Virtual race #anywhere5k.

Race 4 in my quest for #13in2013!!!

March Stats

Well, another month has come and gone and it's time for another check in. Here are the numbers - I'm pleased to say that my body fat percentage is FINALLY on its way down! 

These are my total losses since Jan 1, so it's not looking too shabby.   I am ok with the gain in my arm because I'm getting some pretty great definition in my arms! 

I am starting a new job on April 1 (squee!! sooo excited!) and had to go out shopping for some work appropriate clothing (because my recent Mommy uniform of jeans and tshirts won't quite cut it). I was thrilled to find that I could fit into this size small shirt and size 8 dress pants!

I still feel like I have some left to lose, but I am close to my goal weight (my sweet spot seems to be around 152/153) and I remember back when I started, I stated that I would love to get to a 10 and an 8 would be a PIPE dream, but here I am!

Now I'm just working on fine tuning my workout routines around my new work schedule, training for my upcoming races (2 more in the quest for #13in2013!) and still trying to provide my family with the most healthy food I can make for them!

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St Patrick's Day Virtual 10K, done!

So this weekend is the #13in2013 sponsored St. Patrick's Day virtual race. 

I did NOT want to run this morning. I have lost my workout mojo and haven't been able to find it. My knee has been tricky lately - I think my kneecap hates plyometrics. Learning I need to avoid it for awhile, but thankfully running doesn't hurt too terribly much. 

I wore a knee brace. I was ready for this, after all, I did 10 miles last week. 6.2 should be easy peesy, right? 

Except it's 45 degrees outside. And I'm a weenie. Mile 1 I was sure my lungs would explode. Mile 1.5 I was sure my hands were gone. Mile 2 I couldn't feel my legs anymore (so it wasn't so bad) and by mile 2.5, I had worked up a SWEAT! 

I had Runkeeper telling me my pace every mile. I was shocked when it kept telling me 9:36, 9:42 etc per mile. My 5K time was just shy of my last 5K PR - 29:12. 

Miles 3.5-4.75 dragged. But when I hit my interval change at 4.75 miles, I knew that the next interval change would indicate I had less than a half a mile left to run. I hit that 5.75 mile mark and SPRINTED. 

And made it - in 59:59, almost 10 minutes faster than my Halloween 10K time from October!!! 

So much for not wanting to go for run today! 

Next weekend, I have an Anywhere5K and the weekend after that is my third half marathon! A few weeks after that, I have the Chance to Hope Run in Color Hope in Motion 5K. I am so excited for that one!   My 4.5 year old daughter will be running her own races the same days as my half and the Hope in Motion 5K. 

Meal Plans & Long Runs

We've had a yummy two weeks! However tomorrow is meal planning day and I am unprepared. Hoping to find some delicious new ideas to incorporate all the goodies we get at our produce co-op on Tuesday!

Monday (2/25):  Steak, cheesy spaghetti squash & roasted red potatoes "And SALAD, Mom!" (as my 4.5 year old reminds me if I forget to mention salad in our nightly meal plans. She's learning fast!) 

Tuesday (2/26): Chili mac (we never wound up having it the week previous because of weather!), roasted portobello mushroom caps & salad. 

Wednesday (2/27): Stir fry. Portobello mushrooms, sugar snap peas, peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions, served over rice. 

Thursday (2/28): Pulled Pork Verde Poblano (Tosca Reno's cookbook) (no pictures because we've had this before :)

Friday (3/1): Our new favorite pizza!! Turkey pepperoni, green pepper & homemade sauce.

Saturday (3/2): Superfood Fusilli. My daughter is pretty predictable. If you ask her what she wants for dinner she will say 1) Pasta and red sauce or 2) Pizza.  So I found this "pasta and red sauce" recipe. Packed full of veggies! She didn't notice them and loved her pasta with red sauce. :-) Served with green beans and a salad. 

Monday (3/4): Now these weren't dinner but they are worth a mention (or three).  My dear husband loves cinnamon rolls and has been without now for three months. So a friend found this recipe on Gracious Pantry and I got to work making them! 

I did change some of the recipe - I didn't use any of her filling. Instead, I used coconut sugar, cinnamon and butter. I wound up using about a cup of coconut sugar, a few Tbsp of cinnamon and probably 3Tbsp of butter. 

The only picture I got of them baked.
Before I could eat them.
Yes, I had two. They are that good.

Dinner this night was scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, grapefruit and hash browns. Cinnamon rolls for dessert just seemed to make sense :-)

Tuesday (3/5): Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffin recipe (although I just made it a meatloaf shape). Also mashed potatoes (with Greek yogurt), corn and fresh green beans. And "salad, Mom!" 

Wednesday (3/6): Burgers on Ezekiel Sesame buns, roasted asparagus, sweet potato fries & salad. 

Thursday (3/7): Scrambled eggs (I might be a WEE bit obsessed with them right now!), bacon, toast & clean buttermilk pancakes. 

Friday (3/8): Pizza, of course! 

Saturday (3/9): I went on a long run today (more on that later) and my 4.5 year old and hubby took charge of dinner. They made DELICIOUS buffalo chicken wraps, green beans & salad. What a great surprise for me that they took care of everything! I'm one lucky girl!

Sunday (3/10): Hubby will be smoking a turkey breast, so we will most likely have smoked turkey, mashed potatoes & maple/bacon brussels sprouts for dinner. 

Today I finally was able to go on a long run. It was looking grim as of last night. Around 2am, my littlest started throwing up. He and I were awake from 2am-5am, changing sheets, taking baths and cleaning up. Thanks to my awesome hubby, who got up with the kids, I was able to get a few hours of sleep. I woke up thinking I was ready for my run. The weather forecast had been PERFECT for today. However, they were wrong and it was POURING rain!  So I wrote off my run and settled in for a snuggling day. I had a few errands to run (booking a location for a VIP bridal shower (JEN'S!) and some Easter shopping) but once I came home, I settled onto the couch with my little guy. 

He turned a corner and was feverish, but not throwing up anymore, plus the rain stopped and the temperature went up to 65 degrees! So off I went!

I wound up running 10 miles, a straight out-and-back. It was a decent run, considering I haven't run in a few weeks and haven't run a LONG run in almost a month. Looking back, I ran my half marathon in October with a 10:43 pace and today I ran at a 10:24 pace, so I'm whittling away at my time. Slowly! I definitely need to get OUTSIDE more for my runs. It is so dramatically different for me to run on a treadmill vs outside. Hoping the weather is on the upswing so I can start running while my daughter is in school, taking my son in the jogging stroller.

I have a half marathon coming up (April 6!) and I would LOVE to get a sub-2:15 time.

So that is our last two weeks!

 Any great clean recipes that we simply MUST try? 

A clean treat

I like to think that I'm doing really well with clean eating but there are days I JUST WANT CANDY. I want something chocolately, ooey and gooey. Today, I found the solution.

I stumbled across this recipe for Primal Paleo Fudge. OMG delicious. Melty, peanutty, chocolatey - and clean!  Definitely try it if you're aching for something sweet but not fake!  I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and subbed in almond extract instead of vanilla (because I will choose almond 100xs over vanilla!)


 Bonus, the kids liked it and thought it was candy.

Clean Pizza & Another Virtual Race

We have been on the hunt for the "perfect" pizza crust. I'm telling you, it's been YEARS. A few times we have thought we got close but never there. Flavor but not texture, crunch but not thickness, toppings but not sauce. Then we moved to clean eating and figured it was over, we would NEVER be happy with a clean crust. Until . . .

Last night - perfection.

I made a sauce last time and froze it. I used the recipe from The Cultivated Life, but used diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Then I found this recipe and METHOD (method was the KEY) for pizza yesterday. Obviously I had to clean up the recipe to fit it to our lifestyle. I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and a 1/2 cup of whole grain corn flour. Molasses instead of sugar. Closer to 1 1/4 tsp yeast. Closer to 1 1/2 cups water. Coconut oil instead of olive oil.   I added about 2 tsp of whole grain corn meal on the bottom of my pan because hubby enjoys that texture.

I followed the baking directions exactly, starting it on the stove then moving to the oven. It was perfect around 18 minutes.

We will be doing this one again VERY soon. It was a huge hit in this house!

I did my second virtual race this morning, the Anywhere 5K. My goal was a PR, of course. I was dying by the end, but I did it!! PR'd my 5k with a time of 27:20! Super excited to have run an average 8:47 mile! What?! My plan was to run 4 minutes at 6.5 then bump it up to 7.5 for a minute. I was able to do that the whole time. I even ran a minute and a half by ACCIDENT at 7.5! I didn't even notice. It's so nice to feel like I'm progressing, improving and becoming more fit and more able.

February Meal Plans

Here's our meal plan from last week and for this coming week.





Monday: Weelicious Ramen soup (I know the noodles weren't clean, but the soup is so yummy!) and grilled cheese with smoked cheddar cheese & bacon; side salad






Tuesday: Crockpot Cinnamon Chicken, green beans and whole wheat penne pasta.

Wednesday: Baked chicken tenders (Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook 2), brussels sprouts with bacon & a little maple syrup, spaghetti squash with a little garlic. Homemade honey mustard and a side salad. 

Valentine's Day morning, I let my kids make muffins. This is a huge test of my control issues, but it went so well! This strawberry muffin recipe is from Gracious Pantry and they were DELICIOUS! I was able to make 24 muffins instead of 18 like the recipes says and I calculated that they were only 80 calories each! There is no added sugar aside from fruit and the kids DEVOURED them (together my TWO kids ate ELEVEN muffins that morning!!!)  (And I usually don't let them eat like that, but it was Valentine's and I was ok with them loading up on good stuff instead of candy!)

Valentine's night we had a stir fry of Portobello mushroom caps, broccoli, carrots, celery, peppers and onion. Served with steamed brown rice.

Friday: Burgers with avocado, tomato and onion (on whole wheat, but not sprouted grain, buns); green beans and roasted red potatoes with thyme. 

Saturday morning my daughter requested her favorite breakfast, Dutch puff with apples.  Since it is an inherently clean recipe, I am always happy to make it for her! I use this recipe and always change the vanilla to almond extract. I just LOVE the taste of almond extract in this recipe!

For my baked apples, I saute them with a touch (Tbsp maybe) of maple syrup, cinnamon, lemon juice and nutmeg/allspice. Sometimes I will throw them in the oven and give it some time, but Saturday I didn't have that time so I diced them small and cooked them for less time.

I also pulled out my new $3 citrus juicer and juiced up a TON of oranges and grapefruit that just seemed to be lingering in the fridge. Fresh juice for everyone!

We went out to dinner on Saturday night.

Sunday: Meatless fajitas with peppers, onions and mushrooms in a whole wheat wrap. Served with a side of guacamole.

Monday: Mushroom & Rosemary pork scallopini; pasta; salad; peas

Tuesday: Eggs, turkey sausage, toast, fruit

Wednesday: Chicken masala; naan; brown basmati rice with peas; salad

Thursday: Hubby & I are going on a date and the kids will be having Chili mac

Friday: Pizza (clean crust!)

Saturday: Unknown yet

Sunday: Salsa chicken; sauteed peppers; brown rice