I SUUUUUUUCK....

at this blogging thing. What has it been, three weeks since I said I would blog? Ugh.

I've really been sucking at eating well which is a big problem. I thought I was doing well last week and then St. Patty's day hit. I ate corned beef and cabbage and then kept going over the weekend with pizza AND chinese. Ugh! I wish I could say that I have been keeping up with my working out but I'm about 2 workouts behind.

Life keeps getting in the way and I'm trying to work around it but it's hard. I was able to run outside for the first time this weekend and that was awesome. Best part about it was that I got Micah to go with me. Why is that a big deal? Well...Micah tends to ignore me when I talk about working out at all. He's just in better shape than me at his base level so I get frustrated when we try to work out together. It doesn't help that he is 6'1" and his legs are like 20 feet longer than mine. Also, I may have yelled at him a couple of times in the past when he has finished and come back to run by me. I know that he is trying to motivate me but it feels like he's lapping me and I get frustrated and yell and him. Oops. I'm trying to convince him to help me again because he is the closest person to me so he can be the best motivation. I may have scared him off, though.

Alright, I'm going to try and keep a weekly goal. It's a little more attainable than thinking about over a month from now. My main goal is to work out 4 times this week, including my spinning class. I went to spinning two weeks ago and fell in love again. I don't know why I ever gave it up! My goal for working out is tomorrow (run), Wednesday (spinning), Friday (run) and one day this weekend (run). Let's hope I can keep it up!

Alright....I know at least one person is interested in some of the recipes I've tried lately so I'll try to post one every time I blog. I'll start my recipes with the first and best meal of the day - BREAKFAST!! This is one of Micah and my new favorite weekend breakfasts. Paired up with a little fruit salad, it's such a great and hearty breakfast that can be made with pretty much anything you have on hand. Who doesn't like eggs, toast and cheese? The recipe can be found on the cooking blog Framed (). Micah and I always use just egg whites and add different vegetables or leftovers we have on hand including: tomato, green onions, chicken, turkey, etc. I think it would be great with a little avocado or spinach...hum...guess I'll have to try that next time! I normally have one with a little fruit and Micah has two. Fills us up well and if you use some good quality whole wheat/grain bread, you'll get the extra fiber to keep you full!

Have a great week everyone. Hopefully I can stick to my plan!

I'm baaaaack...

I'm going to try this whole blogging thing again but this time for a better cause. I stepped on the scale at the gym yesterday and was SO disappointed in myself. The past year of grad school full-time and working full-time has not left me with much time to take care of myself and apparently that has taken its toll. I'm ready to change that! It's time to make time for working out and to get my butt in gear!

So, I've decided to train for a 5k. I am not a runner and never have been. I've started training once before but I've never been able to complete the training successfully since I've still never run more than 2 miles straight. I want to change that. One, because I hate failing and two, because running is something I can fit in to my busy schedule since all I need is pavement. Since Micah and I were trying to plan a trip to Hawaii I figured that was going to be the best motivation I could find. So, on May 15, on the beautiful island of Oahu, I will (hopefully) complete my first 5k.

So why blog about it? Mainly because I need motivation BADLY! I am the queen of justifying everything and I am hoping that if I can keep a record of my workout schedule, weight lost and some yummy, healthy recipes that I'll have an easier time sticking to my plan. I'm hoping it'll be a way that I can track my progress so it'll be easier to motivate myself to keep going. Plus, one of my good friends started this awesome blog with some friends that she's training with...so I'm really copying her. :)

I have made a couple of short term goals that I'm hoping to accomplish by the time I step on that plane to Hawaii.

1. Lose 10 pounds - depending on what scale I use I am either 152 (gym scale) or 148 (home scale). My lowest weight was 133 and I was very confident and thought I looked great at that weight. I'd like to get back to that eventually but I think 10 pounds is a reasonable start.

2. Complete a 5k- Duh! That's the whole point of this blog. I am not worried about how fast or slow I do it, I just want to FINISH!

3. Eat Healthy - With our busy schedule, Micah and I have sort of fallen off the healthy band-wagon. Quick fixes and eating out has become far too frequent and I don't even want to think about how much sodium we've had in the past few months. I did some batch cooking the other day so hopefully the fact that there is quick and easy stuff in the freezer will help with this!

4. Work out at least 3 times a week - I'm hoping that some weeks I'll be able to work out more but I would like this to be my starting point. I think this will be hard enough with class two nights a week and a puppy at home.

So help me out! Keep me motivated! Ask me if I've been working out. Or just read and enjoy the recipes I hope to post. I'm off to a good start with a run/lift day on Monday and spinning tonight and I'm loving the feeling. Hopefully I can keep it up!

Tuna Pan Bagnat

Micah and I love road trips and surprisingly we do really well in the car. We've even made it 19 hours in one day! When we do go on vacation we're C-H-E-A-P! We bring a huge cooler with food that we can make throughout the trip and always bring a grill. For the actual road tripping part we love this sandwich. I make it before we leave and wrap it in some parchment or wax paper and they're so great after sitting a couple days. The olive oil begins to seep into the bread and the flavors just meld so much better.

Now you'll have to decide what kind of bread you want to use. My dad raised me on breads with hard crusts. He always said that it wasn't good bread unless it cut the roof of your mouth and I totally agree. Micah on the other hand, does not. It's up to you but Rachel suggests a crusty bread. I'm sure you could make this with some good quality canned tuna but I always make it with the tuna steak.

I don't have any pictures of this but I made it when I went camping last month. They worked out just as good as always and I had leftovers to take to work, too. I made a potato salad to go with it - blog entry to follow!

Happy (late) Fourth of July!

I wanted to find an amazing dessert to make for the fourth and I saw this one on 17 and Baking. I had no idea if I'd be able to pull it off but it turned out being much easier than I imagined. If I make it again I need to try to use 8in pans because the layers ended up being too thin. Also, I didn't cut them very evenly so it made for somewhat of an odd shaped flag. Haha. I will admit that I cheated and used boxed cake. I did doctor it up a bit and made it a lime cake. Instead of using just water I used half the amount in lime juice and also threw in some lime zest. For the frosting I used homemade cream cheese frosting and I subbed in lime juice and zest in that as well. I was worried that it would be overwhelming but it was so great. The link is above that gives detailed instructions on how to assemble the cake. Enjoy!

******Please notice the beautiful flowers my husband sent me (and ignore the beer bottles)******

Shrimp Scampi on Couscous

I made this as the main dish when I had Liz over last month. I'm not going to lie that I like to impress people with cooking. I needed to have a theme, though. She had us over a couple weeks before and had gone Mexican so I had to find another avenue. I chose Italian. Of course, I took out my Giada cookbook and looked through it. This recipe seemed light enough for summer but still had my tastebuds watering. I have to admit that it wasn't the easiest thing to make quickly or without making a mess. However, if I had worked my time frame out better, you can actually make the messy part the day before. I suggest doing that if you're making this for guests. Enjoy this, sorry the picture isn't amazing. It needs something green in it!

Scampi on Couscous (from Everyday Italian cookbook)
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbl EVOO
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (8 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes in their juice
1 ( 8 ounce) bottle clam juice (I used chicken broth)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
about 1 1/4 cups water
2 cups plain couscous
2# large shrimp, peeled and deveined
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbl chopped fres parsley
1 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes

Heat 1/4 cup oil over medium high flame. When almost smoking, add onion, carrow and half of the garlic and saute until the onion is soft (5 minutes). Add the tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, wine, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Bring to a boi and simmer uncovered until the liquid reduces and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Carefully transfer the tomato mixture to the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth, adding water a couple of Tbl at a time to form a broth consistency. (This is the part that can be made a day ahead. Bring the broth back up to a simmer before continuing.)

In saucepan, combine 2 cups of tom broth, 1 cup of water and 1 Tbl oil. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir in the couscous. Remove from the heat. cover and sed aside until absorbed. Season with S&P. Keep the remaining tomato broth warm

In a large skilled, heat the remaining 1/4 of oil over a medium flame. Add the remaining garlic and sute until fragrant, about 20 secs. Add the shrimp and saute until the shrimp just begins to turn pink, about 5 mins. remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, parley, red pepper flakes and the remaining salt.

Spoon the couscous into the center of serving plates and top with the shrimp. Spoon some of the remaining tomato broth around the couscous and serve.

Triple Chocolate Rum Cake

All I can say about this is....yum!!! Someone at work brought this in for her birthday and I had to ask for the recipe. I had a friend over the other month and I made this for dessert. Frankly, I think we ate more of this than the actual dinner - 2 pieces each! Plus, I was finally able to use the bundt pan that my sister got me at my bridal shower. Please make this, it's amazingly yummy and super easy. I made it the night before and just kept it in the fridge. I brought it up to room temp and dusted with a little powdered sugar before serving.

Triple Chocolate Rum Cake (from recipezaar.com)
Ingredients
Cake
1 (18 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
1 (2 7/8 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup rum
4 eggs
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Toppings

whipped cream
Directions
1Preheat oven to 350°F Spray and flour a bundt pan. (As always, I highly recommend Kittencal's recipe #78579 ).
2Mix all cake ingredients *except chocolate chips* in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and gently swirl them into the batter.
4Bake the cake for 45 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.
5Pull cake from oven and set it aside on a wire rack.
6Immediately make the glaze by bringing butter, rum, and sugar, to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
7Using a toothpick, poke holes all over the bottom of the hot cake. Slowly pour glaze over the bottom of the cake and let soak in and cool completely.
8Invert cake from pan, dust with powdered sugar and serve with raspberries and whipped cream.

Sorry, I have no pictures. I find it weird taking pictures before eating when you have guests over.

Light Sesame Chicken

So Chinese food is by all means my favorite take out food/hungover food but I hate how horrible it is for you. I love looking for healthier versions of my favorite Chinese dishes. My all time favorite is wonton soup and while I've found a recipe I have yet to make it. One of my go to main dishes is Sesame Chicken but I hate that Chinese places fry the chicken first. I saw this recipe and I had to try it. It was AMAZING! It tasted so much like the take-out version and it was 12 times healthier. I did take the advice of blog I found this from and doubled the sauce. It took a little while for it to thicken up so keep that in mind when you're first cooking the chicken. I think I could have cooked it a little less in the beginning since it had to cook another 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce. I boiled some broccoli (couldn't find my steamer) and had some leftover rice with it. It was great. I literally had to stop myself from eating it so I didn't gorge myself. If you like Chinese Food, try this! Wonton soup is on my list to tackle next. :)

Light Sesame Chicken
Found on Mrs. D Loves to Eat but from Martha

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks

3 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 large egg whites

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

4 scallions, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and flour. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until golden and opaque throughout. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken.

Return all chicken to skillet. Add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat. Serve over steamed broccoli and white or brown rice.