Running Fever

True Confession here: I miss running, I miss it badly! I need to find time to run somehow somewhere. My schedule seems so tight that I don’t know where to fit it in or even where to begin. I miss it in two ways, one is the fact that I want to maintain being physically fit and my routine usually includes running, and second I miss the high I get from running, the feeling of conquering the next mile or even the next few minutes or even the next stop light when I run out on the street. I also set a running challenge for myself which I am suppose to begin this year.

Since I am up at 5.30am feeding the baby(ies) and getting ready for work, the morning time does not seem to work and then after work I have about 2 hours before the babies go to bed which is just enough for me to do some bonding, bath time and feeding. Next is dinner if I’m cooking that night and then getting some rest for myself. 

Sooooo, I don’t know, what do you think? Are these excuses? Could I carve out sometime somewhere or am I really beating up myself too much? Ugh, I am still looking for the solution but right now I guess I can dream of when I settle into some sort of routine someday. 

I miss you, running! Rant over…

Meal Planning Monday (err Thursday..)

So I have been seriously slacking on putting out my meal planning on the blog, but trust me I have been following through, I have it noted down in my handy dandy note book that I take everywhere with me, so far this is what my week has looked like-

Monday: 

Potatoes and Sautéed Kale with red peppers and Turkey

Tuesday: 

Pesto Pasta and Salad

Wednesday: 

Corn and Spinach Salad and Salmon

Thursday: 

Brown Rice tomato stew and sautéed carrots and butter beans

Friday: 

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken and sweet potatoes or brown rice

Saturday: 

Mediterranean Quesadillas

Sunday: 

Leftovers of anything!

My philosophy in meal planning is really easy, eat a healthy variety, avoid too much rice, save money on grocery shopping, and no red meat!

Some tools that have helped me so far is finding recipes on sites like wholefoods.com, some favorite food friendly blogs like budgetbytes.blogspot.com which I routinely add to my pinterest, (you can follow me here) I also find awesome recipes on pinterest.

When I don’t have any specific recipe I just throw anything together, an example is Monday’s recipe (Potatoes and Sautéed Kale with red peppers and Turkey), this recipe is a hit with my husband especially, I always have potatoes on hand (red or white), so I either bake or boil them with a pinch of black pepper and salt. 

Kale is always handy in my fridge too, I chop up three bunches and sauté with onions and red peppers and I usually buy a huge batch of turkey legs from my butcher (I go to the butcher once a month), I prep them by cooking it and storing in several Ziploc bags so that they are available to use whenever I need some sort of meat. I diced the already cooked Turkey into the sauté and it came out delish! If I didn’t have Turkey I would substitute with shrimp, equally yum!

Meal Planning

Meal plan for this week was not too adventurous, in fact it was quite boring :-( because I was working with what I already had in my fridge and pantry. Hubby seems to be fine with this new mission, I hope it lasts!

Monday Brown Rice, mixed vegetables and tomato stew with turkey

Tuesday Okra(with shrimps, mushrooms and spinach) and Oat Fufu

Wednesday Pasta and ground turkey sauce

Thursday Black Bean Salad and Fish Tacos

Friday Roasted Potatoes and Peas and Sweet Corn and Tilapia filet

Seriously Need to Give Meal Planning a Try

Pardon my absence, this past week has been quite busy with going back to work, I had to adjust to missing my babies and getting my brain back to work mode. Alas, I have survived one week and this long holiday weekend could not have come at a better time.

Something I have been meaning to try but failed and failed again is meal/menu planning, its a wonderful idea for many reasons:

• Shop for groceries within you meal plan in mind which would save dollars!
• Not having to think too much of what to cook for your family - less stress
• See if you have variety or lack there of in your meals 
• See if you are eating healthy week to week
• Eat out less, again saves BIG dollars!
• Less trips to the grocery store
• Plan for busy days - leftovers anyone?
• Waste less groceries since you will use exactly what you have

So the main reason for my many failed attempts is that somehow I deviate for the plan, which totally defeats the purpose, or I write recipes (from the tons I have saved on Pinterest) and when it comes to executing them it's and ultimate failure, or my hubby requests to eat something different even though I have shared the meal plan with him.

To make this different, I am going to work with what I have in my fridge since I did my bi-monthly grocery shopping already :-(, stick the meal plan on the refrigerator with a magnet so that its constantly visible for all to see, and I will prep food a few days before it is needed e.g chop onions, marinate meats etc

The next big thing for me after this is to buy a slow-cooker, I've heard great things about using this for one pot meals, I can throw my ingredients in it the night before and have it ready the next day, how cool! Any recommendations?

Will share my meals and give you an update in the next post!

The Drink of Choice

I love the taste of water, I can hardly drink anything else. Nothing quenches my thirst any better and it is almost impossible for me to eat a meal with anything else than water! Does this sound like you?

The truth is that description up there is totally ME, the fact that I drink a lot of water is not something I learned, it has always been this way. Soda makes me unnecessary full that I cannot enjoy a meal but water is just right. If this is natural to you, don’t worry, I have some tips for you to help with your water intake.

First off, I’m sure you want to know why it is important to drink water anyway, here are some of my favorites:

1)      Great Skin – hydration helps your skin, wards off wrinkles

2)      Removes hunger – drinking a full glass of water leaves you satisfied enough to not over indulge in food. Most times when you are hungry, it is actually water calling…

3)      Boosts your energy level, for me a good tall glass of water can wipe away any headache, it’s amazing!

4)      Helps prevent and cure diseases – from the common cold to hypertension, to cancer, to arthritis, to high cholesterol, you name it…

5)      Helps you cool down – it regulates your body temperature especially in these hot and humid summer months

After all your body is about 75% water.

There are many issues to get into when it comes to drinking water, we know all water is not created equal, should it be from the tap, bottled water, filtered and purified? As for me I just keep it simple -  filtered water at work and filtered water at home. When outside I have to resort to bottled water, it’s just easier that way and I pray whatever toxins that exist get flushed out somehow.

My advice is follow the rule of drinking 8 cups of water a day (from 8-ounce cups) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

How do you drink more?

-          If you are sitting at a desk like at work where you spend 8 hours or more of your day. Invest in a water bottle with markings that show the volume/capacity of the container, helps you keep track of your intake

-          If you don’t like the taste of water, try adding a slices of lemon/lime or be fancy and add slices of cucumber, instantly changes the taste

-          Decide the temperature of water you prefer and stick to it e.g room temperature, ice cold or lukewarm

Want a challenge? I challenge you to 7 days on only water and no other drink – coffee, tea, soda, sugary drinks, juice, or alcohol. At the end of 7 days please share how you feel. I feel a little sorry for the coffee drinkers who might feel withdrawal symptoms!