Active Tuesdays + Road Trip Snacks

Yesterday was a killer workout day!  As I mentioned in my last post, I woke up early and got a good 4.5 mile run in as a part of my half-marathon training plan.

Post run – the work day flew by.  Especially because I went out to lunch with a few of my coworkers where we dined alfresco in the beautiful sunny weather.

I ordered a southwest chicken salad and gobbled the whole thing up – minus the dressing.  It was really hard to muster the willpower to go back to the office because we all just wanted to stay outside and relax 🙂

Post- work.  I immediately came home and threw dinner together because I had an outdoor soccer game at. 7:40 p.m.  On the menu: Healthy Shrimp Stirfy!

Into the sauté pan went some oil, garlic,  broccoli, leftover haricot verts, shrimp, 2 eggs and brown rice.  I didn’t feel like making a fancy sauce to put on top of it, so I just used a few dashes of soy sauce and some red pepper flakes to bring it all together.

Delicious!

The soccer field we play at is about 3 miles north of where I live along the lake, so I decided to ride my bike up since the weather was gorgeous.  I was definitely already sweating by the time I got to the field – it’s been a while since I’ve rode!

The game was fun and was a really great workout – you should see how many steps I got on my pedometer 😉

There is a major storm system moving into Chicago this evening so I’m going to use this weather to my advantage and prep for our road trip.  One of the errands I need to run is to pick up some healthy road trip snacks.  Here are some of my top picks:

Larabars – My favorite flavor is the “Cherry Pie” and it’s only ingredients are unsweetened cherries, dates and raw almonds.

Organic Beef Jerky – Although this snack item can be high in sodium, if you eat it in moderation it is an excellent source of protein and is usually a lower-calorie option.

Raw Almonds – Enough said.

String Cheese – Good source of calcium and protein!

Yogurt – When i’m feeling extra snacky and really want to grab something sweet, I opt for a flavored Chobani or Fage to tie the sugar cravings over.  The Cinnamon Apple flavor is delicious!

What are you favorite go-to healthy snacks?

Hitchcock & Stir-Fry

It’s a rainy, dreary day here in Chicago, which seems only fitting since I fell asleep to an Alfred Hitchcock marathon last night.  My little sister and father have got me hooked on watching all of his mysteries – I’m a little obsessed at the moment.

Yesterday was a pretty tame day in comparison to the weekend we just had.  One of the more exciting things was that my company’s ‘Health Week’ kicked off’!  The week will go a little something like this:

Tuesday – Yoga Class

Wednesday – ‘Healthy Potluck’ during the lunch hour

Thursday – ‘Health Fair’

The health fair is going to be great – we have various vendors coming in such as our corporate gym sponsor, a message therapist and our yoga instructor.  There will also be activities for everyone to participate in, including taste tests (clean vs. processed), mini fitness challenges, raffles and prizes.  I am part of the ‘Nutrition’ team and we have a lot of fun activities planned for our booth – I will give you a recap later in the week!

My lunch yesterday was quick and simple.  I brought 7 of Trader Joe’s chicken potstickers with 1 tbs. of their low-sodium soy sauce.  This was also accompanied by 1 sliced bell pepper and a Luna bar as a snack later in the day.

I’ll try to start posting my lunches that I bring to work more… I know a lot of people struggle to find ideas for packed lunches.

After work I came home and did a lot of stretching – I am pretty tight from the race on Sunday.  I guess I was so eager to get my free beer after the finish, that I didn’t really spend a proper amount of time stretching.  Whoops.

On the menu for dinner was: Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry (I was set on Asian-themed food the entire day)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups organic brown rice
• 2 tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 bundle of broccoli
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 3 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice according to package directions – set aside
2. In a large deep saute pan add shrimp, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic, broccoli, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. While the shrimp and broccoli are cooking, scrabble 3 eggs in a separate saute pan
4. Add spinach to the shrimp and cook for 1 minute until spinach is slightly wilted – be sure not to over cook the shrimp!
5. Remove from heat
6. Add egg and brown rice to shrimp broccoli mixture and stir to fully combine
7. Enjoy!

Some people like a lot of soy sauce in their stir fry so feel free to add more to this recipe.  Also, I usually have sesame oil on had for the stir fry sauce, but was all out! Bummer.

The rest of the evening was spent blogging and playing with this girl.

She has no concept of personal space.

Have a great Tuesday!

Spring… Are you there?

My first B&B post!

I will try to keep this short and sweet today as I am still trying to figure out how I want to format this blog.  Right now, I’m leaning towards recaps of the day/night before as apposed to real-time updates throughout the day.  This is because I currently have a full-time job as a human resources professional in the city and do not have many chances to log on and post an update.

One thing I would like to guarantee to my readers, whomever you are, is that I will try and post at least once a day!

Tomorrow marks the first day of spring, but it sure does not feel like it here in Chicago.  Currently, we are at a balmy 19 degrees and I noticed some light flurries as I took out Bailey this morning. Don’t let the sun fool you… it is still COLD.

Last night after work, I headed to the gym and ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill followed by a little strength training (20 lunges with weights per leg, 20 plank jump tucks, 20 dead lifts and twenty jumping jacks – repeat three times).  I think it is safe to say that I am totally over running indoors on a treadmill.  I am itching to get out and run along the lake shore path, but it has been way too cold for this girl.

When I got home, Brian and I made a quick chicken stir-fry with any ingredients that looked good in the fridge.  Into the pan went 3 cups of brown rice, 2 eggs + 1 egg white, 1 green bell pepper diced, 1 bulb of fennel chopped, 3 organic chicken breasts diced and a couple dashes of soy sauce.  Quick, simple, healthy and filling!  Plus, there were enough leftovers for me to pack for lunch today!

I am fully aware that pictures really help paint a picture for bloggers and I will work on snapping better ones throughout the day for you!

Question: How warm does it have to be for you to run outside?  Do you prefer warm weather to cooler weather?

Check out my ‘About’ section to learn more about me and my intentions for this blog.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!