Where's the Beach?

And the Winner Is... I wanted to thank everyone for entering the Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes Cookbook giveaway. I really wish I could be like Oprah or Ellen and tell you all to look under your chairs where you would gasp and clap after finding a copy of the cookbook. But, I'm just me, and have no powers (or money) to make that happen. So, as promised, I have chosen 1 winner via random number generator. Kristina @ Spabettie - you are the winner! (I will contact you with Betsy's contact information) Again, I appreciate that you all took the time to enter and to check out Betsy's blog . I think it's so important to try to help each other when we can. If you didn't win, hope you think about buying her cookbook or at least sharing her site with others. I know I'd certainly appreciate it if I had a published book ;-) Fun Facts Friday - I'm A Picky Eater Today is my rest day - and much needed after legs yesterday. Wowzers. They are definitely sor...

Long Lost Leg Day Returns I designated today as my leg day. Hopefully I can keep Thursdays as legs with Friday as rest day. I have been terribly remiss in working legs and man did I feel that today. My plan for legs is not to necessarily add a lot of bulk (and yes, I know this is not an easy task, most definitely not one of those "too scared to lift heavy" girls I assure you), but I do want to gain more muscle mass and focus on evening out any imbalances - so more single-leg exercises along with the traditional squats, deadlifts, lunges. I know that some of my piriformis issues are related to weak hamstrings, so that is going to be a new focus for me as well. I also plan on incorporating in a second leg day (perhaps on Sundays after upper weights) that will be more plyo to hit the fast-twitch, explosive muscles. I'm hoping that will help me increase my speed for running. And of course I'm totally making this up on my own, so suggestions are welcome please. Toda...

Skillet Bake Sunday Last night's dinner ended up a semi-refrigerator/freezer special. I had some frozen rice that helped make this dish super simple and fast. Jason mentioned casserole, since I haven't made a casserole in ages. In the past, a casserole meant pasta or rice, cheese, frozen veggies, and a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. These days, casseroles are comprised of none of those ingredients. So, they can be more complicated. And I think it's safe to say I have a tendency to complicate things anyway. Last night I peered into the cabinet, fridge, freezer. I thought pumpkin = creamy, so that's where that comes into play. The rest I just had on hand and thought it sounded like a good pairing. Tex-Mex Skillet Bake Ingredients: 1/2 yellow onion, diced 1/2 green bell pepper, diced 1/2 package tempeh, crumbled 1-2 tbsp minced garlic 1 small can green chiles 1 can no-salt diced tomatoes, mostly drained 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice 1 can black bean...

Soup Saturday I must say, that while this recent half marathon training plan didn't really have many hill workouts (will add in to the next training), it did have lots of long runs. I know that they sounded crazy to most people - 3 13-milers, but I thought they made sense. I was prepared for the miles (just not the hills). Not only was I prepared for the miles while running, my body was prepared for them in terms of recovery. So, last night, the only major issues were my sciatica. I was a little tighter than most runs, but I also raced rather than just ran yesterday. But the sciatica kicked my ass (literally). We ended up going to Vino's for pizza because there was no way I wanted to cook right after the race. Then I firmly planted my rear end on the couch (with ice) and relaxed with a couple of mimosas. When it came time for dinner, however, I was kind of tired of sitting (not one for being lazy) so I wanted to make something. Of course, I still wanted it to be simple. ...