Little late to the grocery post… the BF and I had a WILD night and got our groceries knocked out on Saturday night. Telling ‘ya, it’s hard to keep up with us! 

The BF thinks I’m crazy for my list making— I make an initial grocery list based on the recipes I want to use, listing out each item that I don’t have in the kitchen. Once that’s done, I consolidate all of those recipe lists into one master list separated by grocery department. Bit obsessive, no? Don’t judge. I swear it’s effective when you’re in the store and just have to scan by department instead of jumping recipe to recipe.

About $90 this week- but so much fresh produce I don’t mind at all! I was disappointed because neither TJ’s or Giant had Portobello Mushroom caps, so I’ll need to head out at some point this week to try and find them.

Trader Joe’s

Meat:
4 chicken breasts
12 oz Turkey Italian Sausage (I got chicken sausage)

Produce:
1 red onion
4 large portobello mushrooms
2 bags spinach
1 red bell pepper
2 limes
3-4 tomatoes
1 bag kiwis
1 container peaches
1 carton blackberries
celery
butternut squash 

Dairy:
Greek yogurt
Pesto
OJ

Misc:
Tomato sauce
2 cans black beans
Cooking spray

Giant:
2 lbs flank steak 
3 cans soup

Here’s the line-up for the week (all on my Pinterest page)

Lunch- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Monday- Grilled Flank Steak
Tuesday- leftovers + roasted butternut squash
Wednesday- Baked Pesto Chicken + Spinach salad
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Spinach and Sausage stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps (if I can find them!) 

YUM!

Yesterday, I was the last man standing, and I’m paying for it today.

I use a stand up desk at work. I started using one about a year ago after reading an article similar to this one about how sitting all day will “kill” you. I’d been having a lot of back pain (presumably from shotty posture while sitting all day) and decided to give it a whirl.

Except my company didn’t quite think it was fair to buy me a stand up desk (understandably so, those jokers can get expensive!!!) so this is what I used:

Yep. A bunch of boxes. It was REAL ghetto, and I occasionally had to change boxes out when the weight of my computer/etc. got too much, but it worked great. 

Fast forward a year: my old director moved positions in the company but LEFT his standing desk (yeah, he was high enough up the food chain to get one). So guess who is legitimate now????

For everyone thinking “how in the heck do you stand all day?” it really isn’t bad. I’m a coach, so about 4 hours of my day are sitting with my team. I also have a mix of meetings, so I’m usually only standing 2-3 hours a day for the most part. I also have a cushiony mat underneath and don’t wear heels to work. Generally I enjoy it- I don’t feel as lethargic as I used to and I don’t have back pain as often when I get home.

But yesterday I stood from 9-6. It was the last day of the month and I was on the phone all day trying to woo potential clients to sign the contract before the end of the month. After work I met up with some friends for happy hour and continued to stand for 2 more hours. 

By the time I got home my ankles looked like I was 6 months pregnant and my knees were throbbing….and this morning it was the same story. Instead of attempting my long run I opted for a nice Bikram Yoga session instead.

Lesson learned. You don’t want to be the last man standing ALL the time….

Not mine. These:

And yeah, that’s not my picture either. It’s from MyRecipes.com

I’ve never cooked chicken thighs before (is that some sort of rite of passage??) and was skeptical, but CookingLight has never seriously steered me wrong so I decided to give it a try. It was awesome— I made some minor modifications mostly by accident so this wasn’t spicy at all and it paired nicely with some roasted broccoli.

Here’s the recipe (adapted slightly from CookingLight April 2012):

2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 package cremini mushrooms

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
1 TBS fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons lower sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce (Trader Joe’s has a great and inexpensive one!)
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Squirt of fresh basil (Giant has this tube of basil? weird, but good)

How to assemble:
1. Heat a large frying pan with canola spray over medium heat— add garlic and mushrooms and cook for about a minute, or until fragrant.
2. Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.
3. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients (minus basil) and whisk until smooth. When chicken is done cooking stir in sauce and cook for about a minute.
4. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

HOLY YUM! Seriously finger licking good— and pretty healthy. Cooking Light nutrition facts said for 3/4 cup it’s about 300 calories. I omitted the oil so I’m guessing my recipe is about 250 calories per serving. It’s not 100% SB friendly since it has sugar and cornstarch, but those ingredients are fairly minimal.

I will definitely be cooking with chicken thighs more often! 

Are just that. Plans. Being the OCD control freak that I am (wouldn’t you want to date me??) I make plans with the full intention of keeping them. And I get really upset when my plan doesn’t work out perfectly. It’s something I’m learning to deal with better but I’m still not quite there.

Case in point: for the past 2 days I haven’t been able to go to Bar Method. My new boss scheduled a meeting that lasted just past 6:30 on Monday and I had a similar meeting yesterday that sprung up out of the blue. SUPER frustrating, especially since Bar Method charges you if you don’t cancel your class within an hour—and I of course held out and didn’t cancel, thinking “oh I’m sure the meetings won’t last that long and I’ll be able to make it.” But then again, that’s why I plan a lot of workouts— if a few don’t happen I still feel good (still did p90x arms Monday and ran 4 miles yesterday). 

Another case in point: my scale is broken, or I’ve hit the dreaded plateau of weight loss. I’m SURE it’s the first, and it’s not all of the “treats” that have snuck back into my mouth (where did you come from Starburst Jellybeans/trail mix/dark chocolate Reeses???). The whole goal of losing 15 pounds before Hawaii is slipping away a bit BUT I know with a little tighter control over the daily intake (just keeping to my planned meals and cutting out the processed sugar again) the number should hopefully start to creep down.

But my plan of finding one piece bathing suits that are flattering and non mommish and ones that I’ll feel comfortable with? Going SWIMMINGLY (haha I’m so funny). I purchased and fell in love with another J. Crew one piece. Seriously, these cats are on to something great. I think I like this one better than the black 1 shoulder- fun print, great ruching and the ability to be completely strapless. 

1 out of 3 ain’t bad?

Back to the grocery store! I made it through the entire week without having to go to the store. It helped that a friend took the BF and I to dinner on Tuesday, I had already paid for dinner at 918 F street on Thursday and my boss bought lunch from Jose Andres new food truck on Friday— but hey, meant that I officially didn’t pay to eat out (minus 2 Starbucks SVL’s).

With that in mind, I knew this week was going to be a high $ amount. We’re just out of a lot of basics- BUT split over two weeks it’s still less than we’d normally spend.

Here’s the list:

Trader Joe’s:

Meat:
Chicken Sausage
Chicken thighs
Tuna Steaks

Produce:
2 bags spinach
red onion
2 containers mushrooms
bag broccoli florets
lemon
cucumber
celery

Dairy:
egg whites
eggs
milk
cream cheese
greek yogurt

Grains:
Rolled oats
High Fiber cereal

Misc:
Sweet chili sauce
soy sauce
chocolate (low carb)
trail mix
dark chocolate covered almonds

TJ Total: $75 and change

Giant:

Rotisserie Chicken
Strawberries
Blackberries
Fish Sauce
Sesame seeds
Cheddar Cheese
Cream of mushroom soup
4 cans Campbell soup (for the boy)
croutons (again, for the boy)
OJ (yep, for the boy)
fresh basil
tissues
Toilet Paper

Giant Total: $50 and change 

First of all, it’s UNBELIEVABLE that we got less than half the amount of goods at Giant and it was almost as much! That’s crazy!!!! Like I mentioned, it was an expensive week—but we saved a ton of money this past week by eating up leftovers.

Here’s the menu for the week (all from my April issue of Cooking Light!):

Monday: Seared Sesame Tuna Steaks, Creamed Spinach and Mushrooms
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Spicy Basil Chicken, Roasted Broccoli
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Leftovers 
Saturday: Brother in town!

Lunches:  Tzatziki Chicken Salad (no chips!)
Breakfasts: Green smoothies, oatmeal, protein shakes, eggs and sausage
Snacks: trail mix, fiber cereal and greek yogurt, celery and peanut butter

I’m prepped for the week! 

The best thing about having parents in town for the weekend? (besides the obvious of enjoying their company?). Leftovers.

I get my sense of entertaining— base your food estimations on 3 times the number of people you’re entertaining— from my mom and it means lots of great food for the week ahead. 

Here’s what I have to work with ahead from the weekend:

• Kale Chips
• Fancy goat cheese from Whole Foods
• 2 types of Pimento Cheese (the BF loves this stuff!!!)
• Head of lettuce, grape tomatoes
• Turkey pepperoni
• Head of lettuce
• A HUGE bag of blueberries and strawberries
• About 2 cups of homemade spaghetti sauce

With the leftovers from mom combined with my leftovers (I still have a fair amount of chicken curry from last week) and my schedule this week I am just about set for groceries!

Here’s how I see the week sorting out:

Breakfasts- oatmeal, peanut butter, berries, greek yogurt, berries and fiber one or protein powder/milk shake
Lunches- salad with hardboiled eggs, cheese, turkey pepperoni or leftover curry
Dinner- I have book club Tuesday, dinner with a friend Wednesday and dinner at the new LivingSocial 918 F Street space on Thursday so I just have to get through tomorrow night— maybe popcorn? or leftover spaghetti?  

I’m really going to try to NOT go to the grocery store until Friday, which makes me really happy. 

This week will be a recovery week from the half marathon so I’m planning on Bar Method four times and maybe a short jog on Wednesday or Thursday. More on the workout plan from here until Hawaii later!

What’s your plan for the week?

So I tried something new for breakfast today…..and it…was nasty. Like real nasty.

I’ve seen something similar on other people’s blogs so I decided to give it a whirl, and it went terribly wrong.

I love taking oatmeal and nuking it in the microwave to eat at work…so in the hopes of getting more protein I also added a scoop of protein powder to the mix, thinking it would be a delicious chocolatey bowl of goodness.

Maybe I should have added it after nuking it? Maybe I should have only used half a scoop?

No clue, but it was real hard to toss down this morning (I had no other options since I was at work and I refuse to pay money when I have something already to eat). Only pro? I’m still full at 12:30!

Anyone have a good recipe for protein powder + oatmeal?

Well, we’re down to the wire. The DC Half is this Saturday and there’s nothing I can really do to prepare at this point physically, but I do think I have some room to get ready mentally.

I headed into training for this race all like “yeah, I haven’t run in forever but yeah I’m gonna get fast and get back to my pace from almost 3 years ago and obvi I’m going to get under 2 hours” and now it’s more like “so, I put in the miles and I’ve gotten a smidge faster but holy hell how did I ever run that fast and maybe I should readjust my goal.

I’m not drinking caffeine until Saturday morning (yeah you thought I was doing that all along, right? Yeah, the coffee monster usually strikes about 4 times a week now) in the hopes that it’ll really shock my system and I’ll run really fast. 

I also decided to forego Bar Method yesterday to save my legs a little bit- and I canceled a Thursday class I originally wanted to take. So the last intense workout will be Wednesday night. Hopefully I’ll be so rested and so fully of energy I’ll just shoot out of the gate and run fast.

Right?

I know a lot comes down to belief, but I also don’t want to be super disappointed in myself if I don’t hit a random goal on Saturday morning. After all, the worst thing that’ll happen is that I finish a half marathon.

So I’ve decided to alter my goal time to 2:03. I’m cringing as I type it, but honestly I really don’t see my booty moving much faster than that. That’s about a 9:35 pace, which is just a little bit faster than where my 10 mile run was last weekend.

Let’s do this!

I thought I would wake up and my hip would feel better, but no such luck. It’s feeling pretty rough but I’m loving the new heat pad I got today to put on it!

I’m so glad to have things back to normal- a regular week with regular groceries (and a visit from the parents/sister at the end of it!)

My body is still craving a lot of veggies so this week is packed full of different types. No salads because I think those take too long to make before work, so I had to get my thinking hat on about how I was going to get enough servings of veggies in there!

Here’s my grocery list:

Trader Joes:
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1 block extra firm tofu
2 pacific salmon stuffed with crab (haven’t tried these before- hope they’re good!)

2 onions
1 cucumber
2 red peppers
1 bag grapes
1 box peaches
1 bag brusell sprouts
1 bag broccoli florets

1 bag dried lentils
1 can diced tomatoes

feta cheese
fat free greek yogurt
egg whites
ricotta cheese

Trader Joe’s high fiber cereal

Total grocery bill came out to LESS than $60- SCORE!

Here’s what I’m chowing down on this week:

Lunches: Lentil Salad and Balsamic Roasted Tofu

Monday: Crab thingies with roasted brussel sprouts
Tuesday: Ground Turkey and Chickpea Curry with roasted broccoli
Wednesday: repeat of Tuesday
Thursday: leftovers
Friday/Saturday: parents are here!

I also made a batch of these peanut butter muffins for a treat!

Here’s the workouts I have planned:
Monday-Bar Method AM
Tuesday- run 4 miles? (if the hip feels ok) and Bar Method PM
Wednesday- Bar Method PM
Thursday- run 2 miles?
Friday-off
Saturday- Half Marathon!

That’s the plan!!! 

The Good- I got a new “toy” and found out I DO have dental insurance

The Bad- I only ran 10.1 of my scheduled 11 miles and my shuffle died 20 minutes into the run

The Ugly- I’m in a lot of pain right now and the race is in a week

Let’s break it down, shall we?

The Good:
Remember that time that I said I was going to get this when I got under 2 hours in the half marathon? Yeah, well, I bought it today. I found out I got a raise yesterday at work (yay!) and found out that it’s retroactive to January 1 (double yay!), which means I’ll be getting a pretty nice little extra lump in my next paycheck. Don’t get me wrong, I still think I have a shot at getting under 2 hours but a girl’s gotta celebrate, right?

And celebrate I did. I really really liked having the Nike Sportwatch Plus on my run today- as my parents would say, I love “gadgets” and this is a great one. You can toggle between pace, distance, calories, clock, average pace etc- if you saw my splits from earlier you can see that I was also really excited about the lap function. I set it up so that it automatically laps every time I hit a mile, so that way I don’t have to worry about hitting lap and I can see what every mile broke down to.

The other good? Found out that yes I do indeed have dental insurance! I thought I had it, but we’ve switched about a zillion times in the past year and a half and I can never keep up- so in addition to today being “free” I’m also going to be refunded for last visit’s trip!!!

The Bad

I was really humming along with said gadget and rocking out to some new tunes….until my shuffle cut off mid track. Turns out if your computer is shut nothing is really charging! I could have really used the music today- my hip started to hurt about 4 miles in and there was nothing to distract from it.

I had to stop a few times to try and stretch it out, and eventually decided it was probably in my best interest to stop altogether. I haven’t been really smart in the past about stopping myself before I push myself past my limits, so while I’m proud for stopping today to prevent more pain I am disappointed that my longest run before this half is 10 miles. Run on sentence much? Sorry.

The Ugly

I hurt. Bad. I’ve been googling all afternoon and think it’s either related to my IT band or is “Piriformis Syndrome” (I’m leaning toward this—with all my medical knowledge—because most of the pain is in the back of my hip/butt area and not really down the side of my leg). I’ve stretched it out a few times, heated and iced it and will continue to do that for the remainder of the week. Last week it hurt during the run but the pain was definitely more intense this time. 

So yeah, I think the good outweighs the bad and ugly here, but I’m really hoping that this pain goes away soon!

Off to go get pretty for a midnight dinner birthday party!

Anyone else have hip pain running and have suggestions for how to fix?