Food for Thought

One of the things I love about my friends is our ability to engage each other in real, honest, and thought provoking conversations. Of course there's fun thrown in there too. Yet I always find myself appreciative of the opportunity to challenge my assumptions and become a better person.

After reading this Mama's post about how a movie enforced her decisions to not eat animals (among other things - it's a good read!) my wheels started spinning. Add to that a new-to-me thought about the eggs I purchased at the farmers market and have been eating this week and all of the food learning I've engaged in over the past three years. At dinner tonight I shared my thoughts and reactions with my friend and we moved on to more fun topics. Later another topic came up that prompted this thought: Is it enough to make ethical decisions solely about food or solely in interactions with colleagues in the workplace, etc.? If not (which I believe it's not),where do you put your foot down?

Without going into the conversation we had let's just say that my mind is deep in thought about letting some things slide when one takes such a strong, ethical stand on so many aspects of life. I've added a new dimension to my previous assumptions and am trying to decide how I feel.

What do you think? Can some parts of life be more ethical than others? Do your friends ever provide good food-for-thought?

On to the eats!  This morning I got to enjoy my second oats in a jar this week. Am I lucky or what?? This time the jar was crunchy almond butter with flax (~1/2T) with the standard mix with blueberries and cinnamon. Delish! I always get so sad when I finish this breakfast because I know I have a ways to go before the next one gets to be enjoyed.

The morning flew by and before I knew it, lunch time had arrived! I had a salad with roasted veggies and chicken breast with some grapes on the side.

Then things got interesting. Mid-afternoon a colleague on my floor walked through and told us we needed to evacuate the building because of a gas leak. I grabbed all of my things and headed out the door. We first stood across the street and then moved to the end of the block when emergency response blocked off the entire street and Haz Mat arrived. It was quite intense!  We camped out in another meeting and my stomach grumbled as it was snack time. I managed to pick up this salad with veggies and a few chips with hummus to hold me over.

Shortly thereafter we were given the all clear to enter our building. It turns out that someone turned on the boiler on the roof after it had been off for a while. They didn't think to warm it up first or open windows and it emitted high levels of CO2. Luckily everyone was ok and we finished out the work day.
 
I came home, snacked on an apple with cinnamon and some PB and took care of a bunch of things before meeting said friend from the start of my post for dinner.

I had a Groupon to a Greek restaurant named Zorba's that I've been excited to use. Tonight was the night. I had actually been tweeting with them about the addition of gluten free beer and Greg, one of the managers (?) had offered to buy me my 1st beer when I came in.

I met Greg who was very nice and helped guide me through the menu of what was safe to order and what was not. He made sure the cooks knew that my order was gluten free as well so that there wouldn't be any contamination issues or anything. He also stayed true to his word and served me up my first beer! I was clueless and poured it straight into the glass only to be laughed and yelled at by my friend to tilt the glass. I'm a total newbie! I had some of it over the course of the night but it's definitely a very acquired taste. I thought it was like bitter, fizzy water O:-)

Friend and I split the Fire Roasted Feta which I got with sliced veggies instead of pita bread.

My entree was the Fasolia Plakee which had white beans baked with onions, tomatoes, parsley and other herbs, served with Greek salad, a house-made roll and two dolmathes. Instead of the roll I got double salad which was a perfect substitution!

And for dessert, rice pudding which is a favorite indulgent dessert.

I ate a small portion of the feta, half of my entree, and just a few bites of the pudding and left perfectly full and happy. It was another great meal at Zorba's (it's one of my family's favorite places to go in DC) and of course, great conversation with a great friend.

It's time to get to bed - just one more day stands in between me and the weekend. I can't wait! G'night!

It's Been a Long Time Coming

When I laid on my couch, unable to walk because of a sesamoid stress fracture in my left foot, I started losing hope that I may never get better and not be able to run. A few months later I got the ok to start back on the elliptical and in a few weeks, try running.

3 weeks after my doctor's ok was last night. I had meetings all day which prevented me from walking home for lunch, getting in some additional mileage and exercise. I couldn't sit still all day. I fidgeted and twitched all morning long. I shook my legs throughout a 2 hour meeting, annoying the person sitting next to me. I made up my mind that when I got home I was going for a walk.

I put on my running shorts, grabbed my charged iPod sitting on a shelf, and laced up my sneakers tight enough to hold my feet in position. I qued up my favorite cardio music and walked out the door. I had decided that I was strong enough to venture out on a route that I haven't visited since my injury.

Running this path was like rejoining a community. I must have seen hundreds of bikers, joggers, runners, and walkers. All of them reminded me that DC has an active community of which I love being a part of. That trait is one of the things that drew me to Washington, DC is the first place. I was back. I have walked this path and run this path and today no one could tell I was recovering from an injury. I was just another exerciser.

I had avoided this path when I started doing my recovery walks because in my mind that route was something of strength and what my athletic self used to do. I quickly pushed aside those thought and set out on my way. I told myself I should try to run. "Slow and steady wins the race" played throughout my head to remind me to take it really slow. I felt like I had a second brain in my left foot, ready to alert me at a moments notice if anything felt wrong. That brain never shouted at me!!

I ran twice in the first part of that path and felt like shouting from the rooftops. My body felt strong. My legs, albeit a little different looking than in February, carried me confidently on my way. My lungs were up for the challenge and damn it, I was flying (running?) high.

I continued walking with a few spurts of running here and there. My path led me down to the National Mall via the back of the Lincoln Memorial. I couldn't help but think about how often I'd been down there before but that it'd been a long long time. I decided to walk to the front of Lincoln and subconsciously my arm reached for the pause button. I took a couple of minutes to marvel at the beauty of the mall -  the Washington Monument with the Capital behind it. Lincoln with the sun setting behind him. The green trees lining a place that offered hope and inspired many. And then I walked to the dirt path along the reflecting pool and ran some more. Sans music - I wanted to hear crunch of my feet on the soft(er) dirt path, my breath, the birds, and savor it all.

Savor it I did. When I reached the World War II Memorial I really felt like I had found a piece of myself. Screw yoga, I was in a zen state of mind and nothing was going to change that.

I completed my walk / run with a few more bouts of running and made my way home. I listened to my head when it told me I should save some gas for the next time, that I shouldn't overdo it now. This was just my first time back and I didn't need to set myself back. And I stretched to make sure I ended the 4.5 mile run the way I should.

A sense of a runner's high has returned to me and I have a feeling I'll be on Cloud 9 for a few days. I felt like I left some frustration and angst regarding my injury on the pavement and it feels so good.

There were a lot more revelations I had on this run. It was my own little therapy session and a great one at that. 

I reconnected with a part of me I was beginning to think had left. I am a different person though. I ran. And I realized:

I am resilient in the face of challenges. I have succeeded in the past and I will succeed again in the future. I don't doubt my own ability. I am stronger than I was in February and in so many ways. I love living an active life. I am appreciative of what my body can do, think, and say. And I appreciate all of the support and encouragement from family, friends, and blends as I continue to recover from my injury. Here's to more pain-free recovery runs!

Like My Mom

As a kid I really loved the fact that my parents' birthdays were just 1 week apart. It made for fun celebrations 2 weekends in a row! My mom is 51 weeks older than my dad and it was fun to point out (which my brother and I did repeatedly) that they were the same age for a week every year.  :)

Despite being a Daddy's Girl, there is no denying that I am my mother's daughter. After all, when she was 22, she picked up and moved across the country to Dallas to escape the cold weather in Pittsburgh. She liked it so much she stayed, met my dad, and the rest is history. I tease her that I did the same thing, moving from Dallas to DC, but I'm not sold on this whole cold weather thing for the rest of my life! I guess moving, independence, and hating cold are genetic :)

My mom always made sure my brother and I had a good breakfast before we headed off to school. That habit has definitely stuck although I rarely eat dinner leftovers for breakfast anymore (before the invention of decent gluten free breakfast options)! I kick-started my day with my favorite bowl of overnight cereal: 1/4c BRM hot cereal plus buckwheat groats, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon, blueberries and raspberries, crushed almond slivers, and 1/2T of peanut butter. Solid start to my day!

Those who know me will tell you that I'm not afraid to speak my mind or stick up for myself, my family, and my friends. I learned this from my mom who is the best advocate anyone could have. She's a fighter, in more ways than one, and I'm glad she's got my back.

When I got the crazy idea to walk 39.3 miles to raise awareness for breast cancer in honor of my mom surviving the disease, my mom encouraged me and decided to join me in the adventure. Despite training in 2 separate cities, she joined me in DC and together we completed a marathon and a half in 36 hours! Take that breast cancer! That weekend was memorable in so many ways and I'm glad we shared the experience together. I learned what when something gets you down you stand up and fight for what you want and don't take no for an answer.

When I'm home, my mom and I love going to lunch. It's a fun break in the workday and gives us a chance to eat where we like (and not worry about the boys in the family) and catch up on things. Even though we didn't lunch together, I enjoyed a packed lunch during a meeting. I had a huge salad with lettuce, romaine, roasted veg, 2oz grilled chicken, and Annie's lite Italian dressing. I also had some vegan herb crackers I made over the weekend.

I am often not surprised at all that I found an interest in food blogging and cooking. Growing up, my mom cooked almost every night and we had dinner together as a family. Some of the dinners were quicker than others, but we had healthy options and spent time as a family sharing our days and talking about other fun things.

My mom is an amazing cook. I start looking forward to our Thanksgiving meal weeks in advance because I can't wait to have those special, homemade dishes! This is a woman who lovingly makes ravioli, gnocchi, tomato sauce, and more from scratch to spoil the ones she loves. I get my knack for cooking throughout winter to warm the house from her and we both love to experiment in the kitchen.

I snacked on a peach mid-afternoon and then headed home and had a second snack of toast, half with cheese and half with nut butter. I needed some fuel for my 4.5 walk / run!

 

Dinner tonight was a salad plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce and some roasted veggies. I had to honor my Italian side, after all, I get all that from my mom's side of the family.

Now I'm relaxing and getting ready for the week to wrap up.  I snacked on some fruit and am ready to call it a night. But first,

Happy birthday Mom!! I hope you've had a fantastic day!