Goals: Old and New

I love goals.  They give me something to strive for, and something to measure.  Last year, my fitness goal was 2 miles per day on my treadmill (730 miles/year).  I worked ahead at times and caught up at others.  But more or less, I was on my treadmill most days of the week.  By the end of 2010, I accomplished and beat my goal by trekking 750 miles!  It felt great to meet and beat such a reasonable goal!  In fact, I lost about 20# in the process (both through exercise and eating right)!  I feel great, have a ton of energy, and look really good too (in my opinion, LOL).

For the new year, I set the lofty goal of 1000 miles a day....just because it seemed like a great goal (not to lose more weight).  Minimally speaking this is 2.75 miles per day, which on face-value doesn't seem all that different from last year.  And, knowing how last year went (sometimes, it was a struggle with my job and frequent traveling), I set out to 'work ahead' for the first few months of the year.

However, I am beginning to think my new goal is somewhat unreasonable.  What is my overall goal?  To be healthy and stay in shape....and to have FUN.  I am very fond of my treadmill, but I can see that the overachiever in me is at work...and making it more of a JOB than FUN.  In fact, numerically speaking, to achieve the 1000 miles and to work ahead, I need to do 3-4 miles a day which is hard for me to do physically.  And, I can feel it in my legs...not really pain, just achy-ness.  I don't think I can do this for a whole month, let alone a whole year.  Last year, I beat my goal at 103%, now I am trying for 137%??  Hmmm.... I need to incorporate more rest days.

I am hereby reducing my fitness goal to...just doing what I feel like on my treadmill.  I will track it for the year and see what happens.  I will do some running and a lot of walking, because that is what I want to do.  But, the other part of my goal is to do more cross training on my Gazelle and an 'aerobic pedal exerciser' I just bought off Ebay (both will be better for my knees).  Also, I just bought my first pair of snowshoes, and here in Fargo, I will have plenty of snow to trek in.  I am really excited about that!  I do also have a goal to do more body weight exercises, like push-ups and lunges etc. (yes, I have a tracking sheet for that too).  But, I am just picking different things to do everyday for that.  I am enjoying it, and it is relatively easy to fit it in.  Oh, I also bought a shiatsu heat massager for my back (that fits into a chair, to be sat on).  One more thing I love about goals...they can be changed if they are not working!  Happy New Year!!

Snow is Here...Let's Make Some CHILI!!

I love chili!  And in my usual fashion, I don't really have a recipe, and seem to make it a little different every time.  But, the last few times I have made chili, I have actually made it similarly.  I love adding all the ingredients to the crock pot and letting it do its no fail *magic*. 

I dice a few carrots, a green pepper, an onion, one can each of (drained, rinsed) black beans and kidney beans, a can of tomatoes (have used RoTel lately), and a few ounces of diced stew meat (optional).  I then add about 46 oz of tomato juice.  To this I add a little brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and few other secret spices.  Finally, about an 45 minutes before we are ready to eat, I add some quinoa to help give it some more texture.  The quinoa also helps absorb some of the liquid so it is not so "soupy."

I also make cornbread using the basic recipe of the back of the Quaker container.  To this, I add a can of drained, rinsed corn.  We sometimes add the cornbread to the chili, and sometimes eat it by itself with a little honey.

To the chili, you can add a little cheese, light sour cream and green onions for garnish.  Hope you like the chili as much as I do!

Just for Today

This is a post I have been thinking about for awhile, processing it.  It is the rather simple, but deep concept of "Just for Today."  This means taking one goal, and working on it "just for today."  An example may be "Just for Today, I will drink 8 glasses of water" or "Just for Today, I will eat a banana instead of Halloween candy." 

The idea is freeing!  It allows for making a different goal if need be, "Just for Tomorrow," but the beauty is that one day on top of another day on top of another day leads to several days in a row of SUCCESS!!

Whether it is a fitness-oriented goal, a nutrition goal, or something different, like "Just for Today, I will read for 30 minutes," the goals are personal, meaningful, and limitless!!

My overall goal is to develop a more consistent posting routine for this blog.  So my "Just for Today" goal was to post about this technique!  Mission accomplished!

Fridge Remix

I really love leftovers!  They are a great way to save money because foods can be eaten more than once, instead of going out to eat; time because a larger batch of food can be made at one time and eaten later; and energy after a long day of working (who feels like starting a complex recipe from scratch?!).  Often, the flavors of foods are better the next day and I love how easy it is to make a great, effortless meal that has some pretty impressive nutrition stats! 

Today, for breakfast, I used the remaining 2 oz of diced, no added salt tomatoes from earlier in the week.
I made a breakfast sandwich using a whole wheat English muffin with the tomatoes, a poached egg, and the last half-ounce of sharp cheddar cheese.  After it was assembled, I put it in the microwave to melt the cheese.  Yummy!

Nutrition information for breakfast sandwich: 294 kcals, 11.2 g total fat, 4.5 g sat fat, 226 mg cholesterol, 349 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 15 g protein, 227 mcg vit A, 5 mg vit C, 230 mg calcium, 3.2 mg iron

For lunch, in a small skillet I put the cooked lentils (~2.5 oz) from earlier in the week and the remainder of the canned tomatoes (4 oz).  To this I added 2.75 oz frozen spinach, 3 oz diced Portabella mushrooms, a dash of garlic powder, and a sprinkling of Extra Spicy Mrs. Dash.  Finally, when I removed from the heat, I added 2.4 oz nonfat Greek yogurt and a dab of whipped cream cheese (~0.5 oz).  It was very tasty!

Nutrition information for lunch: 368 kcals, 6.6 g fat, 3.2 g sat fat, 17 mg cholesterol, 184 mg sodium, 56 g carbohydrates, 12 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 23 g protein, 605 mcg vit A, 20 mg vit C, 232 mg calcium, 6.5 mg iron

Mini Meatloaves

For dinner tonight, I surprised my husband by making mini meatloaves (which we both love, but I have never made).  I also made some long grain, brown rice and broccoli florets to round out the meal.

Here is the recipe for the meatloaves, which is low fat (12 servings).

1# extra lean ground beef, raw
2 large eggs
2 cups uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup low fat milk

1/2 cup ketchup
1 oz brown sugar
black pepper to taste

Combine first 5 ingredients.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Form into 12 small loaves and place in a muffin tin.  Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes or until internal temperature is at least 140 degrees.  Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and black pepper;  place on meatloaves.  Bake for another 10 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition information for 1 mini meat loaf:

139 kcals, 3.5 g fat, 1.2 g sat fat, 54 mg chol, 174 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 17 g protein, 38 mcg vit A, 1 mg vit C, 19 mg calcium, 1.7 mg iron

Hmmm, what should I call this?

Today for lunch, I made an easy and comforting dish. I just don't know what to call it! I cooked certain parts separately so I can combine them differently and with other ingredients later in the week (cook once, eat several times).

Lentils are legumes but cook from scratch in about 20 minutes, so they are very quick to make. Tempeh is a cultured and fermented soy product using whole soybeans. It traditionally comes in a block, which can be sauteed, fried, broiled, baked or steamed. To me, it sometimes tastes like a potato but other times tastes nutty. Both lentils and tempeh are great nutrition powerhouses!

I cooked a half a bag of plain lentils in one pan (directions on bag). In an iron skillet I sauteed a package of Westsoy Original Tempeh (crumbled) with a yellow onion (cut in strips). I used about 2T olive oil by the time I was done, but also used some Pam spray to cut down on the amount of oil.

When the tempeh was almost golden brown, I added a freshly minced clove of garlic 1 teaspoon of cumin powder. I microwaved 2 oz frozen spinach in a small bowl and opened a can of no salt added diced tomatoes in juice). Finally, I compiled all of them together (see below)--delicious!!

3 oz cooked lentils
2 oz cooked spinach
2 tsp olive oil
3 T cooked onions
3 oz cooked tempeh
3.75 oz diced tomatoes

Nutrition information:

381 kcals, 15.5 g total fat, 2.2 g sat fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium, 36 carbohydrates, 12 g fiber, 26 g protein, 355 mcg vit A, 18 mg vit C, 182 mg calcium, 7 mg iron

Curry Stir-fry

I know this sounds like a funny name for a recipe! But, I basically combined 2 ideas, after switching gears during the process. I often start off with a recipe, but change it according to my tastes, which ingredients I have, and how many leftovers I can use up from the fridge!

With that in mind, I made this a couple weeks ago, so I will do my best to remember what I put in... I will break it down into smaller parts to describe. At the end, mix all together and enjoy! I do recall that it was very spicy (we had to open a window and turn on a fan)! SO, I would recommend making a small batch of the spice mixture and tasting it on the side (before adding to the stir-fry).

Mix together the following seasons with 1/4 can crushed pineapple in a small bowel. It can become very spicy, so start with approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of each and taste. Add the rest of the pineapple and adjust the flavors as needed (again, slowly test a little as you add spices).

1/2 can of crushed pineapple
Ground ginger
Ground turmeric
Ground cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Curry powder

Saute or stir-fry in a small amount of water or flavored broth (instead of oil to save fat calories):

Carrots, cut in circles
Green peppers, chopped
Onions, chopped
Any other veggies you have on hand

Stirfry tofu in 1T canola or olive oil until golden brown:

Firm tofu, pressed and cut in cubes

Cook Eden Organic Udon Noodles according to package directions.

Mix all components together (seasoning, vegetables, tofu, and noodles). Enjoy!