New Hairs

Stability Ball Workout

Practicing Safe... Salad and other yumminess

Today I'm hosting a family potluck and play date for my MOMS Club. We have a boat load of tomatoes and basil in the garden right now and it's 1000* so making a caprese pasta salad seemed like a no brainer. Yesterday I picked up some fresh mozzarella from Trader Joes and although I had farfalle (bowtie pasta) at home I bought some orcecchiette because of it's cute round shape. I thought it would be a super cute dish to serve but instead I got this:

MMMMMMMM.... Condom salad, my favorite!!! The al dente texture does not help. Oh well, I figure I'll add some fresh spinach leaves and the green might break up the condommy look. Can't win them all.

I have made some meals that were a bit more successful and some were even out of my comfort zone. In the last few months I've been in a bit of a food rut making the same oatmeal, turkey sandwiches and bbq chicken salad over and over and over.

First, I made some cashew cream that was incredible. I've found that I probably have a lactose intolerance so cashew cream is my savior.

I just rinse about a 1/2 cup of raw cashews and soak them for a few hours. I drain them and then throw them in the blender and add a tbsp of water at a time until the the mixture is nice and creamy and then I season as I would alfredo or whatever. Maybe some garlic, nutmeg, a pinch of nutritional yeast. Super tasty. For the pasta above I just blended in some random leftover marinara and the result was rich, creamy, deep. I would eat this stuff alone, it was that great.

Then there is wild rice with steamed veggies and mmmm sauce. The mmmm sauce came about because I had some leftover homemade hummus that needed to be used and I just threw in the other ingredients she suggested and it was awesome sauce, literally. And yellow peppers, my favorite veggie ever. For this week.

OKRA! Breaded and baked. So very good. Weirdish dinner, Music Man called it "a meal of cubes", but it was so good and now I need more okra in my life. I trimmed and cut up the fresh okra in bite sized pieces. I dredged in rice flour, then egg, then an unmeasured mix of corn meal, rice flour, a little coconut flour, s&p,  garlic powder, onion powder and a dash of cayenne. Served with corn and bbq tofu.

And lastly, is cashew cheese pizza with my beloved peppers. Served with 3 berry salad with goat cheese, pecans and balsamic. For the cheese I made it a bit grainier, like ricotta by doing what I did with the cream, just blending less. I added a bit of salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and garlic powder to make it more savory and it was pretty great. The crust is a homemade multi-grain with wheat flour, almond meal and flax meal. I used a basic dough recipe of 2 cups flour/meal combo, 1 t salt, 1 cup water, 2 1/4 t yeast and 1 t sugar. just warm the water, put in sugar or honey and yeast and let proof. Mix flour with salt and then mix everything together in stand mixer, food processor or by hand. let rise for an hour, punch down, let rise again, roll out and let rest. Heat oven to 400 while dough is resting and bake for 8 minutes. remove from oven, top the pizza and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.

Enjoy!

Aww Nuts

Exercise:  An easy 4 miler with the Little Man

This week has been a little nuts in our house. Music Man has a ridiculous deadline he's trying to meet and has been a little stressed, Little Man continues to wake up at all hours of the night, and I'm just trying to hold it all together. I feel like once Music Man finishes his project everything else might fall into place. But we also have a ton of events to attend and host this week so we're just busy, busy, busy.

Actually, all of August has been nuts with trips, visitors, events, lack of sleep and general exhaustion. I'm hoping September will flow a little more smoothly. I doubt it with school starting and Music Man possibly traveling again, but a girl can hope ;)

There are a few races I had in my sights for September but I'm not sure if that's realistic. I know I could complete the PacificCoast Triathlon but I'm not sure I'd enjoy it with how tired I've been. And having fun is a non negotiable requirement. I'm thinking a late fall or early marathon might be a good idea so I need to do some research and find one that won't be too huge or a logistical nightmare. Anyone know of a good one? Malibu? Long Beach? Maybe Long Beach is too soon... Santa Clarita? I need a gooooooaaaaaalllllll!!!!!

Every Little Bit

Exercise: in the middle of a 4.5 mile run. Park play intermission

Last night was another rough, sleepless night. Little Man woke up at midnight and when I got out of bed I realized Music Man was still at work. It's always a little disconcerting to wake up that way and although Little Man went back to sleep immediately, I could not. I was up until Music Man got home and didn't get back to sleep until nearly 2. Early workout plans were shot.

Over two years now I've been a mom and I still find planning workouts and training difficult. I rarely skip a session because I enjoy working out but every day is a lesson in adapting and accepting :) But like yesterday, I've learned that some days 15 minutes is all I can get in and at least I tried. I also try to add in some extra activity like walks or family bike rides on those days. Every little bit counts.

Interestingly, I think the days of not being able to plan a workout may be coming to an end soon; or will become fewer and far between. No, I don't anticipate Little Man to suddenly sleep better (he's never slept) or that we'll win the lottery and get a maid and nanny :). No, Little Man starts preschool a week from today! Only 2 days a week to start, but that is 3 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get things done!

With those 2 days I really hope to maximize my alone time. I hope to get a workout in, work on some home projects and maybe get a pedicure or a haircut every now and then. And it will be great for him too! Hopefully all the playing and stimulation will wear him out and maybe he'll sleep better after all!

OK. Back to park time. Have a great Tuesday!

Quality Problems

Exercise: 15 minute bike ride

My legs are still a little sore from Saturday but I thought a short road ride might be beneficial to get things stretched and moving again. I also hadn't been on my road bike for a few weeks and was really craving it. The weather was beautiful and even on the chilly side so it was an awesome way to start. That's where the good news ends. Ha, I'm actually trying to make it sound dramatic when it wasn't really at all.

The ride was nice, just shortened to 4 miles when I got a flat. I probably could have fixed it myself but had to be back in 30 minutes so I called Music Man to get me. Of course there was crazy traffic and it took him almost that amount of time to get to me...4 miles away...gotta love LA traffic!

The place where Music Man could easily pick me up was about 1/2 a mile from where I got my flat so I took off my cycling shoes and hoofed it to the lot. About 30 cyclists passed me (I was on a bike path) and no one asked if I was OK. I guess they thought I liked to put on all my cycling gear and walk barefoot with my bike. Can't blame them, LA is full of weirdos.

When I got to the lot where I was meeting Music Man I stopped to really investigate my flat. I'm happy to say a very handsome dude offered to patch it for me but I declined, sadly ;), since Music Man was already on his way. I got the wheel and tire off and was looking at the tube right when Music Man got there and he offered to fix it so I could finish my ride but I had already wasted so much time and I need to teach myself how to fix it so this doesn't occur again. Thank god I wasn't mountain biking!

On our way home we got stuck in more traffic and Little Man fell asleep almost instantly. He's been driving us nuts with his 4 and 5am wake ups the past few days and now his schedule is totally screwed. He ended up sleeping for only an hour, which has been the case since last week (nightmare when you have a toddler) and the day has just felt screwy. A comedy of errors :)

Now I'm just trying to keep the whole fam damily :) happy until dinner. At least I'm in good spirits and am not taking for granted how lucky I am to have these quality problems. Boo hoo, I got a flat tire. How awesome it is to have a nice bike I get to ride for leisure. Oh no, my toddler won't sleep, at least I have a healthy little guy. And an awesome husband.

Dudes, life is good.

Psych

Exercise: 3 mile walk w/ Little Man

On Friday I had myself so psyched out, I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to finish the race, that I wouldn't measure up to the Bulldog. I convinced myself that maybe running wasn't my thing and maybe we should take a break. The race changed my outlook on sooooo many things; I surprised myself. I am capable.

I'm still in awe of how good I felt post race and how good I feel today. Music Man had to work yesterday so as soon as I got home from the race I was immediately on mom duty. Don't get me wrong, I was sore, but totally functional. I didn't just lay down and relax; I did dishes, vacuumed, grocery shopped and entertained the Little Man. It seems like small stuff but to me it was a testament to the fact that I trained well, raced well, and was reaping the rewards. The point is that running and I are back together :)

One of the first things I did when I woke up at 4am this morning (last of Little Man's molars, ugh) was look at all the upcoming ultras in my hood. I intend to follow through with the full Bulldog next year but might find another 50 a bit sooner or maybe I'm ready for marathon training again??? So many possibilities.

And finally, one last highlight of the weekend. Little Man has fought hats his entire life. At first it was a small battle and then became straight refusal. Until today. I just told him if he wore his hat he could play in the sand for 5 extra minutes. Kind of manipulative because he has no concept of time but he does understand more and extra :) I win! Again, it's the little things.

Have an awesome week!