Well, my last Week 3 run was on Thursday after work. I didn't run home from work, I walked home from work (2 miles) and then went for my run. I think it may have been a bit much, but I didn't think about the run as much as I had before. Does this mean it's getting easier? It seemed that way. I wasn't as out of breath, but it all felt a bit slap-dash so I'm going to focus more tomorrow on warming up properly and not rushing things.
I've found a brilliant archive of workouts courtesy of Women's Health. Check this page out if you're looking for some new moves and routines!
Friday, 13 May 2011
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Almost-Take-Out Chow Mein
I made vegetable chow mein for dinner tonight. I've never tried to dry the noodles out like they must do at Chinese restaurants, but it worked and it tasted delish! Here's what I did.
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cook a quantity of egg noodles (I did 3 dried 'nests' of Sharwood's Medium Egg Noodles for two people) as it says to on the package. Drain and tip into a cake dish, pie plate, or casserole dish and spray with some non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cook noodles for 10 minutes. While this is happening, chop up all your vegetables (I used peppers, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms).
3. Take the noodles out of the oven, flip them over - or give them a good mix if you can't easily flip them - and put back in for a further 10 minutes.
4. If you are using meat, cook it in a frying pan, then add your vegetables and cook 3-4 minutes until they are crisp-tender (this is such a contradictory phrase, but you know what I mean).
5. Mix together:
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used half an oxo cube with boiling water)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduced salt if you have it)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/4 tsp corn flour or corn starch
Whisk until the corn flour/starch is dissolved.
Add this sauce to your vegetables and simmer for two minutes until it has thickened a bit.
6. Serve the vegetables and sauce over your dried-out egg noodles. Sprinkle with green onions and some sesame seeds.
Ta da! Almost as good as your local takeaway (take out, if you're Canadian like me), with less calories, less plastic cartons, and more of the stuff you actually want to eat and enjoy!
I do wish I'd taken a picture, but you know what Chow Mein looks like, I'm sure! This one, unlike my Lentil Meatloaf actually was a hit with my boyfriend too!
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cook a quantity of egg noodles (I did 3 dried 'nests' of Sharwood's Medium Egg Noodles for two people) as it says to on the package. Drain and tip into a cake dish, pie plate, or casserole dish and spray with some non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cook noodles for 10 minutes. While this is happening, chop up all your vegetables (I used peppers, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms).
3. Take the noodles out of the oven, flip them over - or give them a good mix if you can't easily flip them - and put back in for a further 10 minutes.
4. If you are using meat, cook it in a frying pan, then add your vegetables and cook 3-4 minutes until they are crisp-tender (this is such a contradictory phrase, but you know what I mean).
5. Mix together:
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used half an oxo cube with boiling water)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduced salt if you have it)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/4 tsp corn flour or corn starch
Whisk until the corn flour/starch is dissolved.
Add this sauce to your vegetables and simmer for two minutes until it has thickened a bit.
6. Serve the vegetables and sauce over your dried-out egg noodles. Sprinkle with green onions and some sesame seeds.
Ta da! Almost as good as your local takeaway (take out, if you're Canadian like me), with less calories, less plastic cartons, and more of the stuff you actually want to eat and enjoy!
I do wish I'd taken a picture, but you know what Chow Mein looks like, I'm sure! This one, unlike my Lentil Meatloaf actually was a hit with my boyfriend too!
Monday, 9 May 2011
C25k Week 3, Day 2
Day two down and would you believe it, I actually kept running after my second three minute stint. What is wrong with me? This is obviously far from a bad thing but it's just so unlike me. I'm so surprised that I am enjoying running and am actually looking forward to doing it again. Eventually I'll get over my own shock but for now... wow!
I don't have much to say other than that, really. Unfortunately I am not the most interesting person on the planet but hey, if we were all fascinating people, it would be an exhausting world to live in!
See you after my next run on Wednesday! :)
I don't have much to say other than that, really. Unfortunately I am not the most interesting person on the planet but hey, if we were all fascinating people, it would be an exhausting world to live in!
See you after my next run on Wednesday! :)
Sunday, 8 May 2011
C25k Week 3, Day 1
This is a bit late, but I completed Day 1 of Week 3 on Thursday. I ran home from work, and the three minute runs were nowhere near as scary as I expected. I actually enjoyed them. They wore me out a bit but I know three weeks ago I probably wouldn't have been able to run for three minutes without collapsing. I hated running and now I'm beginning to look forward to it. I think some kind of alien has invaded and taken over my body - who is this person??
I tried the Vanilla flavoured Impact Whey Protein shake on Thursday morning. The 25g sample mixed with 200ml of semi-skimmed milk was not enough to keep me going until lunch but I think it will be a good addition to a healthy breakfast, especially if I have just been running (in the morning on a weekend, for example, since I don't have time to do that during the week). The vanilla flavour tasted like melted ice cream. It was very sweet, but I would probably have it again because honestly, I kind of expected it to taste like drinking sawdust. I was pleasantly surprised!
It was a rough weekend. I try to plan, and then throw it out the window when around friends or when presented with food I really enjoy. I am back on track today though, and I think this time I am going to finally lose the last few pounds I've been holding on to. Instead of just accepting that it will be a high calorie weekend I let it be one night of barbecue food and alcohol, and today is a new day! This is something I really struggled with before so I am pleased with myself, even if my stomach is still a bit nauseous from all the sangria and peach schnapps!
Photo from MyProtein.com.
It was a rough weekend. I try to plan, and then throw it out the window when around friends or when presented with food I really enjoy. I am back on track today though, and I think this time I am going to finally lose the last few pounds I've been holding on to. Instead of just accepting that it will be a high calorie weekend I let it be one night of barbecue food and alcohol, and today is a new day! This is something I really struggled with before so I am pleased with myself, even if my stomach is still a bit nauseous from all the sangria and peach schnapps!
Photo from MyProtein.com.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
C25k Week 2, Day 3
Finished day 3 yesterday. I ran two days in a row and I generally try to avoid doing the same exercises back-to-back but the opportunity presented itself so off I went!
I will be doing Week 3, Day 1 tomorrow and I'm pretty nervous for the 3 minute runs. Eeep!
Interesting Find of the Day: Closet Cooking. This is a website that my friend Becky introduced me to around Christmas time. I have browsed briefly and intend to spend more time checking out Kevin's delicious recipes. The pictures are beautiful (stay away if you're a bit peckish!) and a lot of the recipes seem quite wholesome. Of course, there's some delightful surprises in there too, like the recipe Becky originally sent me to see, Lime Meltaways, which I will attempt at some point!
I will be doing Week 3, Day 1 tomorrow and I'm pretty nervous for the 3 minute runs. Eeep!
Interesting Find of the Day: Closet Cooking. This is a website that my friend Becky introduced me to around Christmas time. I have browsed briefly and intend to spend more time checking out Kevin's delicious recipes. The pictures are beautiful (stay away if you're a bit peckish!) and a lot of the recipes seem quite wholesome. Of course, there's some delightful surprises in there too, like the recipe Becky originally sent me to see, Lime Meltaways, which I will attempt at some point!
Sunday, 1 May 2011
C25k Week 2, Day 2
Goooood evening!
I did W2D2 today and again Runkeeper let me down. It seems that going off any main road, even just for a moment, makes it lose track of where you are. I will be running home from work on Tuesday to complete W2D3 so I will be able to get a more accurate reading of speed and distance then.
I ordered some sample size protein powders from Myprotein. I'll let you know what I think once I've tried them!
Does anyone have any flavour recommendations or brand recommendations for protein powder? This is new territory for me, so I'd love to hear your ideas! Thanks!
I did W2D2 today and again Runkeeper let me down. It seems that going off any main road, even just for a moment, makes it lose track of where you are. I will be running home from work on Tuesday to complete W2D3 so I will be able to get a more accurate reading of speed and distance then.
I ordered some sample size protein powders from Myprotein. I'll let you know what I think once I've tried them!
Does anyone have any flavour recommendations or brand recommendations for protein powder? This is new territory for me, so I'd love to hear your ideas! Thanks!
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Vegetarian 'Meat'loaf
I made this recipe last week, with several of my own modifications, and I thought it was delicious! I took the leftovers cold for a filling lunch two days in a row! My boyfriend, who doesn't like lentils, was not particularly pleased but that just meant there was more for me!
The original recipe is linked above. The version below is how I cooked it.
Packed up and ready to be taken for lunch!
Vegetarian Meatloaf (serves 4-6, or 2 people with leftovers)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lentils
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 clove of garlic
1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oat
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh parsley
salt and pepper
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp spicy woodsmoke BBQ sauce
Add the water, salt, and lentils to a pot and simmer 25-30 minutes until soft. Drain away any excess water.
At this point, I used a hand blender to blend the lentils instead of mash them.
Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Scrape lentils into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add all ingredients except the last two and mix well - if your mixture isn't as wet as mine was, you will need less oats. Blending the lentils and adding the carrot meant I did not have to add the egg to help it stick together - it was plenty sticky on its own!
Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake.
Mix together the ketchup and the BBQ sauce (or one or the other if you don't have both) and spread over the top of the meatloaf after it has been in the oven for 20 minutes. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes.
Per Serving (4): 249 calories, 8.8g of fat, 46.8g of carbs, 13.2g fibre, 18.2g protein.
This was calculated using MyFitnessPal and all counts will vary depending on ingredients used.
Alternatively you could... Skip the cheese (it wasn't that noticeable in such a small quantity), add a pepper, use a courgette/zucchini instead of a carrot, choose different herbs or add spices or a chilli for extra heat!
The original recipe is linked above. The version below is how I cooked it.
Vegetarian Meatloaf (serves 4-6, or 2 people with leftovers)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lentils
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 clove of garlic
1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oat
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh parsley
salt and pepper
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp spicy woodsmoke BBQ sauce
Add the water, salt, and lentils to a pot and simmer 25-30 minutes until soft. Drain away any excess water.
At this point, I used a hand blender to blend the lentils instead of mash them.
Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Scrape lentils into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add all ingredients except the last two and mix well - if your mixture isn't as wet as mine was, you will need less oats. Blending the lentils and adding the carrot meant I did not have to add the egg to help it stick together - it was plenty sticky on its own!
Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake.
Mix together the ketchup and the BBQ sauce (or one or the other if you don't have both) and spread over the top of the meatloaf after it has been in the oven for 20 minutes. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes.
Per Serving (4): 249 calories, 8.8g of fat, 46.8g of carbs, 13.2g fibre, 18.2g protein.
This was calculated using MyFitnessPal and all counts will vary depending on ingredients used.
Alternatively you could... Skip the cheese (it wasn't that noticeable in such a small quantity), add a pepper, use a courgette/zucchini instead of a carrot, choose different herbs or add spices or a chilli for extra heat!
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