So I wanted to talk today about something that I recently noticed about myself… I am a true Internet addict. Yes, many of us spend quite a bit of our time online (especially bloggers!) but for me the problem is that… once I pop, I can’t stop! Okay, maybe that exact expression is more fitting for chips, but seriously… if I allow myself “just 1 minute” to check the email, several hours pass by and its way past my bedtime. I check an email – that leads to a website, or twitter… and you know where that gets you. Twitter is not exactly productive. I’ve been trying to set a strict “bed time” but it’s not working. Anyone else is an Internet addict? I know at least a few of you are. Any tips of how to take it a little easier, or at least help with the whole “get in bed at a reasonable hour so you don’t look and feel like a zombie in the morning”?

You know what helps a bit in the morning though?

BREAKFAST!

How do you like that segway? Oh I crack myself up…

2 When Pigs Fly maple, pineapple, raisin with toasted sesame and ginger toasts with crunchy Barney Butter and a kiwi

Yum, yum, yum. Sweet and sour. Time for work!

MID-MORNING SNACKS

Shelling peas and 1 almond stuffed medjool date (unpictured – I’ll snap a few photos of my new date stuffing method for a future post).

WORKOUT

So Wednesday was my first workout in a week. Yikes! I took a super hard spin class and vowed to never take such a long break from working out again. It was due to a combination of going away for the weekend and work being super busy. Yesterday, I went back for more – this time for an abs + RIPPED class. Basically a crazy awesome bootcamp that I totally thought I couldn’t handle but somehow came out alive out of. The instructor was making fun of me a bit because I kept screwing up. She knows I haven’t been there in a few weeks and we both saw the pretty obvious consequences of such actions. She’s out on vacation next week, but I am going to ace these bootcamp classes again. I used to be one of the best in the class. I want to feel super strong again!!

LUNCH

We had no produce in the house, which meant a quick trip to the farmers market was in order. Here are my 2 favorite booths at the Prudential Center farmers market (open on Thursdays only).

Samira’s Homemade

The 3rd one down is my beloved baba ganoush. They sell it at Whole Foods but it’s cheaper at the farmers market since it cuts out the middle man. I stocked up!

Hehe, the guy that was working there wanted to be in the picture I think. Here you go, sir – your moment of fame.

Spring Brook Farm

This is definitely one of my favorites at our local farmers markets. I love that the girl that runs it is very knowledgeable about their farming practices and chicken raising (they sell their own eggs – from range free chickens that have their beaks for only $3.50/dozen – that’s cheaper than organic eggs at a super market!!).

I also love that their gorgeous produce is significantly cheaper than anywhere else. I think they actually watch their competition and try to undercut it a bit. Hey works for me. It’s still not cheap (i.e. I know they are well paid) but it’s more affordable compared to others for sure.

I bought SO much stuff there yesterday. It was pretty much a 1 stop shop.

… oh yeah, about lunch. I got a sandwich from the Iggy’s stand. They have the chewiest baguettes. LOVE.

Fresh mozzarella, organic tomatoes, organic basil with white vinegar dressing on buttered ficelle (I could do without the butter )

So fresh and delicious. It also held me off for hours, without making me feel super stuffed. Perfect!

DINNER

How could I forget? CEiMB meals are back! This week’s dish was penne with roasted tomatoes, garlic and white beans (recipe here). I got the tomatoes and basil at the farmers market for it so I felt it still utilized some local produce. I like really centering my meals around that.

This took quite a bit of time to make (not active time, just waiting for the tomatoes and garlic to roast) and I’m not sure that it was worth it. Maybe I overcrowded my tomatoes (I nearly double the amount based on reviews online) but they kind of came out stewed rather than roasted. This was a little on the bland side (again, maybe I should have doubled the garlic and oil too to compensate for the extra tomatoes?). We enjoyed it but I won’t be making it again.

Dessert: Russian apple cake made by my mother in law:

Adam and I each enjoyed a little slice with what was left of the greek yogurt froyo. I need to make another batch!!

Are you an Internet junkie like myself? Make me feel a little better – let me know

Any fun plans for the weekend? We have so much going on. It also happens to be our 2-year wedding anniversary this coming Monday and my dad’s birthday so there is lots to celebrate. See you tomorrow morning with a post.

I kept the menu simple but of course made sure to cook some of my FIL’s favorites – pasta bolognese, fresh homemade rolls… + a special surprise dessert.

Since pasta was going to be the main star ingredient, I wanted to make sure we got the best fresh pasta we could find. Good thing we had a Groupon from Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Sommerville. It was a bit of a drive (not far but with a billion traffic lights in took forever) but the place was so cool! Dave’s offers pasta and ravioli (with the most unique fillings!) made fresh daily. They also have monthly specials for ravioli and sauces.  For the pasta, you can indicate the kind you want (I chose whole wheat) and the cut (see picture for options below).

Pappardelli is my favorite pasta cut and I thought it would go perfectly with the pork bolognese dish I had in mind.

Freshhhhh!

I made a full-fat dessert but decided to keep dinner “lighter” by following this recipe from Cooking Light for spaghetti with pork bolognese. It sounded quite rich already. I believe the “trick” is to use a mixture of ground pork tenderloin (very lean) and regular ground pork (fattier). The guy at the Whole Foods meat counter laughed at Adam when he asked for ground pork tenderloin, but I knew we could just grind it ourselves. We got a pound of pork tenderloin, and after 10 pulses in the food processor, it was perfect! [PS - if you do this, don't pulse for more than 10 pulses, otherwise it will become a pork paste - not exactly the consistency desired here]. I also omitted the onions and celery (we don’t care for either) and used organic bacon instead of pancetta since we already had it in the house. The sauce took a while (not hard, just time consuming) but at the end we had a giant bowl of papardelle with pork bolognese for our (um, my) efforts.

This pasta was rich with A LOT of pork.

I also made some no-knead overnight parmesan and thyme rolls (recipe from Cooking Light can be found here). The picture in the magazine just looked too good and the no-knead promise eluded me into thinking that this was going to be easy. Well, there were certainly a few problems with these guys for me. My yeast seemed dead (I tried it twice and didn’t see any bubbles but went ahead anyway), it didn’t roll very pretty so I cut the rolls in half (I think that was a good decision anyway); I didn’t let it rise for a full hour (since I wasn’t sure that the yeast was fully active, I didn’t bother waiting the entire time)… but they came out all right!

My plate:

I didn’t realize that the traditional bolognese is made with red meat (I knew it, it just didn’t click that this was not what I was making) but it was still pretty good. Not to-die-for amazing but quite good. Adding a pinch of nutmeg and simmering with the cinnamon stick did add nice warmth to this dish. As to the rolls – I really enjoyed the thyme, and they were a little nutty from the olive oil. A little butter went a long way on these.

The pasta was quite rich so I ate only a little over half of it, but I did have this whole glass of Honey Moon Vognier.

Oh, and a slice of Boston cream pie!

It’s my FIL’s favorite, and we all enjoyed it. And yes, you’re going to have to wait for more details on it until the next post.

What’s your favorite kind of cake?

It was Christmas Eve, and both the bootcamp and spin classes were cancelled last minute. I was already at the gym, dressed and ready to go but not really in the mood to push myself on my own. I needed an instructor to tell me what to do. We all have those days, right? This is when I was informed that there was one class available – yoga. Without much thinking, I ran to the studio and I think that practice has changed my life (maybe a bit dramatic but I really think it’s true). I’ve been going back every since, every Thursday, and I think it’s possible that this class contributed to my decision to stop training for my half. The class continues to push me in such a unique way. It’s physically challenging but more importantly, somehow between all the flowing I am able to let go of all this excess. It is opening my mind to the fact that there is no room for self-judgement and “punishment” for silly things. Last Thursday, during shavasana, our instructor passed by each of us and sprayed us with some lavendar. It would be such a strange concept anywhere else outside of a yoga studio but right then and there, it felt so pure and comforting. I wish I could take yoga with me everywhere. Maybe I can. I hope I’ll get there one day.

All right, enough cheesiness (sometimes I can’t help myself ) – let’s EAT. *Back to Sunday*

BREAKFAST

Whole wheat bagel (scooped out) with olive/jalapeno cream cheese and cucumber slices + coffee

Olive cream cheese is my favorite, and jalapeno is my second favorite. This past Sunday, I decided to combine my two cream cheese loves and make my own cream cheese (well, kinda). I chopped up some jalapeno stuffed green olives and mixed them in with plain whipped cream cheese. I also added some olive juice to the mix, just to make sure the cream cheese is really flavored. This was brilliant!!! I’m a genius. lol. The cucumber slices also added a nice crunch and freshness. I love consuming veggies at breakfast!

LUNCH

Leftover (self-made) sushi

A few more closeups. Yes, I’m a proud sushi mama.

SNACKS

A yummy orange while running errands

Then honey caramel tea at Wired Puppy

A little sample of the breakfast glory muffin – it tasted like a carrot cake muffin…mmmm

And then a special treat! I was at Wired Puppy for a coffee date with my friend Katy. She brought these homemade oreos from Hi-Rise Bread bakery.

I had one and thought I died and went to heaven. I savored every bite. So delicious!!

DINNER

We were running low on fresh produce so I was proud to have come up with a delicious (real!) meal for dinner. I used the artichoke, spinach and feta stuffed shells I made a while back as an inspiration, but kept it much simpler. I chopped up some pepperoncinis, combined them with TJ’s tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes and some dried oregano and let it simmer while the pasta was cooking. I boiled 8 oz of whole wheat mini shells, then topped them with some leftover spinach artichoke dip, the sauce and 2 oz of cheese. I baked this for 20 minutes at 350*.

Spicy, creamy, cheesy, carby – I had a happy husband on my hands. Excellent!

There really is some spinach and artichoke dip in there. See?

This was a really great day of eats. I definitely ate intuitively and was happy with the quality and the quantity of my food. If I can eat like that every day, life would be good.

Have your workouts ever inspired other aspects of your life? Maybe just feeling strong and confident is already a big win. I love working out!!

I really wanted my first meal to be elaborate. I wanted to spend hours in the kitchen- chopping, mixing, stirring, baking. When my parents in law mentioned they wanted to come visit us this Sunday to see our new kitchen, Adam and I agreed it would be a great idea to cook for them. I browsed through cookbooks to find that “perfect” recipe. Oh, how I missed this!

Since dinner was going to take a while to prepare, I knew I wanted dessert to be quick and easy. Ellie Krieger’s almond/cherry chocolate clusters is definitely one of my go-to desserts. The recipe has only 3 ingredients and comes together incredibly fast. The best part – it’s SO delicious. How can it not be – it’s almonds, cherries and chocolate!!

Yes, we started our dinner with dessert. That’s my kind of meal!

While I was making the sauce for the lasagna (oops, did I spoil the surprise? ), Adam decided to open the champagne my PILs brought.

Real champagne this time.

Cheers!

The bubbles are so pretty

After hours in the kitchen, dinner was finally ready. I loved that I was able to stay in the kitchen the entire time, yet could 100% participate in all the conversation. The new kitchen is definitely perfect for entertaining!

I used this recipe from The Best Light Recipe cookbook for meat & cheese lasagna. I really trust this cookbook – every single thing I’ve made from it was absolutely perfect (read: tastes like the real thing).

I added some mushrooms to the sauce (when adding the tomatoes) and baby spinach (a few minutes before taking it off the stove and adding the basil) for added nutrients and because I like both (and happened to have them on hand). I think even more veggies would be great – they would bulk up the lasagna and add new flavors and textures.

Some whole wheat toasts, drizzled with EVOO and rubbed with garlic made for easy “garlic bread.”

My plate:

The lasagna was SO good! Seriously, this book never disappoints. My father in law considers himself a lasagna connoisseur and he said this was definitely up there with the best lasagna he’s had. Everyone was shocked that this was a “light recipe.” It was so cheesy and hearty!

On the side, I also served everyone with some escarole with pine nuts (another Ellie Krieger’s recipe). This was great as well. Really flavorful and complemented the creamy lasagna perfectly.

This was a fabulous meal if I do say so myself. I can’t wait for more delicious and healthy eats coming out of our new kitchen!

What would be the first meal you’d make in a new kitchen?

I kept the rest of my toenails in tact, with some pilates and nutritious eats

BREAKFAST

Egg whites, cheese and bacon on a FFL english muffin + coffee

[308 calories]

LUNCH

Ellie Krieger nutty sweet potato soup

[290 calories]

Eaten while on a conference call to make sure I have enough fuel for pilates.

SNACKS

[280 calories]

[120 calories]

+ a Hershey’s chocolate almond bar (unpictured). I don’t know why, but these are my guilty pleasure. I really wanted chocolate so I hit up the vending machine. I hope to keep these incidents to the minimum. [210 calories]

DINNER

We have a few more days with our old kitchen so we’re trying to use up everything we have in the fridge that we won’t be able to cook once construction starts. Today’s dinner was easy and super delicious!

Nuovo portabella & fontina ravioli with peas and vodka sauce + roasted cauliflower

The ravioli was delicious! I love fresh made pasta. These were not only yummy but very pretty – great for a meal for company that can be made in less than 10 minutes! (the ravioli took 4 minutes to cook once the water boiled).

The roasted cauliflower was pretty awesome too (even Adam loved it even though he wasn’t excited about this addition to dinner beforehand). I roasted it for about 20 minutes at 450*. Easy peasy

[~350-400 calories]

Then the snacking began I swear, every time I watch the Biggest Loser, I eat! How screwed up is that?!! I had a packet of almonds and 4 squares of chocolate. I wanted to continue going but realized that there was absolutely nothing I was craving and that I wasn’t hungry, so I forbid myself from going back to the kitchen. Crisis (kind of) averted.

Total calories consumed: over 2,000. It’s still a work in progress, obviously. At least my workouts have their luster back

Have you ever had exercise related injuries… or lost soldiers?

- Become truly Healthy and Sane (have we seen this one before?) – yes it’s an ongoing goal and will be my goal until this statement truly represents who I am. I’ve made a lot of progress with intuitive eating in 2009 and I think this will help me in 2010. I’ve learned that I can maintain my weight without calorie counting, if I just listen to my body, so that’s what I plan on bringing back later in 2010 and mastering ! [I am still taking on calorie counting to jump start my weight loss for the year.]

- Run two half-marathons (and finish them!) – I never thought I’d need to say this last part but I’ve been humbled by my last half-marathon. I am not giving up. I’ve learned very valuable lessons and this year will be my year. Why 2? Because I can’t wait to run another one again, so I already signed up for the Run to Remember on May 30, 2010… and then I need to finish the BAA half in October 2010. Watch out, I’m going to kill it!

- Read more books. With work, working out, blogging, blog reading, cooking, eating out, shopping, etc. reading has moved waaay down the list of things to do. I’m going to be mindful of this and would like to read at least 12 books in 2010 (cookbooks don’t count ). I hope I can’t do this!

- Stay on top of general news and industry news. I am going to be taking more responsibility at work this year, so I need to get sharper. I’ll try to read the news for at least 30 minutes in the morning, while finishing my breakfast coffee

- Finish the year debt free. Adam and I are really good with money. We used to pay our credit card balances in full every month and never purchase anything unless we know we can afford it. We also got used to going out and not really worry about money because our savings account has served as a comfortable cushion. Well in 2009 we bought a condo and are now starting a major kitchen remodel. These 2 things are not only wiping out our savings accounts, but we are also borrowing more money from my parents. I hope that by the end of the year, with savings, we’ll be able to repay my parents in full. This will take effort but I think this this makes it the perfect New Year’s resolution. Don’t worry, you’ll still see meals out and restaurant reviews. We can’t lock ourselves in the house for too long

- Put more effort into my outfits. When I like what I’m wearing, my hair is blown out and I feel put-together, it makes the whole day so much better (even work seems more fun)! I’m going to try preparing my outfits the day before to avoid just grabbing random stuff and feeling frumpy.

- Improve my cooking skills. I’d like to take some cooking classes during 2010 and maybe build confidence for creating some of my own recipes.

- Continue improving this blog. I clearly spend a lot of time writing this blog, so why not make it the best it can be? Constructive feedback is always welcome.

Now let’s see what I ate today…

BREAKFAST

Holey Donuts jumbo cinnamon bun (I wanted simple carbs yet a good amount of calories before my morning boot camp class)

[366 calories with coffee]

LUNCH

TJ’s whole grain flaxseed wrap with tzatziki, grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes and roasted brussels sprouts

Mmm, what a lunch! Hearty, healthy, delicious!

[316 calories]

SNACKS

1/2 pear + 1/2 persimmon

[74 calories]

TJ’s roasted almonds pack

[220 calories]

TJ’s whole wheat Tuscan pane with Samira’s homemade baba ganoush and avocado with lime juice

I will take this snack over dessert most days (and I did today). Yup, that good!

DINNER

Dinner was another fabulous home cooked indulgent tasting meal. I followed this recipe for straw and hay alfredo with roasted asparagus, using 100% whole wheat spaghetti instead of half and half.

The alfredo sauce was really delicious (cheesy and creamy!) and the whole pasta had a great nutty bite to it. It was a good portion that tasted much more caloric than it really was. I think it would be even more fantastic with some fresh pasta.

A 5 oz of Vitiano 2007 cabernet/merlot/sangiovese blend completed this Saturday night dinner perfectly (the wine was nothing special but it had a very relaxing affect ).

[~405 calories, incl. wine]

Total calories consumed today: ~1510 I feel super satisfied! I wish every day was this easy.

I’m off to relax with my hubby. Did you make New Year’s resolutions for 2010? They seem to be quite popular in the blog world. I’m clearly a fan

THE RUN

This morning at the last minute, Molly and I decided to go for a quick run. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about how it was all going to go down. I pretty much run once a week now, and it shows… my stamina has really decreased. It was a beautiful day and we decided to just start running and see where that goes… it could even end up with just being a coffee date if the run wasn’t really happening. I met Molly about 1.5 miles into my run and I was already feeling it. I told her how silly it was for me to assume that I could just do 7-8 miles, just like that. I no longer run like I did while training for the half marathon, so I shouldn’t expect to be able to run decent distances just because I the number sounded good to me that day. So off we went, and somehow we both really got into it. Every time we had a chance to turn around, we just kept going! I’m going to fast forward to the end, I ran 9.5 miles today, averaging 9:48 minute miles (with the last 1.5 at an 8 minute mile pace… I was flying)!!!!! In fact, I could even keep going, I just decided it was time to get home. Oh, I also drank 18 oz of water, while running. I’m very proud of this too. This run was just amazing for my self confidence, on every level. I was seriously on cloud nine for the rest of the day and felt like a rock star!! Molly, you rock… and I kind of rock too

PRE-RUN SNACK/BREAKFAST

The usual: ww toast with Barney Butter + 1/2 banana

LUNCH

Lunch was crazy awesome… see it says so on my recipe so it must be true! Wow, I’m a dork… moving on!

I followed Meghann’s recipe for chickpea parmesan burgers, plopped it on a FFL english muffin and voila – an incredible (and filling!) lunch! Some carrot sticks on the side were the perfect sub for fries.

This recipe was super easy, and was seriously amazing. You have to make it asap!!!

And then it was time to enjoy this gorgeous day with my husband…..

I enjoyed a bite of this chocolate sample from Hotel Chocolat

And a delicious pumpkin spice chai with skim milk (no sweetener) from Tealuxe (my favorite tea spot!). Look at the frothy milk… mmm

Having my camera with me at all times comes in handy. This is our street… isn’t it cute?

A juicy apple tied me over until dinner…

DINNER

Shannon brought this amazing roasted red pepper dip to our housewarming party that was camera shy. The dip is slightly spicy and tangy (Shannon added some light cream cheese to cut the spice down) and is absolutely amazing scooped up with crackers, in sandwiches as a spread, and over pasta like in tonight’s dinner (the recipe for the dip can be found here).

Happy husband (candid shot)… I hope you don’t mind, Adam!

My portion: 2 oz whole wheat pasta with 1 chicken sausage, grape tomatoes, baby spinach and roasted red pepper sauce. This was so satisfying, perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious!

PS – This was yesterday’s lunch: 2 ww slider rolls with leftover grilled fish, roasted red pepper sauce and laughing cow cheese. Amazing!!

This sauce is so versatile. I highly recommend it! Thanks, Shannon, for bringing it over. Adam and I are in love with it

I’m off to a few bars to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Happy birthday, Emily!!!

How is your weekend going?

On a somewhat related note – did anyone see the Biggest Loser this week? What an intense episode!! I actually couldn’t fall asleep last night after we got back from San Antonio so I decided to catch up on my BL. Well THREE hours later, I was in tears, yet so happy to see the eliminated player’s progress (I don’t want to spoil the surprise for those who missed it). Did you notice that they didn’t show *her* “after” footage? I went online and found the video, as well as the additional interview. One of the questions actually related to staying away from unhealthy treats. She said that before she puts anything into her mouth, she evaluates whether it will bring her closer or further from her goal, and always chooses the one that gets her closer to it. I think that since most of us don’t have a lot of (or any) weight to lose, and are not on a competitive tv show, we get a little more room for “error,” but I do think that it’s important to stop and think sometimes – and make the “right” choice most of the time. I’ve let go recently, and this reminder will hopefully help me get back on track! I’ll definitely keep you guys posted on my progress Now enough talking, let’s get to today’s eat!

BREAKFAST

Nonfat yogurt, organic apple chunks, Kashi Heart to Heart cereal oat flakes with blueberry clusters, and ground flaxseed + coffee

The cereal was a sample I got in the mail, and I really enjoyed it. Lots of crunch and delicious sweet (but not too sweet) blueberry clusters.

LUNCH

V8 garden vegetable blend soup + Ezekiel english muffin

I ate this in 2 parts (double the soup) since work got crazy busy, and it satisfied my hunger for hours! I am definitely going to be shopping for more V8 soup in my future! It was the perfect “I have nothing in the house but I want a healthy meal” meal

SNACKS

New strawberry oikos

I liked it overall but it was a little too sweet for my taste (plain is totally the best!!).

Trader Joe’s crunchy pb granola bars

DINNER

Given that today is Thursday, I wanted to make another Ellie Krieger recipe. Since I was on vacation for a week, I decided to make last week’s chosen recipe - linguini with shrimp (I had all the ingredients for it at home and this week’s recipe in all honesty scared me a bit ). I cut down on oil, used 2oz of pasta/serving (instead of 6) but otherwise followed the recipe with no substitutions.

It came out quite delicious. After nearly a week of Mexican food, a big bowl of healthy pasta really hit the spot!

Is it me, or is something missing from today’s eats? Oh yeah – dessert!! I have some healthified brownies with cherries in the oven that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into. Healthy “indulgent tasting” treats are what keeps me in check. I am proud of today’s food choices. Are you proud of yours today?

PS – Happy blog anniversary, An Apple A Day! Check out her awesome anniversary giveaway here

Also, win a gift certificate for Stogo here.

EDITED TO ADD: Mmm, brownies….

Saturday started by meeting a reader, Allison, who teaches lots of fitness classes at the Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs. I decided to attend her muscle and abs class at the center in Brighton. After chatting for about 10 minutes before the class, we got to business The class was really a blast. Allison knew everyone’s name and mentioned Jillian Michaels, new tv shows, while kicking our butts with moves I’ve never seen before. We used every gadget you can think of, and just kept moving. Awesome! Allison also introduced me to the class as her special blogger friend. If some of you Brighton BHAC girls are in fact reading this post, say hello in the comments section!

Allison and I after a super sweaty class:

I actually decided to take a break from taking pictures of my food for the day, so Saturday eats will have to be my little secret Let’s get to Sunday!

I woke up super excited for my first Healthy and Sane social running group meet-up! I fueled up with some dessert for breakfast: When Pigs Fly chocolate bread with chunky Barney Butter + coffee. Not a bad way to start the day, that’s for sure

Our first social run was awesome! There were just 4 of us running today, which made for easy navigation. We ran across the Mass Ave bridge towards Cambridge, looped by the Museum of Science, then ran to Fenway and back to the Back Bay. I ran 7 miles and didn’t even realize it! I was too busy having fun!! We held about a 9:30 minute pace (I think, I actually reset my garmin by mistake without checking) and all felt great! I got to meet and get to know Shannon from Lessons to Learn, and hang out with my Boston girls, Shannon (from Tri to Cook) and Molly of course. Great fun! I feel so lucky to have met so many cool people because of my blog! If you like running and live in Boston, you should join us. I can almost guarantee a good time

Oh, look what Shannon brought for me…

Baked mini cider donuts!!! Yum! But we’ll get to that later… onto…

LUNCH

1 cup of V8 Vegetable Blend soup with the bud of the olive bread.

I tried the soup by itself this time, without adding anything else, and it was delicious! Mmm, chunky delicious veggie soup (a few more days left to enter the V8 soup giveaway!)…

+ yummy olive bread. I think I’ve eaten my weight in bread over the past few days. It’s too good!

+ Dessert: mini baked cider donut

These tasted like delicious mini muffins – lots of cinnamon and spices. The perfect fall treat! My parents in law came over and got to enjoy them as well. They were a hit for sure! Check out Tri to Cook in a few days for the recipe

OTHER SNACKS

There were lots of snacks because I’m never hungry after a run, which made for a small lunch and a ravenous Elina later in the day

One of the last apples from the apple picking trip:

Mini peach pie slice with Stonyfield nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt:

Yellowtail cabernet sauvignon:

This is a pretty nice wine, especially for the price. Brings back memories of buying giant bottles of Yellowtail wine with my sister and polishing them off way to0 quickly in our NY apartment. Good times! :lol

DINNER

Dinner ended up being such an amazing fall treat! I wanted to make something with wonton wrappers we had on hand, and came across this recipe in Cooking Light for sweet potato ravioli with lemon-sage brown butter. This was my first time making ravioli… pretty fun! The wonton wrappers are a great shortcut to making the pasta dough, and these really did taste like real ravioli. I was a proud ravioli mama

I cut the amount of butter a little bit, but the butter lemon sauce makes these really special so definitely don’t skip the butter sauce!

Absolutely delicious! Rich, flavorful, and so “fall.” Adam loved them as well, despite being hesitant at first. Sweet

What a great weekend! Lots of food, lots of exercise. Perfect! What food defines “fall” for you?

During my lunch break I went to City Sports and bought myself all sorts of fancy shmancy running stuff – a water belt, running gloves and a new warm long sleeve running tee. It got COLD here in Boston. How many gadgets can you fit on one person?

After work I got dressed and set out for a run. I didn’t have a distance in mind and I wanted to take it easy just in case I decided to run the half marathon this weekend after all. Um yeah, the run did not go well. My legs were heavy and I just wasn’t into it. The entire time I was thinking about all these other things I was excited about doing after my half was over – like more bootcamp classes, trying a new zoomba class my co-workers have been raving about, bringing yoga back into my life – all these workouts that had to be on the back burner while I was training for the half! I put all my energy and thoughts into preparing for Sunday’s race. I think I’m ready to move on. Over the past 3.5 months running has become more than a challenging workout – I learned to love it, but I need to spread the love a little. I’ll still run on occasion during the winter, but I want to concentrate on strength, yoga and spinning during the colder months. I’ll pick up running again next year when it warms up

BREAKFAST

Egg, ham & cheese on a FFL english muffin + coffee

LUNCH

Delicious randomness: corn tortilla, green and yellow beans, borlotti beans, roasted root veggies, grape tomatoes, goat cheese

SNACKS

Caramel, pecan, chocolate chip brownie from Tendercrop Farms

Apple (ha!)

2 Ryvita crackers with Sabra hummus and a hard boiled egg – great combo, although I’m not in love with these crackers

DINNER

I had a fun dinner planned but somehow didn’t realize it required cheese, and we were all out. Plan B was a random pasta dish with wild mushrooms based on this recipe from Cooking Light. I used TJ’s lemon parpadelle pasta, added lemon zest to the mushrooms, omitted the onions, and subbed skim milk + 1 laughing cow wedge for the whipping cream. I really enjoyed this dish although it could definitely be more saucy. Adam thought there was too much lemon and mushrooms and asked if I could take the rest for lunch. Oh well, at least I didn’t slave over dinner for hours

Dinner also included a glass of white wine and some chocolate covered almonds for dessert. Can’t wait for those things to be gone. Note to self: never buy a giant container of choc covered almonds again!!

I’m off to bed, getting up early to take a strength class with Coco. I’m excited to dedicate more time to other kinds of workouts besides running. What’s your favorite type of exercise?