Cooking Inspiration

Lately I have been feeling a little bored in the kitchen. I feel like I make a lot of the same dinners over and over. I've been searching around Pinterest lately for some new recipes. But I think I need to invest in a good cook book!

I whipped up a batch of the Pioneer Woman's salsa this week. I stopped using the cans of Rotel that it calls for (really high in sodium and I don't think the cans are BPA free). Instead of use Muir Glen organic tomatoes. This week I used the fire roasted variety and added some jalapeño. I also used red onion instead of white. Yum!

I made veggie "slaw" as a side this week. The idea came from the Proud Italian Cook. I used zucchini, carrot, red bell pepper, lots of basil, and shredded parmesan. For the "dressing", I just added a little olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 

For dinner one night, we had BBQ quinoa salad. I have to say, this was only the second time I've ever made quinoa. I'm not sure why because it's super easy to make and adds a protein to the meal. This salad had cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, chopped red onion, and quinoa over greens. I added BBQ sauce for a dressing. 

Classic tomato, basil, and mozz here. One of my favorite food combos! I added this to some penne pasta. I also added a can of drained canned tomatoes. I added the canned tomatoes in with the pasta, so it would be hot. I added the tomato, basil, and mozz later. I was a big fan, Gil was not so much. He really hates when I make pasta (which is not often). I think he only likes it when his parents make it at home...they are the experts on sauce and pasta!

I tried to make root chips yesterday. I was pretty excited about this at first, but they ended up being a huge pain. The recipe called for them to be in the oven for an hour and a half, turning them every 20 minutes or so. It was probably closer to two hours and I ended up turning the heat up because they just weren't getting done. In the end, some were burnt, while some were still way too raw. Next time, I'll prob just try one kind of veggie at a time. 

Anyways, I like cooking but need some new things to try out. My favorite kinds of recipes are those that aren't too fancy-shmancy and don't use 1,000 ingredients. I also need pictures! Does anyone have any suggestions for good {preferably vegetarian} cook books? Thanks!

Snow Day!

I can't believe we have a snow day today! I really thought it would be another year of no snow days. I'm pretty excited to have an extra, unexpected day off!

I'm going to get a run in, work on report cards, and get some things done around the house (laundry!!).

So far, 2013 has been off to a good start. I didn't set any resolutions, per se, but I have started off the year being pretty active. I've run 26.83 miles in Jan., according to Endomondo. I was going to say that I have been running a lot more than usual for January, but I just looked back to last year's stats and I ran 61 miles in Jan 2012. So I guess not!

But I have done 4 hours of yoga this month and run for over 10 hours. I like stats, they motivate me. Haha!

I decided to train for the Riverbank Run 10k. I have to say, I really like being active, but when I am out of the habit of exercise, I do a lot of mental (and verbal) complaining about it. But lately, I don't feel as reluctant to workout. Instead, I have felt more like, "Hmm, what workout will I do today that will make me stronger?".

I think this is due to a few reasons. Number one, I'm not just running all the time, like I have done in the past. On days when I don't feel like running, I pick something else. I have been mixing running up with the 30 Day Shred, Shred It with Weights (Kettle Bell workout), and yoga too. I like the Jillian Michaels' workouts because you can select the level of workout intensity. So on particularly sore days, I can opt for an easier workout. This makes me feel like I have options, instead of just having to get on the treadmill if I don't want to.

My newfound love for yoga is also making me want to be more active. I have gone to yoga class twice with girls from my teaching team. It was super intense and hot, although it wasn't technically "hot" yoga. 95 degrees is hot in my book though! I have also been using an app called Pocket Yoga on my iPad. You can pick from three different types, three different time lengths, and three different intensity levels. I have been doing it once or twice a day since I downloaded the app. Love!

For all my workouts, besides running of course, I use my iPad. I have the 30 Day Shred, Shred It with Weights, Pocket Yoga, and some of the free daily workout apps on my iPad.

So that's how my workout life has been lately and I'm pretty happy with it! And last, I'll leave you with a quote I recently read & liked. Thank you, Pinterest!

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Have a great week, everyone! 

(Laila was a forced participant in this picture)

Back to School...Goodbye Workouts!

That's usually how it goes for me! The minute I get busy, I get really good at excuses for not working out. The past week or so I've been at school setting up the room and I haven't worked out at all. I'm trying to think of ways to keep me motivated.

I was thinking about signing up for a 5k in October or November. Having a commitment like that may help me get off the couch after a long day to fit in a run. My runs over the summer have been about 2 or 2.5 miles typically. While I don't really need to train for a 5k distance-wise, it would keep me running more regularly and I can definitely improve my pace.

Over the summer I did a lot of 30 day shred workouts and really felt like I got stronger adding some weights to my routine. I definitely need to keep that up!

Here's hoping I can stay motivated during the school year! I have a later start time this year, so I would really love to try a few morning workouts each week. I've tried that before and it didn't last but hopefully I will be less exhausted this year not getting up so early!

This always cracks me up to hear, but I think it may be true:

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If anyone has any tips to pass along to stay motivated, feel free to pass them along!

You Should Make This Salsa...

I have been reading the Pioneer Woman blog on and off for a while now.  I tried one of her recipes on Monday night for restaurant style salsa and loved it!  I'm a bit picky about what salsas I like, but this one really did have the consistency of a restaurant salsa.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

It's a bit spicy, as the recipe calls for a whole jalapeno with seeds included, but I like that.  I really don't like cilantro, so I only used a little bit and it came out great.  For some reason, I forgot to put in one of the cans of diced tomatoes and green chilies but I couldn't tell anything was missing.

This recipe made a really large batch of salsa.  She recommends using a 12 cup food processor.  I've been wanting a food processor for a while, but wanted one that wouldn't take up too much room.  I bought a little 3 cup food processor the other day that I liked because it didn't come with too many parts, seemed easy to clean, and didn't take up tons of storage room.  It worked well for this salsa, although obviously I couldn't chop all the ingredients at once. I just filled the processor, chopped the ingredients, and poured into a big mixing bowl until everything had been chopped. Then I stirred it all together and it came out fine.

Hope you try this recipe and like it!

A Change in Diet

I have had a like-hate relationship with meat for a while. I have long been picky about what meat I eat and I always have a "discard pile" on my plate for meat that looks questionable. When we have meat in the fridge, it usually grosses me out to think of having to prepare it.

I was watching the documentary Forks Over Knives last week and then we went to the movies last night and the movie showed a dead pig. I've toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian here and there, but when the choice to eat meat came up, I always ate it. Something about that dead pig in the movie clicked the "vegetarian button" in my head.

Last night after the movie, we went out to eat and I ate a meatless dinner. This morning we got breakfast sandwiches from Bruegger (yes, we eat out too much) and I didn't get meat on mine.

So I think I have started Day 1 of being a veg. For lunch, I had half of a whole wheat pita with falafel and carrots on the side. And it was delish.

My best friend, Erin, and her husband have been vegetarians for over a year now and she described being a veg as so much less stressful. I have to say, I get what she's saying. I devote a lot of time and energy to worrying over the meat I am eating- if it is questionable, if it looks okay, etc.

Erin told me about the website Daily Garnish for finding veg recipes. I spent some time on the website today planning meals for this week. And I have to say, I found some really yummy looking things that I am looking forward to making!

Now, I tend to get excited about things prematurely and then end up abandoning them (á la the Detroit half-marathon) but I'm hoping this sticks.

Also, I have to say, Gil is totally on board (not that he's becoming a veg) but he has okayed me trying vegetarian recipes for us for dinner & he's okay with me not making meat. We really didn't tend to eat a lot of meat anyways- we mostly ate it when we went out to eat.

I'm also cutting out or at least cutting way down on cheese consumption. I like cheese and mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil is pretty much my favorite flavor combo ever, but I pretty much get a stomachache every time I eat cheese. When we get pizza, we always ask them to go light on the cheese. We don't drink milk from cows anymore either, we always buy almond milk (which is great).

So wish me luck on my new journey as a vegetarian...let's hope it lasts for more than a day!