8 Random Thoughts

 

1. The after hours texts from my son are still going strong. Here’s a good one, from Sunday night:

I need to talk to him about firing off multiple texts at once. My phone is not always on vibrate so hearing the text sound over and over AND OVER can seriously produce anxiety in even the calmest of people, myself included. In fact, I read a study on this and it’s a known fact.

One text is sufficient < – My sanity thanks you.

2. I don’t know why he would want to go to school late anyway since we have our favorite 7:45 am morning routine of listening to  “Blown Off” on 95.5 PLJ on the way to school. Even though there is a bus he could easily take to school, somehow I have been driving him and I think part of the reason is because we both enjoy these crazy dating stories and hearing the people on the phone rattling off why they chose not to go out with the person in question (who is listening on the other line!) again.

3. Why can’t I get obsessed with Adele’s new song? Everyone else is, I keep trying, but it’s just not speaking to me.

4. That other new song, Here by Alessia Cara — This song IS MINE.

I will even say that when I first heard this song a month or so ago while driving, it spoke to me in that moment (..I asked myself what am I doing here, oh oh here, oh oh here…) and it made me realize that where I was, was NOT where I wanted to be.

Ah, the power of music.

5. And how about the power of smells? Random scents remind me of things.

Like the other day in Fairway when I popped in so innocently for a few groceries? I was in the store for not even 30 seconds when the smell of the prepared foods for whatever reason totally reminded me of when I used to do all of my food shopping at Fairway on Sunday afternoons with my son in the shopping cart back when he was little and I was still married.

The memory was so strong that I almost had to leave the store. Yeah. Divorce can come back and hit you sometimes out of nowhere even when you are minding your own business just trying to price out some almond flour.

6.The scent of blueberry waffles on the other hand, always reminds me of my son as a toddler and that makes me smile.  I have been making (okay fine, heating up) Trader Joe’s blueberry waffles for his breakfast all week and each morning the smell suddenly makes me feel like its 2004 and my little boy was going to be sitting in his high chair.

Blueberry waffles were his favorite back then so whenever I smell them, I immediately think of him feeding himself the little pieces of waffle that I broke up on the tray (no plate, he would throw it) while watching Sesame Street with a spoon in his other hand for applesauce.

7. I read this awesome post the other day from NYC Running Mama regarding nutrition and fueling for marathons. I appreciated her honesty and what I consider expert opinion regarding what worked for her and what didn’t, especially the part about glycogen depleted training.

8. How are we all doing with the time change? I want to blame the clocks for my falling asleep at 6:45 pm the other night with my glasses still on my face and the lights not even off but you know, maybe I was just tired and needed some extra rest.

Don’t forget to check out what everyone else is thinking about today 🙂

[bctt tweet=”Thinking Out Loud #timechange #texts #waffles #thinkingoutloud #running @runwithspoons”]

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Do you keep your phone on vibrate? Do multiple texts in a row drive you insane?

Do certain smells trigger certain memories for you?

Have you been falling asleep/waking up earlier this week?

 

 

Wednesday?

Wednesday already? How did that happen?

I have been so consumed with what I do not know that I completely forgot about the Fourth of July  4-mile race I wanted to run tomorrow morning.

It seems I can still register and pick up my number this afternoon.

I don’t love races shorter than a 10K but I like this one because it runs through my hometown.

And because there is an endless supply of watermelon at the finish.

I ran a decent pace last year but I have become significantly faster in these short distance races so I am curious to see my finish time tomorrow.

Yes, that is me with the blonde ponytail on the left. I hate finish line pictures since the time is never accurate for when you cross and the photo is snapped.

I ran 4 miles yesterday so today I will rest my legs a bit and take the opportunity to try out my friend’s Mixed Combat/Boxing type class this morning at Lifetime.

He has been asking me to try it out for months and I just never got around to it.

Something else I never got around to: MY FOODCATION.

Remember I was trying to plan my trip away from the kitchen?

Well, it seems like all I have been doing lately  is eat out so my foodcation has been occurring without even being planned.

Continuing with this week’s salad theme, I had another lunch out and another salad at a great local place, Laguna Grille.

The salsa alone is amazing. But those banana chip things are pretty good too.

This was the best salad I have had in a really long time.

I went with the grilled vegetable salad and had them add avocado. I chose the fruit passion something dressing on the side but the truth is, a good salad that contains multiple grilled vegetables has so much flavor that it really doesn’t need dressing.

But everything is that much better with pineapple salsa. I need more pineapple salsa in my life.

I did a good job, yes?

I think on the way back from Lifetime this morning I need to stop at Fairway. Even though they stopped putting my Granny Smith apples on sale once again, my apple supply has dwindled well below acceptable.

Do you see what is wrong with the above picture of my favorite snack?

That would be a Pink Lady apple instead of Granny Smith. My life is off-balance until I correct this snack situation.

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Anyone running a race tomorrow?

Do you find you are eating out more now that it is summer?

Chips and Dip or Sweet Tooth – which one are you?   I am totally a sweet tooth, I could pass on chips any day.

The Feng Shui

Happy Monday! I don’t know exactly where the weekend went. But it went.

I don’t even know what I did exactly…Oh….Wait…. Yes. I. Do.

My weekend started with an interesting clean out of some drawers and closets.

Do you watch those Hoarding shows? Yeah well, I always wondered how people ended up like that. And now I think I understand.

Although I am extremely neat and clean, I must admit I had one too many drawers that were stuffed with things I didn’t need. I was merely holding on to these items for no good reason, completely overlooking how much space they were consuming.

Not only was I holding on to these items, I didn’t even realize what the heck I had in these drawers, closets and storage bins.

For years and years, we can live with things in our drawers and in our lives and then wake up one day and realize it is time to clean out. And move on.

Two giant garbage bags and a few boxes later, my friends and I referred to my cleaning as Feng Shui.

Do you believe in Feng Shui? I don’t know about the powers of it, but I do believe in the power of clean.

After my eh-of-a-run on Saturday, I headed over the Lifetime with friends for some pool time.

They were having some sort of poolside DJ/entertainment thing along with brand giveaways.

I realize this photo is a bit far away but they were looking at me funny as I approached with my camera.

Some people were entertained with the music, I was entertained by the giveaways.

SOYJOY and Chobani were at Lifetime giving out free bars and yogurts.

I took home one of each flavor. Since the boy wasn’t with me this weekend, I thought I would be kind and bring him home a nice sampling.

There was a giant bin of Chobani Champions yogurt tubes. I love free stuff!

It almost makes the astronomical Lifetime monthly membership fee worth it. Or at least worth forgetting about momentarily.

I made a bunch of random trips to the supermarkets. I really need to get my focus again on the food shopping. I am still doing small, frequent, unorganized shops and I don’t like it.

I am forgetting things from the list I write and don’t carry as well as losing sight of what is on sale where.

Except for the return of my Granny Smith apple sale. That was one sale I wasn’t going to forget.

I bought so many apples that they have overflowed from the produce bin and are taking over my fridge.

This fun little sundae happened at 16 Handles this weekend.

It is all about the toppings. I don’t care about the yogurt – I must have hot fudge, crunchies, fresh whipped cream and a cherry. If the store doesn’t meet my requirements, I walk out.

As I ate my cute little sundae, I realized my race calendar is lacking for the fall.

I suddenly have my sights set on Las Vegas. The Rock N Roll Half Marathon NOVEMBER 17, 2013.

I don’t normally travel across the country for a race.

Maybe it’s the Feng Shui. Or my desire for a fun little trip.

Who is with me?

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I need to know:

Do you have drawers you need to clean out but keep putting off?

Do you believe in Feng Shui?

Are you crazy like me and require certain sundae toppings?

Want to run in Vegas with me?

Food Find Thursday

“Who’s ready for a Flash SALE?!  Our Salad Bars and Hot Bars will be $5.99 per pound. Stock up on lunch and dinner… we know we will!”

I can’t believe I missed this event.

“Get out your cubicle, Long Island, and head to our Salad and Hot Bars! Lunch at $5.99/lb, ’til 2pm TODAY only!”

As if I needed the constant reminder whenever I checked out facebook yesterday that I was missing the Flash Sale.

I love a good sale. We know this. And a sale at the Whole Foods Food Bar would have been like a kid in a candy store experience for me.

Oh well, at least I can say I have my very own Whole Foods Food Bar bowl. Not many people can say that.

Why couldn’t I make the sale?

Well, I had plans to run a few easy miles (remember it is a taper week).

No, I did not suddenly decide to open up my alone time and share it with others. That’s my shadow.

Although sometimes when I am running I see the shadow and think there is someone near me that I need to start racing.

I also had a very important lunch date with my favorite little girlfriend.

Is she not the cutest? I watch my best friend’s baby girl on occasion so that she can run errands, go shopping and basically breathe by herself for a few hours (she has 3 kids – her son and my son are 10 days apart and she has another adorable daughter who will be 7).

Yes, of course I bought her that bib.

Baby food has come a long way in the last few years.

I bet there are parents that like to eat these Gerber Organic blends- they seem to mimic the Green Monster smoothie craze.

Anyway, I am hopeful that Whole Foods will have another food bar sale during my little foodcation– not that I know exactly when it will be.

I guess like planning a real trip, this foodcation needs some time to determine the logistics.

While I am figuring out my time away from the kitchen trip, I spotted some new, fun Dr. Praeger’s goodies that are easy enough to heat and prepare.

I normally have a box of Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers in my freezer. I mixed things up a bit by getting the veggie pockets. It is simply the burger (a little smaller maybe) inside of a pita bread.

I heated one up for my son yesterday as a quick little meal/snack.

He loved it and referred to it as a “fun pocket”.

Unfortunately, his quick terminology made him think of Hot Pockets which turned into an interrogation as to why I can’t stock our freezer with them.

I may need to show the boy the above image from the Huffington Post regarding the 87 ingredients inside one Hot Pocket.

Nothing I ever buy, cook or bake will ever be good enough – or will it?

The other day we had an interesting little situation occur in my kitchen.

“Thanks mom, this looks delicious.”

Yes, those were his words.  I stopped short, felt his head and decided he must have still been feeling under the weather.

He never speaks so Leave it to Beaverish to me – especially regarding food.

I had taken it upon myself to make him chicken salad for a change. I was inspired to create it with the grapes and cranberries similar to the chicken salad available at Panera Bread as well as other restaurants where they charge you up the kazoo.

I doctored his sandwich up with his must- have toppings of hamburger dill pickles, a few pieces of lettuce and the hot & sweet mustard from Trader Joe’s.

I obviously can’t tell you from my own experience how it tasted but it certainly looked good and HE LOVED IT.

QUICK AND EASY HEALTHIFIED CHICKEN SALAD (serves two):

• Chicken ( I use the Trader Joe’s  individually frozen tenders. So easy to take out last minute and cook!)
• 1/4 cup Greek nonfat yogurt (please don’t tell him there was greek yogurt in this recipe)
• Tiny drop of light mayo (I bet you can leave this out)
• Grapes (cut in half)
• Cranberries
• Celery (chopped)
• Pepper/other seasonings

Directions: If using Trader Joe’s individually frozen chicken tenders, all you need to do is take a couple out and microwave for a few minutes. If using other chicken, cook it as you wish (boil or bake).

Once cooked, chop chicken up in a bowl and mix with yogurt and mayo. Add celery, grapes, cranberries and pepper. You can add additional seasonings but I stuck with just the pepper.

You can add as many grapes and cranberries as you wish and this recipe is easy to double, triple, quadruple.

You can even chop up apples and walnuts and add to the mix- remember, get creative!

Speaking of apples, Fairway sells a version of  my chicken salad and I am glad to say I no longer need to consider purchasing it from them for like $7.99/lb

Can you tell I am still annoyed with Fairway?

I may start a complete boycott soon if they don’t put my granny smith apples back into the circular sale rotation.

 

I need to know:

Do you make your own chicken salad?

Do you buy Dr. Praeger’s products?

Does the Whole Foods near you ever run a flash food bar sale? I don’t recall ever seeing one before!

 

 

 

Voila Gourmet

I needed a second opinion yesterday morning regarding the weather. I just didn’t want to believe the meteorologist on television so I consulted my weather app to decide if it was truly too cold outside for my “planned”  hilly run.

“Poor day for outside fitness.”

Uh huh. And I could have done without the big red exclamation point thank you very much.

Anyone that knows me knows that I can’t stand punctuation. Especially overpunctuation ???!!!! 

A giant red ! counts as overpunctuation in my book.

Anyway, I may not be able to rely on consistent weather patterns, but I can rely on Fairway Market’s sale patterns.

They even threw in a sale on Asparagus. This must be my lucky week.

The weather is looking up for today so I do plan on running outside.

Anything will beat my gym experience yesterday.

I had ventured into the gym yesterday morning not knowing what I was going to do in there, still annoyed at the weather app for shouting out me for considering an outdoor run.

I didn’t realize how ill prepared I was to be running indoors until I started up on the mill.

Slowly my pants started to slide, followed by my underpants. It was quite a fabulous experience.

I clearly had on the wrong pants and  wrong undergarments.

Yet I had the right running shoes on. Of course I did. I am afraid of upsetting the rainbow shoes so I wear them every time I leave the house.

I tried switching to the elliptical in an attempt to keep my pants on. My legs really weren’t interested in the random hill program. Or any program for that matter.

I hopped around from machine to machine to the point where I am unsure as to what I really did or how long I was there.

The only positive was that my pants and underwear began to  stay up unassisted about 25 minutes into the mish mosh of a workout.

It took me a few minutes  to realize that they were being held up by sweat.

Perhaps the sweat signified a decent work out? 

MEAL ALERT:

We all know I am raising a little man. And my little man has a healthy, hearty appetite, especially after a full day of school. He has come to expect a gourmet meal promptly as the school bus drops him off each day.

I never should have introduced him to classic  television. Although Leave it to Beaver is better than watching Sponge Bob.

Lately I have been experimenting with some new dinners for him. I really use the same ingredients as in his usual meals but shake up the arrangement and presentation.

Enter the Stuffed Potato. I want him to realize he can like a baked potato just as much as  french fries, mashed potatoes or roasted potato wedges.

Last night’s dinner was what we called the “Mexican Stuffed Potato”:

So simple, so healthy and the best part – so delicious.

Ingredients:

• Black beans (I use Organic canned beans)
• Diced tomatoes (I always use Trader Joe’s No Salt Added but you can use any kind you wish)
• A dab of Tomato Paste
• Taco seasoning ( I use Trader Joe’s but you can use any kind you wish or combine your own spices)
• Corn (I used frozen but you can use canned, fresh or frozen – doesn’t matter)
• ****Pinch of Cinnamon*** – I swear the addition of cinnamon makes such a tasty difference. Adds an interesting touch of sweetness. Amazing. I use cinnamon whenever I make tacos or chili.
• Cheddar Cheese (light, mild, sharp, shredded, sliced, string cheese cut up – your choice)

I would love to give you specific amounts of the ingredients but honestly, it is all up to you, your taste buds and how many stuffed potatoes you feel like making.

I planned on making one stuffed potato.

I mixed about 1/2 cup of the black beans with about 1/4 cup of corn, a spoonful of diced tomatoes with a spoonful of tomato paste, added a drop of seasoning and a pinch of cinnamon.

***Add seasoning amount according to YOUR taste buds. The boy doesn’t like too spicy so I don’t use a lot.

Baked Potato Short Cut Tip – To quickly bake a potato, I first microwave the potato on the “baked potato” setting.  I usually let it microwave for about 4 -5 minutes (microwave oven cooking times may vary according to your oven). I then finish it up in the oven at 450 degrees to crisp the skin. Usually takes about 20 minutes in total.

Once potato cooked, scoop out the insides and combine it with the bean mixture. Once combined, put it all back in the potato.

Place back in the oven for a few minutes prior to adding the cheese.

I crumbled Trader Joe’s Light Mild Cheddar Cheese on top and broiled for a few minutes.

The cheese sticks are perfect for us to have on hand because he can bring it to school as a snack, or we can use it to crumble instead of buying shredded cheese. Cheese sticks are the perfect multi-tasker, and save us some money too!

Voila. Gourmet meal. He loved it so much that when he ran out of the bean mix and still had potato left, I quickly threw together another helping of beans, corn, diced tomato and seasoning to add to the remaining potato.

He. Ate. The. Whole. Thing.

The fact that I was able to quickly throw this meal together signifies how simple and easy it is to make. You can even bake the potatoes beforehand and have them ready to go when you get home from work.

The bean mix can be made beforehand as well and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

You can use the bean mixture on top of a sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, tortilla chips, in a wrap or on a salad. 

Perfect topped with avocado, plain greek yogurt (in place of sour cream).

Possibilities are endless.

If I had more time, I would have sautéed the ingredients in a pan with chopped onion as well as hidden some vegetables such as spinach or butternut squash.

Remember, he only likes to see and eat his vegetables as his “late night snack”.

Although last night he went with America’s classic dessert. Well, Trader Joe’s version of American’s favorite cookie:

Go figure. I would rather be whipping up a good dessert than creating gourmet meals everyday yet sometimes all he wants is a packaged cookie.

As long as I don’t have to share my apples (my supply is dwindling), I can’t complain.

 

I need to know:

Do you make stuffed potatoes?

Do you buy Joe Joe’s, if so, do you think they taste as good or better than Oreo’s?

Do your pants fall down like mine on the treadmill?

 

Snack Attacked

In an ever changing world, it is good to know that one can rely on the predictability of certain things.

I was slightly concerned that Fairway was going to catch on that I figured out the method to their apple sale schedule.

How happy I was to go through my circulars this morning and see that my calculations were correct and my giant granny smith apples were most certainly back on sale tomorrow.

It is the little things in life, people. Remember that.

While on the topic of fruit, as you recall, this week’s color for Snack Attack at school is green.

On Monday I sent the boy with slices of honeydew (courtesy of my wonderful selfless neighbor who shares her Edible Arrangement).

The goal of snack attack is to encourage kids to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. They encourage a certain color each week but you can really bring in any fruit or vegetable you wish.

So, since Monday, the boy has requested blueberries.

Now, I didn’t really know he liked the blueberry. Sure, I put a few on his breakfast plate often and sometimes he pops one into his mouth but his typical berry of choice is the strawberry.

But not this week.

I have been trying to push the strawberries on him all week and he wants no part of it.

While I am thrilled he likes berries, I am not as selfless as my neighbor when it comes to sharing food. You know this.

I have a feeling he knows that the strawberries are on special at every grocery store this week and the blueberries are not.

However, I have been giving him the blueberries because it would go against the code of healthy eating parent to ever deny a child fresh produce.

Chocolate covered fruit of course is another story.

Anyway, I am very proud that my child likes a variety of fruits. And, that he is willing to try vegetables and sometimes he even enjoys them.

I know we have discussed how important it is to expose our kids to a variety of wholesome foods like fruits and vegetables because if we don’t, the chances of them choosing these foods over candy and processed snacks is highly unlikely.

I came across this coupon last week.

A Sweet Tart looking candy that is marketed as providing kids with the benefits of eating 11 fruits and veggies? 

Does anyone else see the problems with this?

Not only does handing a child a “tasty tart” in place of food encourage the consumption of candy, it also discourages children from possibly learning to like fruits and vegetables.

And, if the parents are supposed to feel confident that these tarts are providing health benefits as well as 3 SERVINGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, why would they bother to buy produce. They wouldn’t.

And probably my biggest issue with the tart?

Giving children a tart is not exactly satisfying the appetite. Nor is it even a beverage that can be passed off as possibly quenching one’s thirst.

So when the kids are hungry, instead of now slicing up an apple or carrot sticks (most likely no fruit or vegetables in the house), they are probably reaching in the pantry for a processed snack chip.

This tart in my opinion is certainly not helping with the alarming rise in childhood obesity.

I mean really, think of what happened to poor Violet in Wonka’s factory when she ate the gobstopper that replaced a 3 course meal.

Confession: I contacted this Voots and gave them a piece of my mind.

Oh yeah. I went there.

Old ladies are typically known for their letter writing skills. You know what I mean. You must know someone’s grandmother or even your own that shoots off  “the letter” to express her anger, displeasure, resentment, frustration or any old negative feeling.

Since I am 34, I am tech savvy. No pen and paper for my letter. Email was my avenue for expressing my emotions.

I filled out the “contact us” on the Voot’s website so I do not have the exact wording for my message. But I am sure you get the gist of what I probably said from this post.

And their response?

Thank you for writing us to express your concerns. We think Voots® Veggie-Fruit Tarts are a tasty, fun, and convenient supplement for kids — made with Vitamin C and real fruits and vegetables. But they are just that — a supplement — intended to be used as part of a healthy, balanced diet. They are not ever meant to replace the real thing, and our packaging clearly states that fact.

We too share your views about the problem of childhood obesity in this country, and the importance of teaching kids to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, as a brand, we have made it our mission to help parents raise happy, healthy kids by providing them with information and tools to educate their kids and include fruits and vegetables in their diets in fun ways.

In addition, we are proud to be supporting the charity, kidsgardening.org, a resource of the National Gardening Association, by donating over $25,000 in the form of garden grants to schools in need, so that kids around the country can get involved in planting and growing their own fruits and vegetables.

Voots® Veggie-Fruit Tarts look forward to supporting families as they strive to introduce fresh and healthy fruits and veggies into their kids diets.

Uh huh. Typical form letter response. And, if they truly cared about teaching the importance of fruits and vegetables, they probably wouldn’t package 11 varieties in a Sweet Tart.

Maybe I am over-reacting but I know I won’t be buying this product.

I would love to know your thoughts.