Thursday, October 1, 2009

Book Review, 2 New Recipes, and 2 Deliveries!

So yesterday I did walk that other 3.5 miles – taking me to a total of 7 miles taking me to goal – WOO! 84 miles in September – yessss. I left and went straight over to my sister’s house for book club!

We had a good group: me, Dev, Shana, Mon and Stacy. We had some wine, had some yummy snacks my sister put together and got to book chat (The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson)! Review: We all really liked the book – I think the lowest rating out of 5 was a 4! It sparked A LOT of conversation about relationships, poverty, family and more. It really was a wonderful book. Upon first glance, you think it may be a quick read – but because of the way the author tells the story and the detail she provides, you can’t “skim” if you know what I mean. It ALL means something and it all tied together and told a very interesting story of love, mystery, etc. I was VERY surprised at the end, and enjoyed solving the mystery along with them, but also in learning about their pasts and how they shaped their current relationships. It was a WINNER for me – I don’t want to give too much away but definitely think it’s worth reading!! After book club I headed home and passed out! I ended up at 1,815 calories, 194 carbs, 44 fat grams and 94 protein grams. Here's what I ate. Not bad! Especially with my 7 miles factored in – woo!

I also had the new recipe – Chicken Pesto Salad Sandwich. I ended up having it for lunch because I couldn’t WAIT to see how yummy it was… and it didn’t fail me. SO good. Here’s the recipe (this one was from Monica’s Food Network magazine – this is my variation for ONE serving):

Sorry... work pic!

4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
19 grams sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
1 tbsp fat-free mayonnaise
½ tbsp pesto
Salt and pepper to taste
1 six-inch pita pocket cut at top
Red lettuce leaves

Place chicken and tomatoes in a large saucepan and pour enough water to cover by 2”. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook 8 minutes until chicken is tender. Drain and cut chicken into 1” cubes and tomato into ½” strips. Transfer to bowl, add mayo and pesto and season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pita pocket lined with lettuce leaves. Nutritional Information: 360 calories, 33 carbs, 10 fat grams and 31 protein grams.

Today was a great day! I worked from home so I got lots done as usual. I also had two deliveries – my HRM (yessss) and some Forever 21 stuff! (3 dresses, 2 skirts, 1 shirt and 2 pairs of leggings – for right at $100 – nice!). I will say, instead of gyming it during lunch I watched TV with Austin. My legs were SO sore – they wanted a break. I still plan to do upper body tonight… but we’ll see. :) I will say I was able to catch up with most of my blog reading (sadly, not all), AND I made another new recipe: BLT pasta salad. Here’s the recipe (again from Monica’s Food Network!). Here’s my variation for FOUR servings.

Mix before adding lettuce


Lettuce added!


One serving - yum!

8 oz. pasta
¼ cup milk
½ tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese.
12 slices low-fat turkey bacon
2 medium ripe tomatoes cut into chunks
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ cup fat-free mayonnaise
¼ cup fat-free sour cream
3 tbsp scallions
3 cups chopped romaine hearts
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Drain and toss with milk and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Set aside. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan, and add tomatoes, thyme and garlic to the pan and toss until warmed through; season with salt and pepper. Cut bacon into bite-size pieces; set aside ¼ cup for garnish. Toss remaining bacon and tomato mixture with pasta. Mix mayo, sour cream and 2 tbsp chives with pasta until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add lettuce; toss again to coat. Garnish with reserved bacon and remaining tbsp chives. Serve at room temperature. Nutritional Information: 325 calories, 50 carbs, 7 fat grams and 15 protein grams.

We REALLY liked it! I personally would have liked it better if it had cooled and like congealed together more, so I think the two servings we cooled for later this week will be better. But that’s okay – STILL very good. It’s almost getting too cold to eat cold salad though! I can’t believe the weather. We were out there enjoying it and a mosquito bit me on the face. WTF?! After dinner we headed upstairs and I watched more TV (Vampire Diaries, ANTM, Cougartown, etc.).

K – off to shower and think about doing upper body… hmm. I’ll post my stats for Thursday tomorrow AND do my monthly review!! I can’t believe it’s October people – where did September go?! I hope you all have lovely evenings – “see you” soon!

P.S. A couple of you asked about how I meal plan and suggested I do a post on it. I will!! I started working on writing my process down today. :) Stay tuned!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome job hitting your mileage goal!!

Thanks for always sharing such awesome recipes! I love 'em!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I continue to be so impressed with all the new recipes you make all the time... These two sound great!

Can't wait to read how you meal plan...

Anonymous said...

I'm excited about the meal plan post.

Kelly Olexa said...

One of these days I WILL try to make one of your recipes. You so tempt me.
;-)

april said...

You are the walking queen!!

Mica said...

Seriously, where DID September go? I love it when you post monthly stats. You're so organized and on top of things!

Every Gym's Nightmare said...

great job on the mileage!

I love bacon but i cant eat it with stuff- only by itself. I think thats probably weird, but too bad.

Therese said...

I have almost all the ingredients for that BLT salad! I think I know what's for lunch tomorrow!

I actually really like Cougar Town. It's kind of cheesy, but it's set in Tamppa, FL and I have actually been to some of the bars they filmed at!

Unknown said...

Good job hitting your mileage goal!! And that pasta salad looks amazing!!! I find that salads like that do taste better the next day.

Anonymous said...

awesome job with your milage!! and YUM i am in loveeeeeeee with anything chicken and pesto :) delish!

Krissa said...

I love the Chicken Pesto Salad Sandwich recipe.

Great job on all those miles!!!!!

ecath said...

Whoa! wonderful!

Therese said...

I have almost all the ingredients for that BLT salad! I think I know what's for lunch tomorrow!

I actually really like Cougar Town. It's kind of cheesy, but it's set in Tamppa, FL and I have actually been to some of the bars they filmed at!