CCC Week – Plank Challenge

After my graduation/travel extravaganza weekend I was back at work bright and early Tuesday morning.  I woke up with a slightly sore throat, but didn’t think much of it as I know my body gets out of whack sometimes after spending too much time on an airplane.  About two hours into the work day I started to get the chills.  I threw on a sweatshirt which helped a little bit, but basically had the chills the entire day.  I know what you are thinking – RED FLAG ALERT.  I was so busy catching up on emails that I had missed last Thursday, Friday and this Monday that I think my adrenaline really pushed me through.  Once work ended, and I got on the red line I knew something was not right.  Sure enough, when I got home…

BAM.  Fever. (NO THIS IS NOT A PREGNANCY TEST KULLA AND CASSIE!) 😉

Needless to say, I spend the entire evening in bed watching – wait for it – Fever Pitch.  I had a fever and I watched Fever Pitch – I know you are rolling on the floor laughing.

Brian was kind enough to pick up some soup for me which really did make me feel the tiniest bit better.

Luckily, when I woke up yesterday my fever had broke and all that was left was a sore throat.  It was a good thing too because I had so much work to still catch up on and a really fun event that my coworkers and I were kicking off!

I have mentioned this once or twice before, but my company has a wellness group called kFit (our company name is kCura).  Our committee plans little fitness challenges, schedules onsite yoga and tries to promote a healthy lifestyle throughout the office with various other events.  Next Thursday is the Chicago Chase Corporate Challenge, a 3.5 mile run through the Chicago Loop that most downtown corporations participate in.  It is a really fun event if the weather is nice because our company hosts a big BBQ afterwards full of delicious food and beer.  To get our employees ‘pumped up’ for the event, we are hosting a weekly series of mini challenges.

Yesterday’s challenge was… PLANKING!

We divided employee’s into teams and each team member had one chance to plank as long as he/she could.  They then timed all individual planks and submitted the average of their team.

A bonus point was awarded if the team took a photo of a team member planking somewhere “cool” – but safe!  I wish I could post those pictures on here because some of them were hilarious, and probably not super safe haha.

Benefits of Planking:

Planks are a popular isometric training exercise.  This exercise improves your body’s strength, flexibility, aesthetics and mind.  The website Yoga Journal recommends plank exercises for stress reduction because planks can help calm your brain and suppress anxiety.  It is commonly said that running 80% mental and 20% everything else, so any exercise to improve your mental game is a win!

I can’t wait to share the rest of the week’s challenges with you!

After work, I headed straight home for my resting so that I can fight whatever this sickness is.  Since I had been on a primary liquid diet for the past 24 hours, I was craving REAL food.  We had all of the ingredients for Healthy Chicken Enchiladas, so Brian and I prepped those for dinner.  I found this recipe on Anne of FANNEtastic Food blog when I first started following her.  It’s a winner and is an easy and quick option for an after work dinner.

My tip?  Buy precooked chicken (I got the Trader Joe’s Kind – Rotisserie would do well too).  This eliminates 20 minutes of cooking raw chicken breast and then having to shred them.

These babies hit the spot, and bonus – there are enough to bring to work for lunch 🙂

Marathon Monday

It’s amazing how a little good weather can change the mood of almost anyone.

Yesterday on my lunch break, I decided to take a stroll around the Chicago loop.  Pretty much everyone else in the area had the exact same idea.  I didn’t mind the crowded streets, the little shoulder bumps or the street solicitors – I was looking at everyone’s faces.  They were all happy.  No wind burned cheeks and no scarf covered mouths… hip hip hooray! (Hey you pessimist, don’t you dare leave a comment about how it’s going to snow tomorrow night – I will hunt you down).

I made a stop at Target and did a little more shopping for my ‘Spring Break’ trip… whoops!

What can I say, this warmer weather is doing bad bad things to my wallet.  Regardless, I am excited about my purchases – a light green sweater for St. Patrick’s Day/Spring, a fun printed skirt paired with an inexpensive black top, a bathing suit coverup and a fun aztec print tank top.  Plus some of those $3 flip flops that are a must buy each season.  And you know what… I got ALL of it for under $80.  BAM.

The nice little break put me in such a great mood I couldn’t help but look forward to my evening run.  I knew, I just knew that the Lakeshore path would be full of runners/walkers/bikers all together enjoying the day.

And I was not disappointed.

As I mentioned yesterday, the plan for the evening was just to do a light 3 mile run after my brief knee injury.  IT was SUCH a great run, even though it was short.

See the little red mark in the middle of my run?  This was the point in which about two dozen runners were trying real hard to avoid a Lake Michigan that formed on the sidewalk.  We all walked single file across the ice in the snow to avoid wet shoes – It was funny.

Anyways, It felt so good to be back – no knee pain whatsoever.

I know that it’s supposed to drop in temperature and it may snow a couple times over the next 10 days, but my Half Marathon Training plan started yesterday and I’m pumped!

Here is my tentative schedule for March:

… but as most runners know things could change at anytime and I can adjust if necessary.

The rest of my evening was spent watching the True Detective Season Finale – EEEEEK! And eating some yummy turkey tacos.

Bon Appetit.

Things I’m Loving… Huevos Rancheros Edition

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I’m sharing one of my favorite delicioso recipes.

It’s no secret that I like to eat… and cook, but sometimes I find myself getting into a ‘cooking rut’.  I buy things at Trader Joe’s in which I know I can make meals out of, which sometimes causes little variety.  This is especially true for breakfast.  In my weekly grocery haul I pick up the basics: bananas, eggs, turkey bacon and bread.  Which leaves me some room to make pancakes, eggs, eggs, eggs and toast… you get the picture 😉  A couple weekends ago, I vowed to try and make something different and was really craving Tex-Mex.  I’ve had Huevos Rancheros many times at some of my favorite brunch spots, but have never tried to recreate it.

Why?

I have know damn idea.

Lots of people make this dish many different ways, and this is in no way authentic, but it hits the spot for me and I am loving it lately.

Let me start by saying… I do not use exact measurements with this dish because some days I want one and some days I want two and some days I use whatever is in the fridge, but here is my usual serving for one:

Ingredients 

• 1 6″ Corn Tortilla
• 1 Tbs. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (maybe more – I like it cheesy)
• 1 Fresh Egg
• 2 Tbs. Black Beans (or refried beans, whatever your vice is)
• 1 Tbs. Salsa or Pico
• Salt & Pepper
• Garnishes: Sliced Jalapeno, Hot Sauce, Scallions, Avocado… whatever your heart desires!

1. Start by lightly spraying a sauté pan with olive oil and heat the corn tortilla
2. When the tortilla is golden, flip and heat on the other side
3. While the tortilla is finishing up, lightly oil a second non-stick skillet and crack your egg in it
4. Cook the egg how you prefer – I tend to like over easy or over medium – the broken yolk is the best part! Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Sprinkle the Cheddar Cheese on top of the tortilla and let it melt slightly
6. Add the beans on top of the cheese
7. Top the beans with the cooked egg and transfer to a plate
8. Top your Rancheros with desired garnishments
9. EAT UP!

Again, this recipe is not rocket science, and I am no Tex-Mex expert, but boyyyyyyyy has this been a delicious addition to my weekend.

Enjoy, friends!

Dinner Booze Dinner

Good Morning, Good Morning!

It’s 48 degrees out right now!  This may be something crazy to be excited over, but it feels like heaven compared to the bitter cold we’ve been experiencing these past few days.

Yesterday after work, I met Brian at our local Binny’s so that we could stock up on some booze for the winter.  If you are a Binny’s fan like me, you should know that they are having some ridiculously awesome sales right now when you use your Binny’s card.  Needless to say, we went a little crazy.

If you can’t tell we are big fans of the Hendricks.  Also, we stocked up on some of our mixers including the various San Pellegrino flavors.  These are so delicious to mix with tequila!

Brian and I are having a couple friends over for dinner this weekend so we wanted to make sure there were good choices for whatever people’s tastes are.  After we put everything away, we went over the menu so that I can prep for a big grocery trip after work today.  What are we making?  I’ll tell yah!

Appetizers:

-Good stinky cheese

-Fresh torn baguette

-Herbed Shrimp

-Salad with arugula and pomegranate arils

Main:

-Coq Au Vin with herbed noodles

-More fresh torn baguette to soak up the delicious juices

Dessert:

-Homemade chocolate mousse with fresh berries

You may or may not have detected a bit of a theme, I was really trying to bring my Paris memories back to life.

This dinner is the first of many festive dinners to come.  Remember that life is all about balance and doing what you love.  I love to eat and I love to drink, so to counter this passion I will definitely be hitting up the gym early in the morning!  I still need to figure out what kind of ‘side’ I will be bringing to my parents Thanksgiving dinner.  Last year, I brought Ina Garten’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette and it was a major hit.  Honestly, Thanksgiving is not my favorite meal of the year.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh turkey – especially my dad’s smoked turkey – but the ‘traditional’ sides are kinda unappetizing to me.  Why would someone make a green bean casserole when you can have fresh crisp green beans with drizzled olive oil, lemon juice and crumbled goat cheese one top.  Doesn’t that sound better, or is it just me?

I know, it’s just me.  My stomach doesn’t do well with cream, milk or a lot of butter – which pretty much everything Thanksgiving side dish has… hence why Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday.  I do, however, enjoy leftover turkey sandwiches, watching massive amounts of football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!

Back to my original thought, any suggestions on a delicious fresh side that does not involve lots of cream, milk or butter?!  Yesterday I checked out Kath’s recent post over at Kath Eats Real Food and thought that her Ultimate Fall Wheatberry Salad might be a winner.  Here is the tricky part though… my dad doesn’t like fruit.  Ha!  Back to the drawing board…

Time to chill with Bailey and eat some tacos.

Chicken Enchiladas

Good Morning!

I have a tasty new recipe to share with you.  Last night, two of my girlfriends came over to watch the season finale – part I of the Bachelorette.  I haven’t really been following this season, but wow that episode was dramatic… I have a love/hate relationship with the series.

Since they were coming over around dinner time, I decided to whip up something quick and delicious!  I had been researching how to make chicken enchiladas and these are basically an adaptation of a couple other blogger’s recipe based on what I had in my fridge 🙂

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (I used tenders, but breasts would work as well)
• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 2 cups enchilada sauce (I used the Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Olive oil spray
• 1 avocado – for garnish
• 1 jalapeno, sliced – for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. On an indoor grill or saute pan, season your chicken with salt and pepper and cook until done.  Set aside to cool
3. Once the chicken is cool, shred in to small pieces by hand
4. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cumin, lime juice and ground cumin.  Mix together until full incorporated
5. Grab a 13 X 9 baking pan and spray in with olive oil spray.  Pour a thin layer of the enchilada sauce on the bottom and spread evenly
6. Time to roll the enchiladas!  Spoon the mixture into a whole wheat tortilla and wrap placing the enchilada into the pan seam side down
7. Repeat until pan is full
8. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the dish and sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese
9. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the middle is bubbling.
10. Serve with slices of avocado and jalapeno and enjoy!

I served the enchiladas with a simple side salad and boy were they tasty!  Bailey was given me “the look” hoping I would drop a piece on the floor 🙂

Perfect Running Days

Perfect running days.

This weekend has been full of absolutely perfect running days.

Friday afternoon, I took my sister, Kristan, out to dinner before she headed back to the burbs.  We stopped by ROCKS in Lakeview because they have a good variety of lunch options, and they have a great outdoor patio area.  Kristan and I both ordered wraps, which were absolutely delicious.  Mine came with Chicken, Lettuce, Goat Cheese and Red Onions all wrapped in a light tomato tortilla.  It also came with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, but I opted to have in on the side because I feel like dressings more often than not just make wraps soggy.

This baby was gone in a flash – we worked up quite the appetite after our morning run.

The rest of my Saturday was spent doing some light shopping and hanging out with this girl…

She is a huge fan of my BIC Bands 🙂

I ended up meeting a few friends out that evening to grab a little food and enjoy a few alfresco drinks.  I ordered a Moscow Mule for the first time ever and now I am officially obsessed.  So light and refreshing – I love ginger beer!

My cocktail intake was limited to one followed by many glasses of water due to the fact that my friend Lindsay and I were tackling our FINAL long training run Saturday morning.

I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. and woke up feeling great!  The weather was warm, with a slight breeze and a picture perfect blue bird sky.  When Lindsay got to my house, we didn’t really have a route in mind so we just decided to run south for an hour and then run back up north for an hour.

The run down south was great – nice and shaded.  Since I had been gone from work since Wednesday, we had a lot to catch up about and talked pretty much the whole way down.  We made our turn east right before the river on Grand and then turned up north on the lakeshore path.  It was really fun running through the streets in the River North area because we don’t do it … like ever.  Since we were running so early to “beat the heat”, no one was around in the downtown area so we didn’t have to dodge any walkers.

The lakeshore path, however, was a whole different story.  SO MANY RUNNERS!  It was awesome!  There were also local runners associations that had set up hydration stops along the path with water and gatorade which was much appreciated by everyone who was out.  I couldn’t believe how calm the lake was.  There were a lot of athletes training for triathlons out taking full advantage of the perfect water conditions.

We too full advantage of taking pictures 🙂

Although it was extremley sunning on the run back up, it was still a lot of fun and the run really flew by.  We weren’t really paying attention to our pace, just enjoying our surrounding a totally grateful that mother nature has graced us with awesome summer days.

Once the run ended, Lindsay and I parted ways and I headed straight to the grocery store to pick up some recovery treats.  Bagels and Coconut Water. Yummm Yumm

As soon as I got home, I stretched showered and headed back to my friends rooftop to soak in the sun with my best friends.

We didn’t stay out in the sun too too long because we all needed to get pretty for the final birthday celebration that evening 🙂  Since there are so many of us, it’s always a struggle to try and find dates we can all get together, so last night we all celebrate my friend Lauren’s 24th birthday and my 25th birthday!

The celebration started at my friends new apartment with a few pre-dinner cocktails…

We then headed straight to Cantina Laredo in River North where we feasted on Mexican food and delicious drinks!

Let’s be honest… the best part about going to a Mexican restaurant is the drinks, right?

And the chips and salsa!

It was a wonderful celebration, I’m truly blessed to have such great friends!

Victory tastes so SWEET

Good Morning!

I trust you all had a good weekend – the weather here in Chicago was AWESOME – perfect for the first weekend of summer.

The happenings: FOOD

Taco Bars and Fresh Pineapple

Mashed Hard Boiled Eggs (am I the only one who mashes them?)

Picnics by the Lake – Turkey Sandwiches and Goat Cheese Salads

Spicy Shrimp and Quinoa

I managed to stay relatively healthy during the weekend except for some over indulgent Mexican food Saturday evening 😉  This was due in part because the BRUNETTES won our charity flag football game!

The happenings: ACTIVITIES

The win was long overdue as the blondes had held the title for the past two years.  Saturday was a great day for football, much better than the 100 degree weather we had to play in last year.  The game consisted of four 15 minute quarters which literally flew by – I honestly can’t remember what the final score was but I know it was really close!

Post game – we all headed over to the Fireplace Inn in Old Town with our family and friends to celebrate.

Victory tastes so good!

Sunday was definitely a recovery day… it took a whole lot of strength to get out of bed before 10:00 a.m.  I had no real desire to do anything too active that day, but the weather was so beautiful I couldn’t waste it inside.  Brian and I decided to head over to the lake and enjoy the sunshine with a picnic!  We made a few stops along the way including – Pastoral – my favorite picnic shop in Lakeview.  I grabbed a delicious Turkey sandwich and salad to go accompanied by some champagne and orange juice to help fuel the recovery 🙂

There were tons of people out by the lake – and lot’s of dogs too!  Bailey made a few friends and was exhausted by the time we left from all of the running around.

The evening ended with a quick 5 mile run that was supposed to be more like 9, but was interrupted by some intense rain.  I personally run with my iPhone and really hate the arm bands because they are not comfortable on me.  Because of this, I was fearful that my phone would get wet and I really don’t have the $$ to go buy a new one 🙂  I guess I didn’t really realize it was supposed to storm, otherwise I would have brought a cover for my phone and it wouldn’t have been an issue.  Oh well.  Lesson learned – and I was still really sore from the game anyways!

Cheers to a productive work week!!

Late Night Tacos

Hello, hello!

It’s a beautiful day in Chicago and I hope it stays like this over the weekend so my pale skin can catch some rays at this magical place…

Yesterday flew by… After my run I showered, got ready and grabbed an Almond Cookie Larabar to tie me over until I got to the office.

This is not my favorite flavor — I much prefer the Cherry or Apple Pie ones.

For lunch, I packed leftover succotash, toast and a string cheese.  I also brought a lemon to work so that I could put some in my water every once and a while.  My coworkers and I were talking the other day about how one of the hardest things to do during the day is to stay hydrated.  You can do a really good job one day, but once you go to bed and wake up… The challenge starts all over again.  I’m a big fan of water, but have found that adding sliced fruit can really help me slurp it down!  I’m not just talking about lemons, fresh cut strawberries, raspberries and pretty much any other type of berry tastes really good too.  Sparkling water like LaCroix also adds good variety to your hydration goal and we get it free in the office. Hydration win!

After work, I rushed home and got ready for BvB practice.  We haven’t had practice in a couple weeks due to all the rain we’ve been getting so the practice went extra late into the evening.

It was so nice out that no one really seemed to mind 🙂

Since practice ran till 8:30 ish and I had a couple things to get done at home, dinner was thrown together in 20 minutes.  Ground Turkey tacos with lettuce, tomato, avocado and black bean and corn salsa.

Yummmmm.

The night ended how most others do… Bailey getting really needy and insisting to sit on my lap while watching reruns of Castle.  I love that show.

On another note, Brian and I are meeting my family and some friends up at Ravinia on Friday.  For those of you who have never been, Ravinia is a concert venue that had a giant lawn where people set up some pretty impressive picnics.  My mother has put me in charge of dessert … Anyone have any good dessert ideas that are fit for a picnic!?

Have a wonderful day!

Leisurely Morning Jogs

Rise and Grind!

This morning started out with a very leisurely jog along the lakeshore path.  It was still warm out which felt amazing – I can’t believe it was 50 degrees cooler on Monday!  The view along the lake was beautiful and there were plenty of friendly joggers on the path to keep me company.

I completed 3.5 miles paying extra close attention to my right foot.  If I started feeling sharp pains I slowed down my pace and adjusted my strides.

When I got home, I did the Tuesday Tone It Up! video, stretched and immediately iced my foot.  Like I said before, the pain isn’t anything too serious, but I really don’t want it to develop into anything that would prevent me from running in the future.

Last night I had my BvB practice which lasted extra long due to the warm weather and good turn out of players.  It’s strange to think that it is already mid-may and that our game just over a month away – June 22nd!

We still have a few openings on the blonde team, so if you are interested feel free to reach out to me directly and I will get you signed up 🙂

I was STARVING after practice and raced home to make a dish I’ve been wanting to tryout for the past couple of weeks – Mexican Lasagna!

This recipe is courtesy of fANNEtastic Food a fellow health and fitness blogger!  I only slightly modified the receipe my omitting kidney beans, olives and cilantro from her original recipe.  I’m not a huge fan of kidney beans, Brian doesn’t like olives and I just ran out of cilantro! Bummer.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 6 whole grain or corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1 can (16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 jar (16 oz) salsa
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. In on large, deep baking dish – arrange a layer of tortillas (3).  On top of the tortillas, layer half the chicken, beans, salsa, yogurt, green pepper and cheese in that order.

3. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat.  Extra cheese on top 🙂

4. Bake for 20 minutes

5. Cut up like regular lasagna and enjoy!

Brian and I LOVED this dish – it was filling, but not greasy or too heavy like normal Mexican food you would find at a chain restaurant.  All the ingredients were fresh, simple and delicious.  You could pretty much add any kind of salsa, vegetable or protein to the dish giving it your own personal flair – I almost added some sauteed zucchini!

After dinner was cleaned up, we caught up on some of our favorite shows and drifted off to sleep.  This week is flying by!

What is your favorite healthy Mexican recipe?

Spicy Weekend

Hello, Friends!

I apologize for my absence yesterday, I was a bit under the weather and needed the day to recover.

Besides the sudden sickness that was brought on Sunday night, I had a very active weekend full of…

Good Friends

Good Food

Great Runs

And lots of stretching

I pushed my “long run” up a day because I figured I would be really tired by Sunday with all the BBQ activities that were planned.  The run felt good and I kept a good pace I would like to maintain for the full 13.1 miles.

After my run, I headed to the grocery store to pick up the items I was in charge of for the BBQ’s I was attending.  This included ingredients for my favorite – homemade pico de gallo!

Lindsay’s Pico

Ingredients:

• 1 Orange Bell Pepper
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 5-6 Roma Tomatoes
• 1/2 White Onion
• 2 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
• 1 Jalapeno (Seeded – only use 1/2 amount of seeds)
• 2 Limes
• 1 Lemon
• 1/2 cup Fresh Cliantro
• 1 ‘Spicy’ Salsa Seasoning Packet

Directions:

1. Chop and Drop all of the delicious fresh veggies!
2. Squeeze the Lime and Lemon Juice over the pico
3. Add the seasoning packet and stir (I use the Salsa Seasoning that is found in the Jewel produce section.  For some reason, it is the only grocery store that carries it)
4. Enjoy!

This was a big hit at the parties!  I also mad a batch of my father’s spicy green dip, but I will post that recipe sometime this week!

Have a fantastic Tuesday!