! Blast from the past!

A few years ago Vanessa moved about 2 hours away, but we stayed in close contact. We surprisingly got pregnant at almost the same time, and both ended up having boys.

Lincoln and Jackson were born only 6 weeks apart. And they were BFFs too, right from the start.

Or not … but it got better.

Yesterday we took the boys to the park to feed the ducks. They’ve grown up so much since those little baby pictures.

They had so much fun playing with the racecars inside the museum together.

We used some of the leftovers from “date night” and made delicious homemade pizzas again.

Basically the same ingredients as last time plus a couple extras: goat cheese, feta, brie, calamata olives, sundried tomato, mushrooms and spinach. Plus some fresh herbs from Vanessa’s garden.

After dinner we bathed the boys and put them to bed while we enjoyed some adult time and a few more drinks.

The one that looks like me is mine. Go figure!

Although it was a pretty subdued day we had a great time hanging out and letting our little ones develop their BFF-ness. But now its back to reality.

This morning for breakfast I tried something a little strange a different.

Just follow me here …. I planned on making a bagel sandwich with an egg, but I couldn’t find anything else to put on it until … I randomly came across a frozen falafel patty. I topped the falafel with the cooked egg, a little spinach from last night and spread some tzatziki on a bagel thin and made a sandwich out of it. Probably one of the strangest combinations I’ve ever concocted, but it was sooo good! I’m not sure the egg brought much to the party, maybe next time I’ll skip the egg and call it lunch. 🙂

Productive Morning

Thanks to “Ass-naught movie” (i.e. Planet 51), I was able to get some much needed work done around the house this morning.

I:

• folded and put away 4 loads of clothes
• washed dishes
• cleaned the kitchen
• swept and mopped all the floors
• cleaned the bedroom

I still need to water my outside plants. I always forget to do that, that’s probably why they are almost dead all of the time.

I’m hoping to spend the afternoon with this book.

Its not nearly as boring as it looks actually. The pages are huge and the writing is tiny but the information is really good. This is the book that I need to learn inside and out to take my National Certification Exam. Not only is the exam part of my 101 in 1001 goals, but I now have committed myself to becoming certified, in writing to my job. I have one year to accomplish this goal, but I’m hoping to have it done much sooner than that … maybe 3 months?

All this housework really brought out my appetite. I’m trying to concentrate on eating really healthy this week, and eat only things that make me feel great. For lunch I had 3 small Stuffed Grape Leaves, Couscous, and leftover grilled veggies.

It was delicious! I’m not sure that I’ve ever actually eaten Couscous before today. I found this kind at … you guessed it … Costco the last time I was there and thought I’d give it a try.

I was really surprised about how flavorful it is! It was definitely the star of lunch. I also really love the simple ingredient list: pearl couscous, baby corn, fresh parsley, red pepper, fresh onion, black olives, canola oil, spices, sea salt, potassium sorbate and lots of love.

The grape leaves come from Costco as well.

They are stuffed with rice, tomatoes, onions and red bell pepper and they are awesome.

Now its study time.

Have you ever taken a big test or earned an optional certification to advance yourself in your career?

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Lincoln randomly started begging for cookies this afternoon so I decided to appease him. If you know me, you probably know that I struggle with getting  my son to eat anything. If the boy wants cookies, he gets cookies.

I found a basic recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies on Allrecipes, and added my own embellishments and substitutions, as usual. I tried to make them super healthy and still tasty.

The ingredient list:

3 egg whites

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup reduced fat peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 2 bananas

1/4 cup honey  agave nectar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

Note my substitutions. I also added milled flax seed and a bit of cinnamon.

It wasn’t absolutely necessary but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use my Kitchenaid Mixer, that I so rarely get to use.

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and brown sugar. Beat in peanut butter, applesauce bananas, honey agave, flax seed and vanilla.
   
2. Combine the oats, flour, milk powder and baking soda; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until combined.
   
3. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto baking sheets coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

The recipe ended up making over 30 cookies! I couldn’t even fit them all in my container.

They turned out really light and fluffy and delicious! Of course by the time I finished baking them and they had a chance to cool, Lincoln no longer wanted anything to do with cookies and wouldn’t even touch one. Doh!

Please take a look at my recipes page, I updated it today to include some things I had previously forgotten to add.