Chicken Chili - Success!!!

Yes! It was a success! Now let me define a successful new recipe in my home. I need my husband (a real meat and potatoes man in construction) to like it. I need my 12 year old to eat it without me threatening her every 5 minutes. It also means that it is high protein, good carbs and fits into my nutritional demands for a "healthy" meal. I do have to admit that the sodium is high, but otherwise it's good. It was a hit!

Recipe:

1/2 bag navy beans
1 chicken breast (left over chicken from previous meal even)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Sea Salt
Dash of Garlic Salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 - 1/4 cup chopped peppers (optional)

Soak the navy beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Cook on low in a crockpot (slow cooker) for 4 hours then add chicken. (I cut 1 chicken breast up into small pieces, sauteed in cooking spray, liberally doused with garlic salt and pepper) Add onion and peppers and chicken stock. Turn to high. After about an hour add all the seasonings. I learned when I was 21 that if you season beans before they are soft - they will NEVER get soft!!

I had 1 frozen chicken breast in my freezer which is what actually started me thinking about and building this recipe. You can use any kind of left over chicken you have in your fridge and of course you can make more. I only need to feed 3 people and when had a good bit of leftovers. You can also make it spicier but remember - my 12 year old. You can also use less salt and make it healthier. Served it with cornbread and baked sweet potatoe. Hope you like it.

Going to look outside at our precious 3 inches of snow! See you guys tomorrow.

A Watched Pot Never Boils - But Boy an Unwatched One Does

So after running this morning (nothing spectacular just 3.6 miles at an 11 min pace) I decided to hard boil some eggs for today's lunch and other things later in the week. I put the pot on with 3 eggs and my egg shaped timer that changes colors when the eggs are hard boiled.

Then I got on the phone for a conference call for work. Roughly 40 minutes later I race into the kitchen!! LOL - well they were HARD BOILED eggs alright. I never over cook my eggs - unless you count today. Still chopped one into my salad for lunch and it was fine so I put the other 2 up for later this week. These were the Eggslands Best that I got on sale with a coupon for the same price as store brand.

Tomorrow on the work out front I've got to give my legs a break. Some intense work this week has them sore - but looking good! So a lot of upper body work and that's about it. Big run planned for Friday morning.

I'm very excited that tomorrow I'm going to make white bean chicken chili. This is a recipe that I've been tossing around in my head so I'm going to try it tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. If it's good I'll post the recipe, if it's not . . . well maybe I'll make something up.

Everyone stay warm in this snowmagedon out there . . .

Record Breaking Run!!!

Whew, after attending my daughter's gymnastics meet Sunday night (and missing every single moment of the Super Bowl) and getting in at 12:30 am, Monday was one tough day! My legs were killing me ALL day on Sunday too. And not feeling too good Monday morning.



I ate my grown up PBandJ (which is really organic raw almond butter and not peanut butter) on whole wheat toast for breakfast and I figured I'd try a run. But the day kept getting away from me more and more. It was nearly lunch time and I thought, "I'll just try a jog, maybe at a 5 mph pace."

BUT - I got on that treadmill and took OFF! I ran 1 mile at the 6 mph pace without a "walk" interval which I always need. I've never done that before! Then I continued to run 1/2 mile intervals at the 6 mph with 1 min at 4 mph rest intervals. Finished 3.135 miles in 33 minutes for a pace of 10:33!!!!! I know that's not super fast but it is FAST for me!

For dinner I baked chicken quarters with potatoes, baby carrots, garlic and lemon (and a little butter) and it was delicious! But we were exhasted last night. So everyone went to bed early!

Today I did a 3 mile walk along with 2 sets of 15 reps of squat and press, bicep curl with lunges, dumbell rows, tricep extensions, overhead tricep extensions, hammer curls and chest flyes. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a 3.5 mile run again!



Tonight I am ready for another episode of LOST!! Anyone else following their last year? I'm super excited!!

I Listened to My Body and it Said WTH???

Well yesterday I ran my personal best time and today I put my feet on the ground and OUCH! My lower legs were soooo sore. They felt abused. Not the soreness you get from a big work out but the kind of sore that comes from them slamming into the ground over and over again to do that thing I call running.

So I ate a good breakfast of an egg over medium and slice of whole wheat toast then decided to rest for a while. I wasn't going to run today anyway just walk and do weights. As the day wore on my resolve DISsolved and I gave in. A rest day is not out of the question, especially since I've worked out pretty hard all week, BUT I know tomorrow is a rest day too - THAT'S the problem.

Tomorrow we have a 3 hour drive to have lunch with family, visit some then my daughter competes in a gymnastics meet. By the time it is over we'll be lucky if we get home by 1:00 am. YUCK! Monday is going to stink! But she loves this meet and we get to roll in some family time too so it's worth it.

So I think taking today as a rest day was the right decision. It does no good to push to the point of injury and undo all this good work I've done to my body. I'm so proud of the shape I'm in and I'm a little addicted to working out so I just have to get over the guilt and push it good on Monday. See you then!

I Escaped and ate a Grown Up PBandJ!

I made it out of Maryland last night. I didn't get home until LATE and I was exhausted so no post yesterday. The airport was packed yesterday afternoon - everyone was trying to get out before the "blizzard". It's hitting now. Glad I'm back in SC where it is yucky but not frozen.




So on the plane yesterday I was reading Runner's World magazine. It suggested whole wheat toast and jelly for a quick breakfast before a morning run. The jelly gives you that much needed immediate energy rush when you haven't eaten since dinner the night before. So this morning I had 1 piece of toast, my Maranatha Raw Organic Almond Butter, and 1/2 tsp of Smuckers Strawberry fruit spread. I ran my fastest time ever! 3.68 miles in 40 minutes which is 1 mile every 10:53 minutes. (Ok I didn't say it was THE fastest time ever, just MINE!) I did 200 crunches and stretched. I also had a protein drink afterwards to reward my muscles.




Update on the alegebra front: My daughter made a 100 on a quiz!!! This is not a full test but still, we've never seen a 100 in Algebra. She's also opening up to the idea of moving to the Advanced class. I'm glad because I still think this is going to be the best thing for her but we'll see.

So I am extremely happy it is Friday! I won't even tell you what we are having for dinner because it is so bad you just won't be able to see me as a "healthy" person - LOL!! But tomorrow I am hoping for a 3 mile WALK, upper and lower body work out, and some nice down time. Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

On the Road Again

And the air. Today I flew to MD for work and evidently I am one of a select few people willing to break INTO the state this week. I was upgraded to first class on the plane, the bags came off 30 minutes faster than usual and I was actually in my rental car on my way in less than 45 minutes after landing! That NEVER happens.

A HUGE record breaking snow storm is headed to this state on Friday night. So I'm going to get the heck out of here by tomorrow afternoon. This is a nice place to visit but no place to be stuck with only 1 change of underwear!

So I tried some Whey Isolate Protein powder in my greek yogurt this morning and WOW - that's what I should have been doing. I used the strawberry and it was SO good. Much better than the banana and blue agave. I kept my eating pretty clean the rest of the day with a ham sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch, naval orange for a snack and a Wendy's salad for dinner. Not bad for traveling.



I spoke with my daughter's teacher again today and we really think moving her to another class would be beneficial all around for her. The catch? She doesn't want to. She's afraid of what her friends will say. Now keep in mind we are talking about moving her from Honors Algebra to Advanced Algebra not some huge demotion! So we're going to wait until mid-term and if she doesn't have a solid grasp by that time, we'll make the change regardless of her opinion. I think it's just too much pressure for her and heaven knows she shouldn't have this much pressure at her age. We have years and years to get this algebra stuff down! This is the focus on the healthy mind.

Well I'm off to bed. When you stay in a hotel with only 1 treadmill in the fitness center, you have to get up pretty early to get a spot on it! Good night everyone.

I started with Greek Yogurt, ended with Velveeta

So I wake up and mash 1/2 a banana into my greek acidophilus yogurt sweetened with a little natural blue agave sweetener.


I was so proud. Then I ran 3.55 miles in 40 minutes which is a mile every 10:58 minutes! Great improvement in speed for me! Then the day went downhill from there!

So I log on to my daughter's school website to check her grades and WHOA! She's never been a straight A student but failing grades in 2 subjects??? I frantically email 2 teachers begging for conferences and then go about getting to work and getting through the rest of my day.

After hearing from both teachers, calling my mom, and discussing the situation with my husband we come to the conclusion that Honors Algebra may just be too much. So after a long discussion about switching to a different math class, reducing her gymnastics schedule and improving study habits . . . well I dove into a batch of Velveeta, salsa and tortilla chips. So I wonder if the organic greek yogurt and velveeta just cancel each other out?

LOL - well, I just need to keep making healthy changes slowly but surely where I can. And try desperately to help my 12 year old make it through middle school. Maybe she and I BOTH need to focus on a healthy mind AND healthy body!

Why My Job is a Love/Hate Relationship

Ok so I must admit that while my job does cause me to travel a good bit and can be quite stressful - there are a great many things about it that I LOVE!

For instance today! I get to work from home today! I have 5 properties along the East Coast trying to climb out of snow and ice and update info in their computer systems so that I can process a region wide report that is due at 10:00 am. Our systems went down at 8:30 am. BLAH! So now everyone is scrambling, report deadlines have to be postponed and drama ensues.

I scheduled myself to work out at 7:30 am. That didn't happen because of various things keeping me tied to my computer. BUT after the system came up I was able to jump on my treadmill at 9:30 am! How could I do that with any other job?

So today I ran 3.55 miles in 40 minutes which equals a mile every 11:17 minutes. That seems to be my pace. I need to pick it up! I also did bicep curls, overhead press and hammer curls with 10lb weights. Tricep Extensions, chest flyes and tricep overhead extensions with 8lb weights. 2 sets of 15 reps of all. 200 crunches were included and 3 sets of 25 push ups. I ran 57.4 miles in January. I'm shooting for 50 miles in February - it's a short month! :)

I found a new way to do my tricep overhead extension and I could really feel a difference. I had to slow it down though.

Now off to grab a bite to eat and get back to work.

Just getting started

So I watched Julie and Julia and wondered what in the heck this blogging stuff was all about. I'm a married mother of 1 with a highly stressful job that keeps me on the road a good bit. I don't do anything really important, but it feels stressful and takes a lot of my time nonetheless.

Working out helps relieve a lot of that stress. But sometimes it adds it as I have to make sure I get in a good work out. Perfectionist by nature doesn't always serve me well.

I have no idea what goals I really want to accomplish in life. I was watching an old Frasier re-run the other day and he asked the lady he was having dinner with "Who are you?" She responded that she was a claims adjuster or something. Frasier said, "No, what are your dreams, your goals?". And she said, "To be a senior claims adjuster." Hmmm, that's how I feel sometimes. I don't know what my dreams are anymore. Anyway - just wondering if anyone else feels the same?