Double Booking

I haven't blogged in awhile so I have a lot to update. First, I am still sick. Still blowing my nose several times a day and it hurts to swallow. If I don't get 100% healthy by Friday of this week, I will go to the doctor. My workouts have certainly suffered. I've been working out but I haven't been too successful.

Monday- off
Tuesday- Eliptical 1/2 hour, 10 min row, lift legs
Wednesday- Physical Therapy
Thursday- Ran 3 miles, lifted
Friday- off (soooo busy at work)
Saturday- Ran 2.5 miles, lifted legs (felt awful)
Sunday (today)- off

I have a half-marathon in a little over a month. At this point, I'm just going to try to finish it. Being injured and being sick is just not conducive to running a PR. But we will see.

Biggest Loser update- lost 4.5 in week one. Gained 1.5 pounds back in Week 2. My workouts have suffered because I'm sick but my appetite has not. Uhhhh... anyway... on to food...

Thursday night I made Tuna Steaks with a basic marinade of salt pepper and EVOO. I also sauteed brocollini with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes and made some lentils. Gretchen is going to yell at me, but I bought the microwavable Lentils from Trader Joe's. I added some Argula and salt and pepper to the Lentils.
Friday night, we went out to a bar after work to meet up with my brother and I ordered a tasty salmon sandwich (unpictured). Saturday morning I made a "clean out the fridge" pizza for lunch before I ran my errands. That way Dave had food to eat while I went to the gym, grocery shopped and ran errands. Basically, I had bought Wheat Pizza Dough and I put tomato sauce, shredded cheese, thinly sliced butternut squash, diced Roma tomatoes, jalapenos and some chopped bacon. Pretty random but delicious.
Saturday night we had plans to go out to dinner with Dave's parents. But since we were going all the way to the North Shore, I wanted to visit with my friend Caitlin and her hubby and their adorable baby Brody, who I had never met. Dave always calls me a double-booker and he's not a big fan of making multiple plans in one night. But I figured I wasn't going to get another chance to go all the way up there anytime soon, so why not to kill two birds with one stone? We spent some time with Cait and Rick and the little guy and it was sooooooo fun to meet him! Look how adorable he is! Those eyes!!!!!!
After we left, we met Dave's parents at an Italian restaurant where there was NO healthy options and the portion sizes were ENORMOUS. I got Ziti with Chicken and Brocolli with a Lemon Wine Sauce. I ate about 1/4 of it. We then went back to Dave's parents house and enjoyed this amazing Upside-Down-Pineapple-Cake. Yep, it's hard to believe I'm on a diet, right? I really got to work harder next week!

This morning, I set out to make something for the week for breakfasts. I, unfortunately am not the biggest fan of "healthy" breakfasts. I pretty much hate the texture of oatmeal and yogurt and cereal is not my favorite thing because milk hurts my stomach. My breakfast of choice would be a bagel or toast but neither is healthy for me to lose weight. So I made a recipe inspired from my friend Lisa and the South Beach Diet: Veggie Egg-Cups
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of EVOO
1 Cup of Baby Spinach
1/2 cup of mushrooms
2 Roasted Red Peppers
Handful of sliced pepperoncini's
5 eggs and a little milk
1/2 cup of light shredded Mexican blend cheese
salt and pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Saute vegetables in pan with evoo until spinach is wilted and veggies are starting to get soft. At the same time, whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Let the veggies cool then add the veggies to the eggs with half of the cheese. Whisk together. Spray Muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill the muffin pan 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.This worked out to 11 Veggie Cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs are set. Remove from Muffin Tin and let cool.
I tasted one of these and yum! I'm excited to eat these this week for breakfast!

I also prepped a dish for another day this week: Mushroom Soup! This was somewhat inspired by Ina Garten.

Ingredients:

• 1 package fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 package fresh portobello mushrooms
• 1 package button mushrooms mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup water
• 6 cups Chicken Broth
  

Instructions:
Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Add the butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock and water, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Use an Immersion Blender to smooth out. Serve hot with feta cheese.

The original recipe called for creamy and didn't say anything about blending it. I skipped the cream and blended it up. It was tasty!

Weekly Menu:
Sunday- Dinner at mom's
Monday- Balsamic Glazed Salmon with Cauliflower Mash
Tuesday- Goat Cheese/Red Pepper/Spinach/Basil Sandwiches with Mushroom Soup
Wednesday- Chicken Peanut Soup
Thursday- Chicken with Mangos, Ginger and Jalepenos
Friday- Spinach Fritatta

I'm off to get healthy (which actually means resting, drinking plenty of fluids and trying hard to kick this sickness!!!!)