Monday Night Dinner: Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese

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Tacos are a favorite meal at our house.  You don't have to do much to end up with a delicious taco.  Here's a tasty vegetarian option even my meat-lovin' man will eat without complaint.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups butternut squash
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 12 white corn tortillas
• 6 oz Soft Goat Cheese

Directions

Mince garlic, cut squash into 1/2-inch cubes, and toss together in oil and spices.
Preheat pan on med-high heat on your stove-top.
When your pan is hot, add squash to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly browned and pieces are cooked through.
Add the black beans to the pan and stir together until warm.

While the filling is cooking, warm your tortillas on a dry griddle on med-high heat so they are ready to go.  If you're too tired, just throw them on a plate and put them in the microwave for a minute or so.

Serves 4

Spoon about 1/4 cup taco filling into each of three tortillas and top with about a half ounce of goat cheese each.

Just look at all that fiber you're getting!  It really is a delicious meal that can be whipped up in a matter of minutes.

Currently On My Workout Mix

Making It Happen

I accomplished six miles on the treadmill yesterday followed by an intense strength circuit training session.  Today I clocked another five miles on the pavement and rounded it out with a Jillian Michaels six-pack workout.  I still have some work to do to make the scale go down, but I'm willing to invest the sweat equity in myself to make it happen.

"You Decide."

Yesterday I got a card in the mail from my dad encouraging me to keep up the good work.  Tucked inside was the best refrigerator magnet of all time.  Does it get any better than Jesus shaming you into laying off the snacks?

I also got another five miles in yesterday at lunch.  Today is six, so wish me luck!

Update:  I was at my parents' for dinner the next day and my dad showed me the package this magnet came from.  It's one of four, and the package says on the front: "Dieting with Jesus - because that ass needs a miracle."  Beautiful.

Running with Trainer Wade

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Since I'd done seven miles on the treadmill on Tuesday, I wanted to get two things out of my next workout: pavement time, and less mileage so as not to overdo it on my body.  Yesterday was a glorious day in Seattle, so Trainer Wade and I took the opportunity during the lunch hour to run our four-mile loop.  It was perfect conditions: crisp sunny weather, open trail, and good company.  I like running with Wade (even though he takes pride in being a pain in my ass as often as possible) because he's always up to push a little harder or go a little further, and I need that in my life these days.

Pushing the Limits

Last night I hit the gym for my scheduled 6-mile run.  At about 5.5 miles, I was thinking about yesterday's post and how I talked about pushing my limits, so I decided to practice what I preach and change my goal on the treadmill to 7 miles.  It was hard.  I haven't run more than 6.5 in a long time, and while a half mile doesn't seem like much, I still had to push myself for that much longer.  I had my ipod cranked up while I told myself, "I can do this.  I can do this."  And I did.  I felt triumphant when I completed that seventh mile, drenched in sweat, and I found myself wishing there was someone there at the gym I could high-five.  No one there knew I had just brought myself to a new level.  But I did, and I guess that's what matters.

Progress Update

When I started this journey thirteen months ago, I thought I'd have accomplished my goal and moved on by now, but it has proven to be a longer process than I originally expected.  I went on vacations, I enjoyed the holidays, and even took a couple wine tasting classes.  My weight went up and down and I barely blinked.  In all honesty, fitness slipped from being my primary focus.

As I mentioned before, Hawaii was my turning point.  As I began on my new journey during that vacation, I had a conversation that really helped me solidify my renewed effort to work out and be healthier.  Andrew and I were lazing around in our room in the condo talking about work and life goals, and I asked him, "do you think I could lose thirty pounds?"  Without hesitating, he said, "yes."  It felt good to have someone support me immediately.  He didn't bring up obstacles or question whether or not my number was realistic, he just told me I could do it.  Other successful people whom I admire have referenced the constant support of a partner or spouse when they decided to take on new things throughout the course of their careers, and I feel lucky that I have that support in my own life. 

Even if I'm over-reaching, having a cheerleader who believes I can do it is a huge motivating factor.  I realized I don't need to set "safe" goals that I know I can accomplish.  Why not try for something I've never done before?  I decided to set loftier goals for myself, and make it a priority.  I can run more miles, I can set a lower goal weight, and I can have a six-pack.  I can do it.

Right now I'm the lowest weight I've been in a couple years and I'm determined to continue tipping that scale and increase my strength.  I can and I will.

Monday Night Dinner: Sweet Savory Pork Chops

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In my effort to be a more consistent blogger, I'm toying with the idea of having regular features.  Yesterday's peek into my ipod might be one, and a feature on what I cook to stay on top of my diet is another idea I have.  Eating healthily doesn't mean you have to cut out all flavor and it doesn't mean you have to cut out all fat.  It's really just about portion control.  Here's a meal you can make in a hurry on a Monday night, provided you've planned ahead a little.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 16 oz pork loin center cut chops thin
• 2 cups butternut squash
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 tsp bacon grease drippings (optional)
• 1/2 cup medium white wine
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp beef base (I use Better Than Bouillon)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/2 cup dried bing cherries
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions

This recipe works great with steaks, too.

Cook your brown rice ahead of time (you can do this the night before) and measure out 1/2 cup cooked rice per person. Reheat gently in the microwave or in a pot on the stove on low heat.

Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a med pan. I like to use my cast iron skillet. Try to stay away from teflon coated pans.
Thinly slice 1/2 yellow onion and add to pan; cook on med+ until slightly browned.
Remove onions from pan and set aside. At this point, if you'd like to add a little oil or bacon grease to the pan, go for it.  I like just a tsp of bacon grease, which is about 40 calories.  Cook your meat in the pan, 2-4 min each side. I like to rub the meat cuts with kosher salt on each side before cooking. While it's in the pan DON'T poke or move it at all. Once seared on both sides, remove meat to a plate and cover with foil. Pork doesn't take much to dry out, so you want to almost under-cook it and then let the endothermic heat of the meat continue to cook it through as it rests under foil. Steak is more forgiving, but I like my steaks rare, so I always under do it as well.

Add 1/2 cup white wine to pan to deglaze it and then whisk in 3 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 Tbsp beef base, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup water.
Add 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup apricot preserves, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, and the onions you had previously cooked. If you like spicy, now would be the time to add red pepper flakes to your taste. Cook down for about 10-20 min.

Meanwhile, have your butternut squash in 3/4-inch chunks and saute them in your olive oil. Sometimes I like to add a little kosher salt and nutmeg, but it's up to you. Cook through, maybe 10 min.


Serves 4

Start with 1/2 cup rice on the plate, then add 1/2 cup of the cooked butternut squash right on top of that rice. Lean your meat up on your rice and put 1/4 of compote in the pan on the meat, and then garnish with a sprinkle of toasted almond slivers.

If you're looking at the fat content of this meal and freaking out, stop that right now.  It's only a third of your daily allowance, and if you've been eating sensibly all day, this is no big deal.  You can do this. 

The entire dinner (pork chop, squash, rice, compote, and nuts) is only about 650 calories, which is perfect for my goal.  I have been eating about 275 calories for breakfast, 140 calories for a morning snack, 500 or fewer calories at lunch, get in a 600 - 850 calorie burn at the gym, have an 80 calorie post-workout snack, and then a reasonable dinner, aiming for a net of 1100 daily calorie intake.  It's totally doable, but takes some planning.

Currently On My Workout Mix

I ran the perimeter of Lake Union again today.  Six-point-five miles of sweatin' and Missy helped me get through it.

Checking In Before the Weekend

Every winter Andrew and I schedule the Broncos v. Zags games as date nights, drumming up our Alma Mater rivalry for some good old-fashioned competitive fun.  We'll go out to a sports bar, order beers and nachos, and trash talk throughout the game.  This year, we've started doing it a little differently: sofa seats.  We've decided to forgo the bar and recreate it in our "home theater."  Andrew streams the game on our luxurious 24-inch television, and I handle dinner.  We decided to go with sports bar type food in the spirit of the event (burgers and beer), but I'm working really hard to stay on track and Andrew's being supportive, so we changed it up a bit.

Dinner was black bean turkey burgers on whole wheat bageleans with pepper jack cheese, avocado, lettuce, and tomato.  I also picked up honey mustard pretzel bites (one of my favorite snacks) and some bud light.  The burger ended up being giant, and in its entirety was only 490 calories.  I had some pretzels and a single beer, which brought my daily total above what my recommended net intake is (if you're trying to lose 2 lbs a week), so after the game, I powered out a Jillian Michaels six-pack workout.  It's hard after a beer, man!  But I did it, and I didn't puke.  Go me.

I am pleased to say, last night my Broncos kicked Andrew's Zags' asses 85 to 71.  This is a huge upset, because it's always been the other way around since we started dating almost five years ago.  I'll admit:  I gloated.  A lot.

Beverage for a Thinner Me

I've mentioned I've been battling an obnoxious cold lately, and while I'm almost over it, I think I'm going to keep my lemon ginger "tea" concoction going.  I don't do well with tea - it's not delicious to me and often upsets my tummy, but just adding a lemon wedge and three slices of ginger root to  hot water has become my favorite new beverage.

I'm constantly sipping it, which is increasing my vitamin C and hydrating me at the same time.  It's also been my alternative to that second (or third) cup of coffee in the morning, which I typically drink with cream and sugar.  That alone saves me at least 150 calories per cup.

Side update: last night was my 6-mile run day, which I did on the treadmill after work.  I brought short running shorts because I knew I was also going to be doing squats and lunges as part of the workout and I hate it when my shorts get in the way (try not to think about it too much).  Anyway, at about 5.5 miles, I start feeling a little chafeage, but I only have a half mile to go so I decide to tough it out.  Well, ladies, I'm walking a little bit like a cowboy today because it turns out that five minutes of constant chafe is a lot.  Ouchertons.  Note to self: stick with your spandex on longer-distance runs.

Recipe: Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I've got a recipe for you.  It's a good one.  I adapted it from the Everything Thai Cookbook, and took it from fried eggroll form to healthy lettuce wrap with just a few minor changes, so the integrity of the recipe and its deliciousness are intact.  For my vegetarian friends, I think it would be just as delicious if you subbed in barley or chopped tofu for the turkey.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced crosswise
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 3 tbsp raw sugar (regular white granulated sugar is fine too)
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp green onions, sliced crosswise

Directions

Heat veg oil in pan on med heat.
Add sliced garlic and turkey meat and cook through.
Add carrots, celery, and green onions and turn heat to high.
Add remaining ingredients and cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally.
Drain out any remaining liquid and reserve in a bowl for dipping.

Serve with iceberg lettuce leaves to eat taco-style.
Feeds four.

Weekend Running

  

Lk Union

Green Lake

I've been keeping up on my promise to myself to run longer distances.  Saturday I ran the perimeter of Lake Union, which is a nice 6.5 mi run.  Including stretching time, the whole thing took about 70 min.  I've done the lake before, but this time it felt easier - I didn't have the overwhelming urge to just stop and sit in the middle of the path.  Sunday I met a friend at Green Lake for a late morning run.  I arrived 15 min before our meeting time and decided to do the inside loop before my friend arrived.  It's a 2.8 mi track, which I accomplished in 23 minutes.  Go me.  We did the outside 3.2 mi  loop together at his pace (and as you know, gents tend to run faster than ladies), and finished in under 30 min.  It's the little things. :)

After grabbing some lunch, watching my dad tinker on my car, and freezing my butt off, I returned home and rounded out the workout with a little bit of Jillian.  I'm almost to the point where I don't hate life while trying to get through the side plank knee lifts.  Yesssss.

PS - I didn't take either of these pics, just pulled them from the magical world of the internets.

My Current Obsession

I am totally into this.  I started off barely able to finish a 30-minute beginner session.  I kept with it, doing the workout every other day.  Now, a week and a half into it, I'm totally rockin' the moves.  I am a girl who hates working my abs, but this video switches up the moves so often that I never get bored.  She's seriously good stuff.

Aloha and Happy New Year!

I seem to have a bad habit of falling off the radar for lengthy episodes.  Work got crazy, my class (wine sensory evaluation) took up a good chunk of free time, and mixed in there was my social life and the holidays.  In any case, my apologies.

The day after christmas I got on a plane with the in-laws bound for the Big Island of Hawaii.  It was a much needed, much appreciated break from the damp and gloom of Seattle winters.  Initially, I had planned to do what I like doing best on vacation: read by the pool, drink afternoon cocktails, and, with a few exploration adventures mixed in, relax with the family.  And I did.  

I brought my running shoes with the plan that I'd get in at least a couple runs a week while taking it easy.  When I got to Hawaii, however, something took over.  It started innocently enough.  I got up early that first morning because of the time change from Seattle to the islands and decided to hit the pavement for an easy run.  It felt great.  I wanted more.

I made a decision to start out each day with a run.  I snapped a picture during my workout, sending it to my running buddy who gets on my back if he thinks I'm slacking off (I love you, Wade!), and I realized this might be a good way of keeping me honest in my commitment to run every morning.  It worked.  Every day I sent home a different picture titled: view from my run. occasionally also forwarding it to family members, or various friends in Seattle, but when palm trees are involved it's hard not to seem like I was bragging - just sharing!  Promise!

In addition to getting up and sweating each day, I was also having a good time deciding what snapshot would be representative of my chosen route.  By the end of the vacation, not only did I have bragging rights for sticking to my fitness commitment, but I have a great photo-diary of the experience.

We stayed in a resort complex known as Mauna Lani.  Several individual hotel and condo compounds make up Mauna Lani.  This is the entrance from the highway.

Our particular development was called the Golf Villas, which were surrounded by a golf course, as were all the other resorts.  I'd gotten up late this day and it was already pretty sunny and hot when I got started.

(3 mi run on the first day)

I liked to get started early and be out the door before 6:30 am.  Before 6:30 it was really too dark, and as the sun was rising, the temperature was perfect.  Usually by the time I got back it was in the low 80s and I had broken a good sweat. 

(4 mi run on the second day)

Often, I left closer to 7:30am.  The temperature was still pretty good and the wind in the mornings kept it feeling relatively cool.  This is the road leaving the Golf Villas.  

(4 mi run on the third day)

All the roads and even highways were designed with giant shoulders to accommodate bikers, runners, and golf carts.  This is an extremely active resort area and I rarely had the road to myself unless I got up before daybreak.  I actually really loved greeting all the other runners and bikers I passed.

(4 mi run on the fourth day)

The resort was built right overtop of what looked at first glance like barren lava fields.  Nothing grows here.  There's no soil for seeds to root into, so the rock stretches on and on.  It grew on me and I found it very beautiful by the end of the trip.  From what I could tell, this was the home of lots of birds, geckos, and mongoose.  Probably a few bugs too, but I never checked.

(4.2 mi run the fifth day)

I love the contrast of the lava fields and the palm trees that were planted at the resort.

(4.5 mi run on the sixth day)

All along the highway, people had brought up white coral rocks and written their names or messages with them.  I'd been admiring the shark for several days --it was right across the highway from our resort gates-- but by the time I had decided to run up there with my camera, someone had ruined it by writing ESTEP inside the shark.  I was annoyed, but at least the outline was still there.

(5.5 mi run on the seventh day)

 This was a common view from my runs.  No matter where I went in Mauna Lani, I was next to a golf course.  At night we were allowed to walk on the golf course, but during the day we had to yield to golfers.

(2 mi run on the eighth day - my "off" day)

 

I decided I liked the run up to the shark - the distance was right and there was a long hill up to the halfway-point, so you really felt the burn in your legs and lungs.  When I got to the shark the second time, to my delight, someone else had been annoyed by the defacement of the shark and had the cojones to scatter the stones.  I snapped a second picture.

(5.5 mi run on the ninth day)

There's a petroglyph park next to a beautiful lavarock and coral beach within Mauna Lani that we'd gone to one afternoon. It was only a few miles from our condo.  I decided to run that direction for 25 minutes one morning to see if I made it.  Almost.  I got about a half a mile away, and stopped to stretch at a golf cart crossing sign.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocks from where I was standing.

(5 mi run on the tenth day)

The next morning I new I wanted to increase my mileage, so I ran the route again, hoping to make it all the way to the end within 30 minutes.  My stopwatch alarm went off 50 feet from the beach.  Fantastic!  All those white rocks are sunbleached pieces of coral that have washed up.

(6 mi run on the eleventh day) 

That same day we made a stop at Costco to pick up some macadamia nuts to take home to my parents and co-workers.  While we were there we found some awesome athletic clothes and I was so excited about them, I immediately went for a second run when we got home.  This picture does not do justice to the sunset I witnessed.  It was absolutely beautiful.

(3 mi run on the evening of the eleventh day - yep, that's a total of 9 mi that day)

This might be my favorite shot of the entire trip.  It was also taken on my 3 mi twilight run.

 I ran the route to the beach again the next day and got a closeup of the lava and coral that covered the beach.  I also did a few push-ups and planks while I was there.

(6 mi run on the twelfth day)

 My final Hawaiian run was on the day we left.  I had packed the night before and got up extra early so I could fit it in.  I left the house just after 6am and started my run in the pitch black, watching the sun slowly come up from behind the mountain as I ran down the road toward it.  It was glorious.

(5 mi run on the thirteenth day)

It was a great project and I plan to carry through with this momentum into my daily routine.  Hawaii was really good for me, and I made some goals about habits to break and habits to make.  More fresh fruit, fewer starches, smaller portions, drinking more water, and cutting back on wine will all be worked into my habits this year.  Diligence and commitment.  I have been doing a decent job taking care of my body, but I want to be diligent and committed about doing a good job - maybe even a great job.