As part of being an ambassador for Attune Foods, my second monthly post in the “Weight Loss Wednesdays” column went live yesterday. The theme of the month is “Real Food” so click the real food you see in the photo below to check out my approach to grocery shopping.

And don’t worry, that photo was not taken in an actual grocery store, so I wasn’t kicked out or anything.

Leave some love over on the Attune Foods Blog!

After Saturday’s 10 mile run, I decided to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure. There is this place I’ve been going for a few months now that does a great job for $25 for both, and I was excited when they had an appointment available with my favorite technician, Michelle. Even though I have tons of magazine subscriptions, I rarely make the time to read them at home, so decided to bring the newest issue of Health Magazine with me with Jillian Michaels on the cover.

Once I settled into the chair to get my pedicure, I dove into the magazine and found one article in particular that struck me called “#1 Happiness Trick”.

It said to write down five things you’re grateful for once a week, every week. People who did that activity in a study felt happier, healthier, and exercised more after 9 weeks, and writing down what they were grateful for made them focus more on the blessings and less on the shortcomings in their life. I made a mental note to write about it on here because I think it would be a good activity for me to do each week for at least a little while, but then backburnered it once my pedi was over.

Fast forward to Monday, and I woke up with my middle finger being a little sore around the cuticle. I didn’t think too much of it, but then when I woke up in the night yesterday from it throbbing, I realized something wasn’t quite right. I slathered it with Neosporin, went back to sleep, and then woke up to a swollen and very sensitive middle finger yesterday morning. It felt pretty silly making such a big deal of it since it was just a finger, but as the day went on, it was getting worse and worse.

It doesn’t look too bad in the photo, but I promise you, it was very painful.

Sorry for over sharing in advance, but towards the end of the day, it was throbbing so bad and felt like it was burring, and then when gross stuff started coming out of it, I knew I needed to see a doctor. I ended up going to Urgent Care, and as I was sitting in the room waiting patiently to see a doctor and feeling pretty annoyed that I got an infection from the mani/pedi, my mind went back to the article that I was reading while the transaction was taking place.

Rather than focusing on the fact that I was waiting to see the doc, I decided to take some time to think about what I’m grateful for. When all was said and done, I was sent home from the doctor with antibiotics and assurance that my finger would stay attached to my body. I also was sent home with this list of things for which I’m grateful fresh on my mind, in no particular order:

1. My health. I never take it for granted anymore and am humbled every time my body does something amazing for me, like carries me 10 miles.
2. My family. I am very close with my immediate family, and I don’t know what I’d do without my sisters and my parents. It’s funny because growing up, I was never THAT close with my aunts/uncles/cousins, so I didn’t quite have my head around what a close relation that was. Now that both of my sisters have kids and I am their aunt, and one day my kids will be their cousins, I can’t imagine not seeing them as much as I can and having them be such a major part of my life.
3. My career. Every job has its pros and cons, but I am very lucky to have a mostly-pro list for mine. I work with really awesome people that I actually enjoy being around, have the opportunity to do a lot and really own the program that I manage, and get a steady paycheck twice a month. I well aware that a lot of people don’t have all those luxuries.
4. Weight Watchers. I loooooove having not just the program itself to follow, but having the opportunity to be involved in it with it on so many different levels through this blog and through Leading the meetings. I had my 5th week of my Tuesday morning meeting, and each week I am loving it more and more. Starting the week after next, I’m taking on a second meeting Monday evenings, and I feel so grateful to be able to pay forward everything that WW has given me considering how much it changed my life for the better.
5. My friends. I know this sounds like the most cliche thing ever, but I really do have the best friends in the world. They’ve been by my side through thick and thin (literally) and have been there at the drop any time I’ve needed anything. When I ended up moving into DC, I moved within just a few blocks of two of my best girlfriends and I feel so lucky to be so close to them and to have them in my life.

Please share one thing (or more) that you’re grateful for today!

I think I’ve figured out the trick for me with long runs… make sure I have no time sensitive plans scheduled for afterwards. When I do have plans and have to make myself get up at a certain time to get my long runs done, I start looking at it as a chore and it really messes with me mentally. We’ll see how that goes three weeks from Saturday (!!) since I don’t get to influence the start time of the race itself.

I slept in later than I have in a LONG time on Saturday, and woke up around 11am! It felt so great, and I took my time making a simple breakfast, my staple pre-run fuel.

An english muffin with peanut butter and banana… plus coffee with half and half. (Side note – I’ve completely switched over to regular (organic) half and half with my coffee and have been loving it. It’s so creamy and at 1 pt for 2 tablespoons, totally worth it in my opinion.)

After eating, I got myself dressed up and ready to go. I have been experimenting with different hydration techniques the last few weeks because I go through phases with what works for me. For a while there, I was using my fuel belt, but then I started not liking the way it felt around my waist and how it would ride up. After that, I switched to a Camelbak, but I haven’t been that into using it for training runs because it feels like such a hassle to fill up and clean even though I know it’s not.

Last weekend for my 9 miler, I bought a bottle of water during the run, but this past Saturday, I tried my handheld waterbottle for the first time in a while.

I like it because it has a little pouch that I put my two Vanilla Bean GUs in for the run, and its not heavy at all. I barely even have to hold it since my hand goes through the strap, but it does occasionally make my hand go numb which can be annoying.

After getting geared up, I headed out for the run. I had mapped out a route on WalkJogRun.net that I took one last look at before slathering my (once non-existent) collarbone with BodyGlide, and then I was off.

The run itself was awesome. I tried to just run at a pace that felt comfortable and soak in the perfect weather and scenery. I almost never stop to take photos when I run, but as I was passing mile 7 and looked to my left, I couldn’t help it.

Sometimes I take for granted the gorgeous scenery I get to run around… but not Saturday. It was breathtaking. Or maybe that had something to do with the fact that I was 7 miles into my run… either way it wasn’t bad to look at.

I don’t have too much to say about the run itself – the first two miles were a little tough mentally but then I got in my groove and just kept trucking along. I ended up finishing just under a 10 minute pace, which was perfect for the training run.

In terms of fuel, I ended up taking both GUs even though I wasn’t planning on it. I took the first one at about 4.5 miles (~45 minutes) and then the second one around 7.5 miles because I was starting to drag a bit and wanted to finish the run strong.

And you know what? I did just that.

I felt like a million bucks when I was done – my first double digit run in almost 6 months. Booya.

What is your preferred method of hydration? And distance-wise, at what point do you carry water with you for a run?

I tend to carry water only if I’m going for more than 6 miles. If I’m running for less than an hour, I am usually good with just drinking before and after the run, but any more than that and I like to have something with me. In terms of hydration method, I really go through so many different phases with what works for me at the time like I said above. I think I will use my Camelbak on the day of the half like I did last time, but it doesn’t seem worth it to go through the trouble for every training run.

I’m not sure why, but stuffed peppers are one of those dishes that has always intimidated me. My mom used to make them a lot growing up, and she would make extra filling into little meatballs that she would cook into the sauce and call “Porcupine Balls”. I always loved them, but it was never something I attempted in my own kitchen until last week. It seemed pretty complicated and labor intensive, but now that I’ve done it myself, I know that’s not true!

This is the first recipe on Beth’s Journey that contains meat – ground turkey, to be exact – but you can easily omit the turkey if you want to keep it vegetarian. And, if you don’t add the cheese at the end, they can even be vegan, too, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

These stuffed peppers are loaded with Mexican flavors – ground turkey, black beans, brown rice, cilantro, cumin – and then use salsa in place of sauce which adds moisture and takes them to the next level. They hold up really well as leftovers and are very versatile based on what you have in your kitchen if you want to switch things up. Try adding corn, different spices, different cheese, or different veggies, and let me know how they turn out!

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• 6 servings, 4 pts+/pepper

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (~ 3 cloves)
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 large tomato, chopped
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup cilantro, minced
• 3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced in half
• 2 ounces shredded cheddar (or other cheese of choice)

First, preheat your oven to 400º.

Next, heat a pan over medium heat with nonstick spray and add in your red onion and garlic.

Heat until translucent, about 5-6 minutes, before adding in the ground turkey.

Break the turkey up with a spatula or wooden spoon and continue to keep over the heat until the turkey is cooked through and you don’t see anymore pink, about 5 more minutes. Once the turkey is cooked, add in the cumin, black beans, brown rice, and chopped tomato.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes until mixture is heated through, before stirring in the salsa and cilantro.

Once the mixture is combined and heated, it is finished and read to stuff into the peppers.

To prep the peppers, you want to slice them in half the long way and then remove the seeds and the insides. Place them in 1 (or 2 if necessary) baking sheets sprayed with nonstick spray.

Then get to stuffing. Evenly distribute the Mexican filling between the six pepper halves.

And then cover the tray(s) with tin foil.

Pop in the oven for 30 minutes, and then carefully remove the foil, sprinkle the cheese evenly between the peppers. They are hot enough to melt the cheese in just a few seconds, so get ready to dig in!

You can easily have 1 or 2 of these for 4 or 8 PointsPlus respectively, and serve it with salad for a complete meal. They also make GREAT leftovers for lunch.

So this is one of those dishes that I’m not sure why I waited so long to make! They were super simple and honestly pretty foolproof and forgiving, while completely delicious and satisfying. Give them a try!!

Are there any dishes that intimidate you to make? Anything you’ve waited a while to try and realized it wasn’t as complicated as you thought?

Besides stuffed peppers, risotto scared the heck out of me! I’ve only made it a handful of times, but it’s always way easier than I think it’s going to be, just requires a bit of attention!

When I got home from Shenandoah Valley on Sunday afternoon, I had high hopes of getting a bunch of sh*t done. I planned to go to the grocery store, workout, and cook dinner at the very least, and then maybe relax a little. But you know what I did instead? I laid on the couch and didn’t move until it was time to get up for work on Monday. Sometimes that just needs to happen.

After work on Monday, getting things done was no longer an option, and I ended up having the most productive post-work night that I’ve had in a LONG time. It included:

1. Going grocery shopping at Whole Foods on the way home from work.
2. 2. Putting the bag full of groceries into the fridge (unpacked) and leaving immediately for a super hilly 4.5 mile run.
3. Putting together my new bed that arrived, which took about 45 minutes since I put the rails on the wrong sides the first time around.
4. Whipping up tofu, soba noodles, and veggies for dinner with homemade peanut sauce (peanut flour, water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger powder, garlic powder, and sesame oil).
5. Cleaning the entire kitchen post-dinner since I was ravenous by the time dinner was ready so things might have been thrown around a bit.
6. Packing breakfast/lunch/snacks for the next day.
7. Showering. Yes, this counts as an accomplishment.
8. Blow drying my hair.
9. Planning my weight watchers meeting for yesterday morning, which was all about Decoding Menus and figuring out good things to order at restaurants. Did you know the average American eats 4.2 meals out per week!?
10. Writing a blog post about my trip.
11. Watching one episode of my newest obsession, Gossip Girl. Don’t judge.
12. Making this meal plan for the week:

Even though I didn’t sit down until after 10pm that night, it felt good to cross so much off my list, have a workout under my belt, and feel good about the week ahead.

Do you tend to get stuff done during the weeknights or mostly relax? I’m half and half. That was my Monday night, but then last night I just watched Gossip Girl and barely moved.

I really do love living in the city, but sometimes getting away from the city can’t be beat. Especially when the view from the back porch while you’re drinking your morning coffee is this:

I’d been to the Shenandoah Valley once before for my birthday last year, but this time was very different because there were.. 22 of us! A bunch of friends and I rented a huge house from Absolute Perfect Escape properties… and the name really says it all.

We rented a 9 bedroom house that had the works. A huge kitchen, a fireplace, a hottub, a fire pit outside, a pool table, air hockey (!) and so much more. Somehow, almost every single person got a bed and we really made the space work to our advantage.

Outside of the features of the house itself, the views were just breathtaking.

We all spent a lot of time just staring out in awe and breathing in the fresh air.

And also went on a “nature walk” (gentle hike) despite the cold. Some of us even balanced in yoga poses on fallen trees.

To be honest, I was a little nervous that I was going to feel super overwhelmed with the number of people there since I’m used to living alone by now, and was worried I might not be that pleasant to be around towards the end of the trip. But, it really turned out great because the house was so huge that there was plenty of space for all of us. A bunch of people did their own thing on Saturday during the day, but it really didn’t even seem like there were that many people there which was great. That is, until breakfast time.

But who can blame ‘em? Check out this spread for our last day:

From the top:

• Veggie and Cheese Strata
• Breakfast hashbrowns with cheese and sour cream
• Cinnamon crunch french toast
• Orange zest french toast
• Regular Bacon
• Maple Bacon
• Fruit Salad (the one remotely healthy thing)
• Tater tots (hiding in the WAY back)

Overall, the weekend was really fun and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I do wish I had made some healthier choices, especially with eating, because there were a few times over the weekend where I literally ate to the point of feeling sick because there was so much good food. I tend to do better with that when I control my own environment, but you gotta live a little, right?

Have you ever gone away with a group of friends? Where’d you go?

I woke up today to a vivid dream where I had gone out to run 9 miles, and while the run itself was good, towards the end I was running through grass and looked down and realized I didn’t have any shoes on, and also didn’t have the keys to my apartment. Another random thing I remember was that I didn’t fuel at all during the run, but I somehow made it to the end, even if I couldn’t get into my apartment afterwards.

As soon as I opened my eyes today, I had nine miles on the brain, and not just because of the dream. I am going to the Shenandoah Valley this weekend with a bunch of friends, so I decided to use some of my comp time from San Antonio to take the day off to get ready to go and get my long run out of the way.

I started with my usual pre-run breakfast of a sandwich thin with banana and peanut butter:

Plus coffee and a bottle of water. I got myself dressed pretty quickly after eating, making sure not to forget my shoes or my keys:

My mentality going into this run was really different and I need to make an effort to use it more consistently. The last time I attempted a long run, I fell at just past the half way point and had to have a friend come scoop me and drive me home. When I started that run, my goal was to get it over with. With this run, I wanted to just enjoy it, and that I did. I put no time pressure on myself because I had a lot of flexibility in that department with taking the day off from work, and that worked out great.

• Mile 1: 7:36 (ummm I’m not sure how this one happened)
• Mile 2: 9:52
• Mile 3: 9:44
• Mile 4: 9:47
• Mile 5: 9:48

Around the 50 minute or 5.3 mile mark, I took a Vanilla Bean GU (my favorite – tastes like frosting to me!) and stopped very briefly to buy a bottle of water from a street vendor, which I chugged on the go.

• Mile 6: 8:54
• Mile 7: 9:38
• Mile 8: 10:31 (big hill)
• Mile 9: 10:08 (tired)

• Total Distance: 9.0 miles
• Total Time: 1:25:57
• Average Pace: 9:33

I’m not gonna lie… the last .25 miles was tough because I was definitely ready for the run to be over, but I felt the best I’ve felt in a LONG time during this run! So then I decided to take this goofy picture of myself:

And now, time to eat and pack for my weekend away!

So a few random things to share today…

1.) I am in much better shape knee wise!

Thank you guys so much for the comments on that post about taking a spill – I swear I am a graceful person. Not really. I did notice yesterday that my knees are starting to bruise, which is super attractive.

Left knee:

Right knee:

It does make me feel like a little less of a wuss for freaking out, though. And I promise to spare you from any ugly knee photos going forward.

2.) Weight Watchers leading is going great!

I feel like I’m getting more confident and comfortable each week, and am definitely getting into my groove with it. Yesterday’s meeting topic was about everyone’s favorite thing – Tracking. But, we ended up having a high energy discussion and a lot of great ideas came out of it! I am excited to be seeing my speaking skills and confidence growing with every meeting!

3.) I had a kickass run last night!

I ended up going out for dinner on Monday night and hadn’t yet been grocery shopping, so I really needed to get to the store AND get a run in last night. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from work, got home, put the bags full of food directly into the fridge, and then set out!

I knocked out a super hilly 4.5 miles, which was awesome because one of my goals for this half marathon is to do more hill training. Even with a 10:40 pace on mile 3 of this run, which involved a really steep half mile climb, I managed to bust out all 4.5 miles in 44 minutes exactly, which is a 9:46 average pace!

Tell me something random and good!

So I had an 8 miler on my training schedule for Saturday, and I was actually really looking forward to it. When I was in San Antonio, I didn’t have/make time to do my long run, but I just decided that my shorter and speed training runs around the weekend run would be enough, and Saturday’s 8 miler was a test to make sure I was really on track with training.

I slept pretty late since I am still recovering on sleep from working 27 hours between last Saturday and Sunday, and after eating a quick pre-run breakfast, I set out. I mapped out an 8 mile route from my apartment running mostly through the city, and off I went. The first mile was a little tough, but as I got into miles 2 and 3 I got in my groove and was feeling really good.

I had picked a pretty hilly route because, as I mentioned before, I’m really trying to incorporate more hills into my training runs. Miles 3 and 4 were quite hilly, but after the 4 mile mark things evened out and I was feeling great (and not to mention, half way done). During that part of the run, I was running down M Street in Georgetown, which is probably the worst choice for a running route because it’s super crowded and pretty poorly paved on the sidewalks. That said, I’ve run it many, many times and never had a problem, until Saturday.

Just as I passed the 4.25 mile mark, I must have stepped directly into a hole where a brick should have been, and I went FLYING. I landed hard on my knees and used my hands to break my fall, and it was so sudden that it really caught me off guard. I jumped right up and there were several people around me asking if I was OK, and I told them thanks but yes I’m fine, and started running again.

As I took those first few steps, my knees just did NOT feel right, especially my left knee. I didn’t want to pull my pants up to look, but I knew I was feeling super emotional and that I should probably just call it quits, so I called my friend Amber to see if there was any way she could come get me. She sent her fiancé Mike, who is also a good friend, and he ended up coming to scoop me and driving me the rest of the way home.

When I got home, I took a look at my knee, and it wasn’t bad scrape wise, but it definitely felt bruised underneath.

Very attractive photo, I know.

I ended up icing it for a while before hoping in the shower, which was probably the most painful part of the whole experience because it stung so bad! After icing it though, I was walking around and it didn’t feel quite so bad, so I knew nothing was terribly wrong.

When I woke up yesterday, it felt fine, so I decided to give Yoga for Runners a go to see how it felt. Many of the postures have you on your knees, and so after just 10 minutes, I decided to abort the mission and go to the gym to test it out instead. I ended up doing 30 minutes on the Stairmaster before getting on the treadmill and knocking out 2 miles. It hurt to have my running pants over the knee, so I just pulled it up, but other than that it felt fine. I don’t know if I did the right thing by stopping, because I think it was more that the experience shook me up than anything, and I’m pretty bummed I missed my long run, again.

My plan to get back into it is to follow the training plan to a T this week, busting out 4.5 miles today, intervals on Wednesday, strength on Thursday, and then a 9 miler on Friday since I’m out of town this coming weekend. I think that if all goes well this week I’ll be fine for the half, but I’m not going to push it if 9 feels too long on Friday and will scale back to 8 if need be.

Have you ever taken a spill during a run? How did you respond?

In case you couldn’t gather from yesterday’s post, San Antonio was not the healthiest of trips. I always go with the best of intentions and end up failing miserably and overdoing it while I am away for work. While I know it’s not the end of the world, it’s frustrating that I can’t seem to master eating healthy on a business trip…

One good move I did make was on Saturday I decided to order a box of fruits and vegetables from Washington’s Green Grocer. I ordered a box from them one other time which you can read about here, and while I was overall satisfied, I wasn’t impressed enough to order it again since then, which was about a year ago.

When I placed the order from my iPhone, I think I misread something because I was under the impression it was coming Monday. My thought was that I wouldn’t have time to grocery shop and when I got home from my trip, I’d have a box of fruits and veggies waiting. After I placed the order though, I totally forgot that I did and there was no box waiting at home on Monday.

Yesterday, however, was a different story.

When I saw the box sitting up against my door like that when I got home, I had NO idea what it was until I took a closer look and realized it was a box full of fresh fruits and veggies!

This time, I was REALLY impressed with the value of the box. Everything was in excellent condition, and it cost $31.25 with delivery including all fees. I ordered a small mixed box, which includes some organic, some transitional, and some conventional produce.

Check out how much they packed into the box!

First up, the fruit.

• 2 grapefruit
• 3 naval oranges
• 3 red pears
• 6 fuji apples

*Note: This time I requested NO bananas, because last time they were a little bruised up and I am super particular about my bananas for some reason, so I’m not sure what they gave in place, but there was definitely a ton in the box!

Next up, the veggies:

• 2 portabella mushrooms (already gone)
• 1 bunch of carrots w/the greens
• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 avocado
• 2 cucumber
• green beans (in the bag)
• green leaf lettuce

Quite a lot of produce for just $31.25 including delivery! While I don’t think this will be a weekly thing by any means, I do think I’m going to try to make use of it during particularly busy weeks. I also love the idea of having it delivered when I’m just getting back to a trip and won’t have time to head to the store so that I have no excuses to get back on track immediately.

Have you ever used a delivery service for produce and/or groceries? Would you?