I had a very productive morning!! I tackled all the projects I’ve been putting off all spring, including sorting the pile of stuff in the spare bedroom. I even made an appearance in the attic to put some stuff up there! Scary!
All-American Run
The sun came out mid-morning and I decided it was too pretty out to go to the gym, so I went running. I took along my all-American playlist, which included:
- Sweet Home Alabama
- America the Beautiful
- The Independence Day theme song
- Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
- Only in America
- This Land is Your Land
- God Bless the USA
- And the actual Star Spangled Banner
(among other normal songs)
It was a fun, sunshine run and I was fast because it was warm out (the warmer it is, the faster I run and vice versa). But a little too fun – I ran to my favorite running neighborhood and spent too much time there looking at pretty houses and ended up doing about 6 miles. The run back was quite tiring.
Oh, and about 20 minutes before I left I had a dried apricot
Kitchen Sink Salad
I didn’t leave for my run until 11:45 and I ran for almost an hour, so lunch was late! I didn’t feel like making a fuss so I decided I would just throw stuff in a bowl. I think this is everything:
- Baby spinach, dressed in a quick jar-made dressing of balsamic, olive oil, dijon mustard and rosemary
- 1/4 a green pepper, chopped
- A carrot, shredded
- 1/2 a container blueberries
- About 1/4 cup wheatberries
- Avocado (about 2 tbsp chopped?)
- 1/3 cup-ish cottage cheese
- The rest of our soft goat cheese (about 1.5 tbsp)
- Sprinkle of sliced almonds
It was FANTASTIC!
On the side I had kashi crackers –
And a milk martini. I thought a normal cup was boring, and it was fun to have a small glass of milk in this form 🙂
All together –
I’m off to get dressed for the party tonight! I might not post until the morning since we’ll be home pretty late. We’ll see how tired I am 🙂
Katharine says
Hi Kath,
So this is kind of a weird question, but where did you get that sweater you are wearing in the picture with you holding the grapefruits? It is SO cute and I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while! Thanks and have a great weekend!
Kelley says
6 Miles in under an hour?! You’re already almost half way to a Half-Marathon!! I think you’d love it!! Maybe after you’re done with school or something, but Marathon training is so fun! That salad looks amazing!
JennC says
Jen- this is called an eating disorder. you need to seek PROFESSIONAL help
Justy2003 says
This may have been asked before, but I don’t remember! When you go for your longer runs (like today) do you ever walk for a little bit or do you run the entire time? I’m not a big fan of running (I think I get bored?) and find myself wanting to walk for a bit if I do anything over 3 miles (which isn’t very often!). Even when I do less than 3 miles I want to walk at times, but I just push through it! I only run 1 or 2 times a week…I wish I liked it more since it’s such a great cardio workout though!
Kelly T says
i drink water and diet soda out of wine glasses a lot. It makes feel classy.
Kelly T says
me*
its been a long day
Amy says
I would have never thought of blueberries, balsamic, goat cheese and cottage cheese!!!! You are so adventurous and I love reading this blog every day for inspiration!
Carrie H says
I have a question for you guys …
What is modified corn starch? I am sure it can’t be too good for you, but I recently made the switch to plain yogurt instead of flavored to avoid all the added sugar, but my brand has this stuff in it. Thanks!
LaShonda says
Hi again,
I saw this salad in the Vegatarin Times and on another blog named the hip hostess…she used arugula and thought I would share it. It was great and sorry for such a long post.
Arugula, Goat Cheese & Green Olive Wheat Berry Salad
½ C. wheat berries (hard winter variety)
2 C. filtered water
1 ½ C. cooked chickpeas or 15 oz. canned chick peas (no salt added), drained and rinsed
3 celery stalks, diced
¼ C. golden raisins
2 scallions, chopped
8 large pitted green olives, chopped
3 oz. spinach, washed and dried
2 oz. goat cheese or feta
¼ C. pistachio nuts, shelled
Dressing:
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. raw honey (or agave nectar)
1. Soak wheat berries overnight to cut down on the cooking time (2 hours without soaking, 1 hour if you have soaked them). Rinse wheat berries in a fine strainer. Put wheat berries in a small pot with 2 C. filtered water over high heat. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about an hour. Grains should have a chewy, tender center but should not be mushy. Let cool slightly in the cooking pot. Once cooled, pour the wheat berries into a strainer and drain any remaining water.
2. In a medium bowl, combine wheat berries, chickpeas, celery, raisins, scallions, olives and cheese. The wheat berry mixture can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and store in refrigerator.
3. To make the dressing, whisk the balsamic vinegar and the honey (or agave nectar) until well combined. Mix half of the dressing in with the wheat berry mixture.
4. Before serving, toss the spinach with the other half of the dressing in a separate bowl. Pile arugula on top of the wheat berry mixture and toss to combine all together right before serving.
Betsy says
your playlists always make me crack up. to each their own!!!
that salad looks soooo good. i love putting fruit in salads.
Kath says
Katharine ,
It’s from Old Navy, but 2 seasons ago (Fall) so it’s probably gone 🙁
Justy2003 ,
I run straight through because I want to get home faster! But there’s nothing wrong with walking some – especially if it means you’re more inclined to exercise.
LaShonda ,
Sounds delicious!
Betsy,
I’m occasionally embarrassed to put them up, but when I’m in the middle of my run I sometimes laugh out loud thinking about the song that came on and how strange it is I’m listening to it (i.e. Star Spangled Banner today!)
Kath
BethT says
Kath et al, I need some advice. I am in a major food rut. This is coming from someone who loves cookbooks, looking for new recipes, Food Network, etc….but I am totally feeling like everything I cook lately is boring and blah and nothing tastes good. I was sick for about two weeks and didn’t eat much except toast and bagels, and now when I try to cook “real” meals it all tastes yucky. Ideas on how to snap out of it? One thought I had was to go to the store a couple times a week (I can walk so it’s not a big deal) and make meals based on what looks good that day…otherwise I am stumped.
natalie says
Your playlist is too funny Kath!
I love the blueberry/almond combo and i’ll remember to add them to my next salad.
I’m also really starting to get jealous of your bowl collection haha
PS says
An interesting article about how portion sizes have changed over the years:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22178/49492-portion-size–now
working says
Justy, I recently did a half-marathon and walked/ran it. Other people did too. I find that if I start with the run/walk thing, then I can go fruther. But, if you want to increase your distance, you can run for one, walk for one, and then gradually change things up.
Christin says
BethT,
I totally feel your pain! I’ve just been going through that too…I decided to try to keep it simple and fresh for awhile…lots of fruit and veggies…try plain greek yogurt with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey for breakfast (I use Fage)…I have been experimenting with whole wheat pitas for lunches…stuffing them with salad mix, turkey breast, lite muenster, etc…and today I used a Trader Joes dip, grated cheese, and salad greens to make sort of a foldover “pizza”. It was delicious! My point is keeping it simple sometimes helps my system reset…and gives me new ideas for basics to add new ingredients into gradually…
SarahF says
Afternoon ladies!
I don’t know if there are any swimmers out there or not but any help would be greatly appreciated! The city that I live in has a week long “corporate challenge” once a year, where corporations compete against each other in sport events. I JUST found out that I’m doing the swimming part of the triathlon for my company. It isn’t that far (1500 metres or 60 laps) which I can do-but not very fast. What’s the best way to quickly add speed? Also, what should I eat before the race-since I’ll get up and have about 20-40 minutes before having to swim and I don’t want to run out of fuel half way through my swim.
Thanks in advance! 🙂
Kiala says
I just don’t know what to say about your playlist, Kath.
I just…no words.
YOU ARE FREAKING ME OUT.
PS says
Kiala, I know, right?
Kiala says
Serious.
Sidi says
What an interesting choice of songs.
The salad looks impressing. And I lost 5 pounds! Running helps a lot and walking, too. I know it’s the first five that are the easiest to lose, but I won’t give up. And imagine, I eat without counting the calories, but healthier and not as much as before. I feel great.
You are a great inspiration reading you every day helped me change my life-style. Thanks, Kath!
Steph says
Nothing wrong with a little patriotism…especially if it inspires you to run.
I personally love country music, but I find that hip-hop and rap inspire me while running. =)
Christin says
All that patriotism takes me back to grade school thanksgivings…I have to agree with Steph, hiphop always makes me workout harder…all that booty shaking talk I guess…
Allyson says
Kath-my mom would be so proud of that playlist and then she would ask me how to get it on her iPod! Awesome 🙂
Your lunch looks delicious and satisfying! I wish I could come up with more stuff like that! I’m at such a loss sometimes as to what to make!
Have a great weekend and great parties! 🙂
hk says
love cottage cheese, wheatberry, blueberry mixture, soo good~ have fun tonight 🙂
VeggieGirl says
Glad that you had a productive morning, and such a delicious salad!
Haha!! The “milk martini” is too fun :0D
Have a wonderful time at the party!!
arielle says
Does iTunes have “This Land is Your Land?” Or do you have a CD?
Tell me you don’t have a CD.
Allison K. says
that play list made me laugh out loud. I have totally random music like that as well…it keeps life interesting!
Ryane says
haha oh man, you really do win the award for most unique playlists!
quack says
i love the glass idea i did that when i was little wih plastic wine cups
quack says
http://onedayatatime-ducky.blogspot.com/
Becca says
The milk martini cracked me up…I guess I do the opposite when I drink wine at home because I have no wine glasses…
anthem says
I drink out of stilettos. a nice red with a hint of foot. Classy. Once at a pig roast/keg party, my roomie dropkicked the pigs head with her Manolo Blahniks.
Hannah says
Haha your playlist reminds me of fifth grade when we were forced to sing patriotic songs every morning. We were also forced to sing songs by abba and the carpenters…
Cottage cheese is my favorite addition to salad. I don’t even need to use dressing.
Teddy says
You’re songs are hilarious. But think sweet home Alabama is probably as far as I would go on my ipod 🙂
Teddy
Leah says
Hi Kath, I’ve been reading FFW and she says that you should only eat three meals per day because then you only have to start eating three times and stop eating three times. There’s no guess work, no temptation etc, because you know that you’ve got three opportunities to start and stop eating and then you are done. How do you feel about this? I’m not sure I agree because I believe that if you are hungry you shouldn’t deprive yourself and some people can function better on 6 small meals a day.. do you agree with her statements about meals or not?
Kath says
BethT ,
I’m not sure what advice to give you. What do you mean they taste ‘yucky’? Like your cooking is bad (does restaurant food taste good?) or does ALL heavy flavorful food taste bad? I think your grocery trip idea sounds great – perhaps browse through Cooking Light’s http://www.myrecipes.com before you go for recipe ideas. When I do meal plans I often just ask myself “What do I want to eat this week” and that helps keep up the variety of dinner ideas. Hope you start tasting again soon!
Leah ,
I actually REALLY liked this concept in FFW. It made perfect sense to me. I used to have a 10 a.m. snack every day. I would literally watch the clock until I could have it. After reading this, I put those calories toward a bigger breakfast and suddenly my snack wasn’t ruling my morning because I wasn’t hungry. So in that case, her reasoning really makes sense to me. I also agree with her that the hardest part is stopping eating, which is definitely true of me. I don’t think she would say you should fight hunger to live by the 3 meals a day principle – it’s more of a suggestion for bigger meals and less snacks in general. I still need a snack in the afternoons (although if I have a big enough lunch, I sometimes do not). But I choose to have lunch + snack because that works for me. While the 5-6 small meals a day works wonderfully for some people, it wouldn’t work well for me because i’d constantly be thinking about my next meal. And if getting hungry often and stopping eating are hard for you, i think the 3 meals a day would work better. But you definitely need to think about what would work best with your personality and eating style.
Kath
Another Kelly says
Leah, what’s FFW? Fit From Within? I’m not sure I agree with that theory at all. I typically have 3 meals a day and 2 snacks (if I genuinely don’t need them I don’t eat them). I think you have to find what works for you. Yes, it will be easy to overeat at first, but eventually when you trust your body you learn. I think Intuitive Eating is a fantastic book and is FULL of info to help someone switch from calorie counting to intuitive eating. For me I often need the snacks to keep my blood sugar up and to keep myself from overdoing it at the next meal. I find that if I go into my meals slightly hungry but not famished I am MUCH more likely to make good decisions.
oatmeal says
Glad to see you’ve been productive and got stuff done! 😀
I love the blueberries in salad idea~fruits give salad a very interesting taste~since their sweetness stands out!
The milk martini is really cute XD
Sweet Potato Amy says
SarahF,
I love swimming, and used to swim year-round when I was a kiddo! Congrats on the competition in advance!
A couple (or several)tips:
If you have access to fins, doing some sets of butterfly kicks with fins can help improve your speed, as well as doing them during the race when you push off the wall (underwater and before you surface).
If you’re familiar/experienced with flip turns, I’d highly recommend working on those b/c they can really make a difference in your overall speed.
Also, doing some ‘arms only’ practice sets (if you have access to pull buoys) can help to get your arms ready for the race.
Doing some practice sets that combine sprints & long distance swims can help, such as 10 sets of 50s and 10 sets of 100s or any combo you would like!
Additionally, my coaches always told us to use your arms primarily for the first part of the race, and then toward the end (like the last 200 or so), really power up your legs and rely on them!
This became QUITE wordy but if you want any additional specifics or if this was just confusing w/ the wordiness, let me know, hope this helps!
Oh and also for the food advice, a carb-esque/whole-grain snack with some protein is always helpful before a swim.
Amy
working says
Hannah, your comment about 5th grade songs made me laugh. I volunteered for Junior Achievement and we visited classrooms and started out the day singing patriotic songs with the kids.
Quack, I checked out your blog – good luck with the road to recovery!