Tag Archives: salad

I Have a Confession

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I am the most indecisive person ever! [I apologize if you were hoping for a bigger confession.]

I stand in the grocery isle surveying all my options for a carton of Ben & Jerry’s before picking one up, reading the description, and then putting it back in the freezer. This repeats about 4 times before I finally walk away with nothing.

I continue to shop for the rest of my groceries, while weighing the pros and cons of each flavor. After much turmoil, I return to the frozen food isle and survey all my options again. I pick up a couple containers, put them back, and finally choose the flavor I picked out in the first place.

Good thing Craig isn’t with me, otherwise we would have one of each flavor in our cart. Oh wait, maybe that explains why we had  seven different cartons in our fridge this week! ;)

This indecisiveness carries over into pretty much every aspect of my life: what clothes to wear in the morning (I have to pick out my clothes the night before otherwise I will run out of time in the morning.), what to eat, and most recently whether or not to buy a GPS watch for running.

For the past two years, I have gone back and forth, back and froth, back and forth about buying a GPS watch for running. I am a type A+, detail-oriented person who loves know the exactness of everything, but when I go for a run, I am pretty sure I know how far I am going, plus nearly $200 for a silly little watch?!?! Seriously!?!?

But after thinking about buying a watch (for two years, mind you), asking fellow runners for their opinion (several times!), I finally purchased a watch last year. . . . .and then returned it. (I even showed it on my blog.)

The decision came back to haunt me, and I just couldn’t get it out of my mind that I should have kept it in the first place, so I ordered another one this fall.


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So there you have it! I am finally the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 405!

I used it yesterday on my 10-miler and really liked knowing exactly how far I had gone and what my current pace was.

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For dinner tonight, I had my new favorite salad combination:

mixed greens + caramelized pecans + dried cranberries + goat cheese

I used caesar salad dressing only because it was all we had in the house, but it tasted good! I think just as long as you use a creamy dressing versus an oil or vinegar-based dressing you’ll be fine.


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The caramelized pecans put this salad over the top!

Caramelizing nuts is super easy. I started by adding nuts and white sugar to a non-stick skillet over low heat. (I probably used about 1 teaspoon sugar for 1/4 cup nuts.) Keeping the stove-top on low heat is key. I stirred the nuts periodically throughout the process until all the sugar has melted. Easy as pie!

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On Saturday, I made a stop at Gap and discovered a pretty decent sale.

They were (probably still are?) having a Columbus Day sale and everything was an additional 30% off with some tops (the dark gray cardigan in this picture) and dress pants being 50% off.


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So if you like a good deal, go check it out.

Time to get ready for bed.

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Question

Do you use a GPS to track your runs? If so, what brand/model?

Visions of Oatmeal Bowls

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Thank you SO MUCH for all the wonderful comments and advice on my A Dilemma post!

It is comforting knowing that I am not the only one who is/was in a similar situation!

I don’t want to give the impression that my husband is the bad guy. He does feel awful that I am not happy, and there is a move in the talks. I just don’t know for sure when, and until that time I have to learn to cope.

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It was so good to get out this morning and clear my head from yesterday’s dilemma. Some of your comments (those I had read before heading out) were also fresh on my mind.

I did a nice, easy 5-miler in preparation for tomorrow’s long run.

Distance: 5 miles

Time: 41 minutes

Weather: 42*, cloudy, a few sprinkles here and there

While out running, visions of a delicious, creamy bowl of oatmeal danced in my head. :)

Pretty much my standard bowl of oatmeal:

Scottish oatmeal + milk + water + banana + chia seeds + vanilla extract + dash of salt

With a plump topping of peanut butter, banana, and strawberries on top!

Lunch was a delicious salad with a ton of different toppings.

Pretty much an “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-salad.”

I also had a container of Fage Greek yogurt.

Fage makes a great Greek yogurt, and I love these containers with the mix-in!

The bluberry-acai mix-in was great, but I could have bought a jar of blueberry jam, added it to the yogurt, and been just as satisfied.

After a very stressful day at work, I got into my car, turned the radio off, and sat in silence most of the way home.

I’ve been doing this more and more because after being in a gym with 20-25 yelling and screaming kids, all I want is peace and quiet!

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This was actually not my dinner tonight. I just didn’t get a chance to blog about it before.

Craig and I made these sandwiches the other night, and they will definitely be making an appearance in our kitchen again! They were phenomenal!

Any time I see a recipe on Jenna’s bog, I know I’m in for a special treat! And her recipe for this Gaullois Sandwich did not disappoint!

I started by using French baguette bread and layering it with black forest ham + brie + sun dried tomatoes.

After broiling it in the oven, I then topped my sandwich with pecans, fresh parsley, olive oil, and a fresh squeeze of lemon.

Finally, I added a little romaine lettuce, and it is complete!

Awesome!

I hope your have a splendid weekend!

Veggie Love

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Veggie sandwiches will always hold a special place in my heart.

On one of our first dates—even before Craig and I were dating—I flew out to Portland to visit Craig where he was going to school. Craig had a hike planned for us in the mountains outside Portland for the day, so we packed a lunch that included: veggies sandwiches, blue chips, apples, and a orange-ginger cookie to share. (Yes, I still remember all the details. ;) )

These sandwiches are packed full of a million different veggies!

spinach + avocado + muenster cheese + tomatoes + green onion + cucumber sandwiched between my homemade bread

Can’t get enough of that veggie goodness!

I also had some blue chips on the side—gotta stay with the theme.

I like these chips because they are no overly salted. However, I’ve definitely had better blue chips.

For dessert, I had a cone filled with one serving of ice cream.

This was the first time I have purchased Alden’s brand of ice cream. Sadly, I had higher hopes. It was good, but it didn’t have that traditional Oreo flavor I was craving since Oreos are would not be all-natural. But it is still ice cream and even bad ice cream is still good ice cream in my book. ;) After my late lunch, I ran some errands. I made a stop at the local running store to check out their compression socks. The guy helping me offered to measure the circumference of my calf so I would know what size I needed. I hiked up my pants and was instantly embarrassed when I saw the forest growing on my legs! Ahhh!! How did I let that happen? Obviously I have been too busy to shave my legs recently–oops! Sorry Skinny Raven employee!!

When I got back home, I finally had a chance to jump in the shower and get ready for the day evening. (Gosh, I sound like the grimiest person ever.) By then, my stomach was in need of some more food. It’s incredible how much running amps up my appetite!

yogurt + granola

I topped my yogurt with Cascadian Farm Dark Chocolate Almond Granola. Seriously, what a great excuse to eat dark chocolate in the morning (or the afternoon in my case)!

This granola is not super chocolatey. You could definitely taste the chocolate bits every now and then, but it didn’t take away from the traditional granola flavors. Overall, super crunchy and delicious.

For dinner, I made myself a big salad to continue with the veggie love today.

I topped this bad boy with a million different things:

spinach + red leaf lettuce + carrots + mushrooms + red pepper + avocado + hard boiled egg + fresh cilantro

Craig and I are off to a wedding reception for the evening. See ya tomorrow!