What We Ate: week of April 11

I thought I'd try something new here and show what we ate for dinner the past week. It can be hard to stay motivated to make dinner once you get home from a long day, so hopefully these posts can serve as a bit of inspiration.

Here is what we had on the menu for last week:

Steak Salad and Asparagus

Directions:

Turn on broiler. Toss 8-10 Asparagus spears in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on grill pan and put under broiler for about 4-5 minutes. Check periodically to avoid overcooking.

Grill 1 flank steak for 3- 4 minutes per side on medium heat on the griddle. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash BBQ seasoning and slice lengthwise.

In a salad bowl, add desired amount of lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and steak.

Dressing: 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1/8 tsp white sugar, 1/8 tsp dry mustard powder, and half a clove of garlic.

Chicken with Chili-Almond Sauce

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, add 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp Almond Butter, 10 Almonds, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 sliced jalapeno. Simmer on medium heat for 5 min. Remove from heat and puree in a blender.

Preheat 1 tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan. Add 2 chicken breasts. Cook through, about 10 minutes per side. Pour pureed Almond sauce over chicken and heat though.

Steak and Yams

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Peel and slice 1 medium yam. Toss in 1 tbsp olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes (until cooked though)

Grill 2 NY steaks on the BBQ for 4 minutes per side. Serve with salad.

Salmon with Mushroom Risotto

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place salmon onto baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes (until salmon flakes). Plate and sprinkle with dill and lemon juice.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil a saucepan on medium. Add 1 minced garlic clove and 5 sliced mushrooms. Cook for 3-4 min. Add 1/3 cup arborio rice. Cook 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup each chicken stock and white wine vinegar. Cover and simmer on medium for 15 min.

Pita Pizzas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. On each of the 3 whole wheat pita shells spread: 1 tbsp pizza sauce, 2 slice of ham, pineapple chunks, and 2 oz of grated mozzarella cheese. Put on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese melts.

Moving, Running and Eating

My life is in boxes right now. Yup, that's right, boxes. The papers are all signed, the moving van is booked, and the count down is officially at 5 days to go until we move into the new house. Did I also mention that I'm running a 10km and hoping for a personal best item in 6 days? oh right, forgot about that. I seriously think race organizers should send out a reminder a few weeks prior to the race saying, 'hey, remember that race you signed up for? well it's coming up so you better start training!" I've been so focused on the half marathon that I forgot about the 10km I signed up for next weekend. ooops. Well at this point, I'm just assuming that my training for the half is good enough for the 10km. That logic makes sense, right?

With the big move coming up, we have been attempting to clean out the fridge and freezer of all the leftovers. The meals have been really random and there have been a few flops along the way (tip: pasta in the slow cooker does not work). It has also been tough to keep to a clean eating plan as the leftovers tend to be some of the packaged and processed goods that made it to the back of the fridge. Despite the challenges of eating well with minimal food, we have had some really tasty meals. Bill and I have healthy fall-back stir-fry recipe that we both love and could probably eat every single day, so that has made a few appearances in the last few weeks.

Spicy Peanut Butter Stir-fry

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Chili Hot Sauce Paste
1 tbsp Peanut Butter (Natural)
3 tbsp low-sodium Soy Sauce
2 Chicken breasts, cubed

1 bag frozen Asian-style vegetables
1 cup Brown Rice, cooked

Directions:

1) In a large frying pan, on medium, heat oil and chili paste

2) Add chicken and cook

3) Add PB, once it melts, add the vegetables and soy sauce
4) Cook until vegetables are soft
5) Dish over rice

Serves: 4

Half Marathon Training: The Long Run

Well it's Sunday today and you know what that means? Long run day *insert a bit of nerves and excitement*. I have mixed emotions about the long run days. I love them because I love running, plain and simple. I am the most relaxed mentally when I run and the feeling of my body working and pushing itself is kind of addicting. My reservations are that the distances seem FAR. Today, we are planning to run 18 km....yikes. I am slightly nervous but I try to tell myself that next week will be even further so this week will seem like a breeze in comparison. I also try to keep my eye on the goal, which is to complete my first half marathon in April.

Over the past few weeks I have been taking notes and trying to improve on my long run training days. Here are a few things I'm going to try out today for my long run:

1. Drink lots of water before AND after - I have an issue where I get headaches when I run and it is likely caused by dehydration. So today I'm going to attempt to drink 2 water bottles before and 2 after. (I've already downed one bottle this morning)

2. Take some Gatorade with me on the run - Last week when I ran 16 km, I was tired at the end. I ran 12 km at a solid pace but then I just faded for the last 4 km. This week I'm going to try a bottle of water with some Gatorade powder in it. I'm not one to have water or any drink while I exercise, but I think I'm going to need it. We'll see if this works or not.

3. Pre-run Snack: Chocolate Earth Balls *Insert immature giggle*
I made a batch of these bad boys the other day, using a recipe from Whole Foods. The only substitution I made was Rice Krispie's instead of chopped nuts. It's all I had on hand. The combination of ingredients seemed like an energy bar to me so I thought I'd give these a try before the run. Hopefully they give me the right amount of energy for the whole run. I'm no nutrition expert so it'll be good old trial and error on this one.

So that's the plan for today. I guess now that I've made it public that I'm going to run, I better actually follow through. Later.