Just for starters...Haiden is 6 months old, and cuter than ever!! There I said it! But seriously, check out this cutie-pa-tootie!!! >>

<3 him!!!

On another note...training...will not be happening today :/ due to an injured leg. I pulled or strained the back of my calf and have been trying to pamper it for the passed few days. I still hasn't gotten better, and it bothered my sleeping last night. So, alas, I will be taking a break today to see if that helps it so we can keep busting out this training!!

August 1

Time: 40:37

Distance: 2.43 miles

Calories Burned: 183

Last night I made a super delicious recipe as well as for lunch today!! Yummy!!! I want to go back and eat them all over again :D

Seared Steak with Red Onions and Spinach

1 Tbs plus 1 tsp canola oil

2 12-oz sirloin or strip steaks

salt/pepper

1 red onion, sliced into rounds, rings separated

2 bunches spinach, thick stems discarded (I would double the spinach if you want more spinach than onions) 

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 oz blue cheese, broken into small pieces (optional)

1. Heat oven 400. Heat 1 tsp oil in a large cask-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn the steak.

2. Scatter the onion rings around the steam drizzle with the remaining Tbs oil and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook to desired doneness, 4-5 minutes for med-rare. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.

3. Add the spinach to the hot skillet with the onions, season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, and toss with the onions until beginning to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the spinach and onions to plates and drizzle with the vinegar. Serve with the steak and blue cheese, if desired. 

Spinach Tortilla with Veggies

1 package of large spinach tortillas

1 package of frozen corn (yellow and white)

1 can black beans, drained

1 can rotel, drained

2 Tbs cheese

1. Heat oven to 350. Meanwhile, place tortilla on a baking sheet, sprinkle with cheese. Add 2 spoonfulls each black beans, corn, and rotel. 

2. Place in oven (not needing to preheat fully) 10-12 minutes. Cook until cheese is melted or tortilla is slightly golden brown on edges. 

3. Let cool 1 minute, and roll up the tortilla and enjoy!!

I'm ready to Rock'N'Roll this marathon...sort of

Haiden got his 6 month shots today, and was a bit cranky, but nothing that some yummy fruits wouldn't cure. I made some more homemade baby food, this time green beans! I added a little apple sauce and barley (as always) and with in 5 minutes it was gone! I can't believe what a great eater Haiden is, and I can't wait to make him more food, and start adding spins on things to help develop his young pallet. 


The entire family took naps today, I know why Haiden wanted his naps :D Zach and I both crashed out with Haiden for 2 hours today! And I had already taken another nap for 45 minutes with Haiden earlier in the morning. I felt so out of it today, I think I need to really make sure I'm staying hydrated. Between walking around on base everywhere, and now training in the evenings, I have to up my water intake like crazy. Which means more bathroom runs, and waking in the middle of the night...but I will feel better during the day, so it kind of equals out. 


Around dinner time, I was NOT feeling training, the thought of running made me feel even more out of it than I already did (my stomach was in knots and my head felt foggy). But after dinner Zach suggested we go for a walk, and I thought...why not. I was thinking that if I ended up feeling better once we got out and were walking, that we could end up training. I jogged after the second mile of walking, and said oops! I hadn't changed my clothes and wasn't wearing an essential clothing item, all girls need to do sports! So we just walked close to 4 miles, and watched the sun set, even saw a little family of raccoons and a few other raccoons here and there! All in all, even though we skipped training and will have to make it up later, we had a great, long walk. 


July 30
Time: 33:15
Distance: 2.00 miles
Calories Burned: 149


Time: 45:09
Distance: 2.3 miles
Calories Burned: 1.76


July 31
Time: 19:41
Distance: 1.13 miles
Calories Burned: 77


Time: 1:15:12
Distance: 3.84 miles
Calories Burned: 294


Along with our training we are still trying to eat fully rounded meals, here are some we've had so far this week:

Beef, Potato and Onion Stuffed Peppers

 

1 14.5oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
salt/pepper
4 large red bell peppers (the ones at our market looked shady, so I went with green)
1 small onion. chopped
1 small potato. chopped
1 cup parsley
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 pound beef


1. In the bottom of a 5-6qt slow cooker combine: salt, pepper, crushed tomato and oregano. 
2. If the peppers do not stand upright, slice off a thin piece off the bottom, finely chop the piece and place in a large bowl. Add onion, potato, parsley, and crushed red pepper to the large bowl and toss to combine. Add the beef and mix.
3. Using a paring knife at a slight angle, cut off the tops of the peppers; discard the seeds. Spoon beef mix into peppers.
4. Arrange peppers in slow cooker, place tops back on top of pepper. Cook, covered until beef is cooked all the way through and peppers are tender. 3-4 hours on high, 5-6 hours on low.

Garlicky Roasted Shrimp, Red Peppers and Feta

1-1/2 lb large peeled and deveined shrimp

1 12oz jar roasted red pepper, drain and cut 1in slices

4 scallions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs dry white wine

1 Tbs lemon juice

salt/pepper

2 Tbs canola oil

4oz feta cheese, crumbled

flat bread for serving

1. Heat oven 425. In a 1.5-2qt baking dish combine the shrimp, peppers, scallions, garlic, wine, lemon juice and salt/pepper.

2. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with feta. Bake until shrimp are opaque 12-15 minutes.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbs canola oil

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch cayenne

salt/pepper

4 lb small sweet potatoes, cut 3/4in wedges

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1. Heat oven 375. In a large bowl combine sugar, oil, cinnamon, cayenne, salt/pepper. 

2. Add sweet potatoes, sprinkle with Parmesan and toss to coat. Divide potatoes between 2 large rimmed baking sheets and arrange in even layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan and roast, rotating pans 1/2 way through. Cook until deep golden brown and tender. 50-60 minutes. 

Half-Marathon training is ON!

I'm not sure if it's the fact that we are watching the Olympics, and everyone on the screen makes me feel so out of shape, or the fact that we got new shoes and Haiden is now 6 months old...but Zach and I have started our marathon training. It is a 12 week program, and the race is in February. I downloaded an app, and it was so misleading!! I got very frustrated. The app said the first day would go something like this: walk 30 seconds, jog 30 seconds, walk 60 seconds, jog 90 seconds. And since it has been OVER a year, since I have done any serious jogging (I have jogged here and there, but mainly ride my bike and walk), I wanted to start with a schedule I could actually keep up with. However, we walk to the track at 11am (holy spicolli it was freakishly hot!!) and I open the app, it says: warm up 5 minutes, jog 15 minutes, cool down 5 minutes. Um...I 1. just got new shoes and was going to try and break them in, 2. I CAN'T RUN! lol! Seriously, I thought I was going to pass out and just fall over the jogging stroller! It was pretty horrible, so I tried power walking for the "jogging" part after my new shoes said stop, and it was so horribly miserably hot! We are now going to run at night, and if this app keeps up the impossible, then I will have to get another one. My thought is, this is a training schedule, therefore I should accomplish each task every day, and if I'm not able to do even that, then it seems like I'm not advancing from day to day. It is more like advancing every couple of days, once I catch up with the days I didn't do the whole training. 

Zach and I both got a bit burned, and are good to go now, but again we will be running at night now, and if it rains, we can do the treadmills at the gym. I did stretching before and after the training and the again before I went to bed for the night, along with 200 crunches. This morning I feel a bit sore in my shoulders, I guess from the jogging stroller and I feel so tired. But, overall, I feel great!! 


July 29
Time: 1:07:02
Distance: 3.22 miles
Calories Burned: 238


Along with training, or I guess as part of it, we went shopping last night for groceries, and have made a few changes, but not many to our diet. I am going to only make desserts and sweets, when we have company, or for holidays. And we are trying to clean out the cupboards to make room for healthier food (ie better for fueling your body for long distance runs). 

Smoothies (my new ice cream substitute) 

16 oz 100 grape juice
1 peach sliced, frozen
handful of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries (each) frozen
6 large strawberries, frozen


Blend everything together in a blender, make sure all fruit is frozen. Do not add any more liquid, just blend well. Eat with a spoon :D

Fried Mozzarella (trying to clean out the kitchen)

Frozen egg roll, rolling paper, thawed
string cheese
1 TBS canola oil


Wrap up the string cheese in the egg roll paper, and place in a frying pan. Using a bit of oil fry each roll 3-5 min each side. If the cheese starts to really pour out, remove from pan to let cool. You want the cheese to just start to pour out, to know they are done. 

We only get one of these a day lol, but they are delicious!!