New Recipes and Fall in DC

For dinner on Wednesday night I wanted risotto but I also wanted to take advantage of the precooked rice in my fridge. Enter - Lazy Risotto:

• roasted butternut squash, mushrooms
• 1/4c kidney beans
• 1/2c brown rice
• 1/3c frozen peas
• ~2-3 T vegetable broth
• splashes of soy sauce
• garlic powder and 21 Seasoning Salute

While I still formulated my plan of attack, I got my veggies roasting in the oven. I roasted up butternut squash, baby portobella mushrooms, and brussel sprouts at *425 for about 45 minutes.

When the veggies had about 5 minutes left, I got to work on the risotto. In a small non-stick sprayed pan I added 1/2c brown rice and frozen peas and let heat for a couple of minutes. Then I added a splash of vegetable broth and spices, stirred it all up, and pulled my vegies out of the oven. I added the kidney beans, ~3/4c butternut squash and mushrooms, and more broth and soy sauce and stirred until slightly creamy. The broth did a great job of hydrating the rice and the soy sauce and spices brought everything together.

Topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. This was a winner!

A few weeks ago I found this recipe and couldn't get it out of my head.  I used one half to make my own Twice Baked Acorn Squash and it was delicious. I only stuffed mine with frozen spinach, broccoli, and a bit of grated cheddar and it was delicious. I ate the whole thing, skin and all!

As promised, here are the pictures I took on my short little stroll yesterday afternoon. Fall is officially in full swing in DC!

Gluten Free Dinner Party, Part 3

So I feel bad that dessert got lost from my dinner party recap. I mean, I guess I was saving the best for last... really last :) With Halloween coming up this weekend, I thought that now was as good a time as any to share a healthy dessert that is naturally gluten free and easy to prepare!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then wash, dry, and core your apples. Have fun with your apples if you want ;)

Arrange your apples in a tray that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. This will help your apples not stick to the bottom of the tray.

Top your apples with cinnamon, raisins, agave nectar, maple syrup, and raisins. I don't have any measurements for what was used but you'll be fine eye-balling it. I know I didn't use too much syrup or nectar though.

Bake at 325 for 1 hr 20 minutes or until apples are soft and the skin is wrinkled. Tip: place these in the oven just as you are placing your meal out for your guests. They'll be done by the time you're ready for dessert!

Enjoy!

Restless Legs

Thanks to the Cowboys, I was up way too late on Monday night :-/ I have kind of been struggling to have a normal sleep schedule over the past few weeks but hopefully with a more regular schedule now I can get back on track.

Yesterday I brought breakfast with me to the office this morning - hot cereal with blueberries, cinnamon, and peanut butter. No matter what alternative I find for breakfast while traveling, I always look forward to a bowl of hot cereal when I get back. Mmmm.

I had a training appointment scheduled for my lunch hour so I had a snack of an egg white on a slice of Udi's bread for a snack. Carbs and protein in my favorite form :)

When I showed up for my appointment, I discovered that my trainer (who is also a physical therapist) had been double booked. Another trainer was nice enough to meet with me still but we didn't work out as I asked for the appointment to be rescheduled at this point. I made good use of my gym time though and tackled my running workout for the day. I picked the Women's Health running plan since it builds up to running for 30 minutes straight utilizing the walk / run method. I've committed to the plan and getting back my cardio fitness which I hope to put to the test at this year's Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K!

I grabbed a salad with grilled chicken breast for lunch for protein. This salad had: romaine, spinach, spring mix, carrots, baby corn, black bean mix, roasted broccoli (from home), olives, and cucumber with a small piece of chicken on top plus 1 piece of veggie sushi.

The afternoon flew by but boy was it hard. My legs were restless after a mid-day workout and my butt did not want me sitting! I took a short stroll to enjoy the quiet skies and beautiful foliage. I'll be sharing more of my walk later this week but here's a sneak peek:

I took care of a few errands after work including canceling my old gym membership and another trip to Whole Foods. I forgot a few things on Monday and just had to go back :)

For dinner I tried out a new soup recipe from one of my favorite magazines, Vegetarian Times. This soup featured some of my favorite veggies plus buckwheat! Since I copied the recipe exactly I can't type it up but it included onion, grated carrot, corn, black beans, bell pepper, vegetable broth, bay leaf, and buckwheat.

I served up a bowl with some blue corn Food Should Taste Goods, a bit of cheese, and hot sauce. Delish.

It was a typical Tuesday night of Biggest Loser as I developed a headache while cooking. Otherwise I would have been at the High Heeled Drag Race :) My snack was a pear with cinnamon and some almond butter.

I got a good night's sleep and woke up this morning feeling refreshed. I mixed up my standard bowl of hot cereal by topping this one with some heated fig jam and maple syrup, pecans, and almond butter. My taste buds appreciated the change of pace!

The morning flew by and I enjoyed another bowl of soup with chips and a simple greens salad for lunch.

I was hungrier than usual for my afternoon snack so I had some baked beans, the rest of my salad greens, and a cheese stick.

With all the antsy feelings I had yesterday, you'd think today I'd feel the same. However, this was not the case. My legs were tired, heavy, and slow to move. I guess that's the beauty of a rest day, right?

Not sure what's on tap yet for tonight but I'm guess it will include some Rangers baseball, a new recipe, and Modern Family :)

Do you workout on a whim or do you put together a training plan? How do you deal with antsy feelings during the work day?

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

There were a few other titles I had in mind for tonight's post:

•  A first time for everything
• Grateful for Exercise
• Say whaaaa?

But I picked the broadest title so I could fit it all in ;)

The past couple of days have been interesting, but I would say the last 20 minutes of tonight have been most enlightening. More on that in a sec...

The Good:

• My new gym. Today as I was cooling down and stretching the Fitness Manager came over to check in and see how I'm liking it so far. He also followed up on a couple of things and remembered small details from our conversation on Tuesday. #win
• I CAN RUN! This has been no secret but I've committed myself to getting back into running shape. Today I did my second running workout plus 2 miles on the elliptical. I'll slowly rediscover my love for endorphins. I know it!
• Having positive motivation. When I was tired or wanted to cut my workout short, I reminded myself how much being on bed rest and in a boot sucked and wasn't I lucky to be able to be exercising at that moment. 
• Lots of good eats.
• Finally meeting Alex who started her grad school program this fall. We had a great coffee date and I am so thankful she was willing to give me some tips on Philly for the weekened.
• I'm heading to Philly over the weekend to help lead a sorority training. Bonus #1 - we are doing it with a partner fraternity. Bonus #2 - It's my dad's fraternity and he and I get to have some time to see the sights in Philly!!
• I won't be taking accounting for the second module of the semester...
• And, I've eaten a large bunch of kale in 3 days. Mmmmm :)

The Bad:

• I got my Accounting final test and final course grade, hehe
• I feel like I wasted my money on that class since I'll have to retake it once I'm admitted in the MBA program
• The thought of that makes me nauseous
• Getting that grade is laughable and liberating... but I don't think it's for a good reason... does that make sense?

The Ugly:

• "Tomatoes with issues." I guess it could be worse!  Or snowing...
• Type-A Sarah kind of feels like a failure for not acing accounting, even though the class is a butt-kicking for 80% of the people who take it... Bye bye endorphins for the night.

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm having a huge pity party over here. I'm well aware that this stress and whatnot is optional and really a privilege in a weird way. I have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, and my health. I know many people do not even have the gift of an undergraduate college education or even of finishing high school. Yet after devoting a lot of time and energy into something to fall short feels kinda sucky. On the flip side, classes thus far have been really enlightening on a multitude of levels and I feel like I know more of what I like, what I don't, and what my real passions are.

Enough serious stuff for now, onto the food!

Breakfasts the past 2 days have been lovely bowls of hot cereal. Since I have leftover unsweetened applesauce I've been adding a small spoonful to my bowl in the morning. Yesterday's bowl had blueberries and today's had blueberries plus some diced pear. All topped with nut butter!

Lunch yesterday was one of my favorite sandwiches - a grilled "cheese" sandwich: 2 slices of Udi's whole grain bread, red pepper hummus, red pepper spread, and spinach. This combo never disappoints! I had half a serving of tomato soup plus a little salad on the side.

Today's lunch was a result of the intense meat cravings I've been having since yesterday afternoon. I had a drop of chili, beef stew, a side salad, and kale chips. An odd combo but it was filling and delicious.

Snacks have been apples with some peanut butter spread on.

Last night I had a really intense craving for meat which led me to explore my freezer in hopes of finding something buried under all my frozen veggies :) I found this little bit of leftover spaghetti and meat sauce from Maggiano's from March (because I'm Type-A and labeled it with the date) and a big salad with beets, carrots, romaine, and spinach and kale.

Tonight I had a detour to make after the gym to pick up a few things at the White House farmers market and couldn't decide what I wanted to eat. I finally got inspired: roasted veggie salad and Alexia oven fries. On a bed of spinach and romaine I had a mix of roasted veggies: 2 carrots, half an onion, some broccoli, and okra. Topped with some cheese and Amy's Italian dressing.

Last night's snack was half a pear and a toaster waffle and tonight's will be the other half a pear and maybe some toast. We'll see :)

I'm off to pack, maybe write my last paper for my leadership class, and watch Grey's.



 How do you motivate yourself when exercising? Have you ever disappointed your own expectations? Do you have any tips for getting over the "not the grade I was hoping for" blues?