Fall Down 4 Times, Get Up 5...

So I had another set-back over Valentine's week... Back on track now, and ready to continue down the right path.  I have decided to wait until next marathon season to try another half... That way I can have plenty of time to train and shave a good amount of time off of my finishing time.  My goal now is to continue to work out and run... Do a 5K in May and finish under 32 minutes.  My fastest 5K race finish ever has been around 38 minutes.  I've never claimed to be a fast runner... I go at a slow, consistent pace... I need to bump my pace up!!

Food Tracking Works

I proved myself right... I tracked all of my food intake this week and ended up losing 3 pounds!  It feels great to be back on track.  Now to amp up my training for my next two races... Rodeo Run 10K in February and a half-marathon in March! I'm now 9 pounds away from my all-time low and 24.6 pounds away from my Weight Watchers goal.

Back in the Saddle

The holidays made it difficult to stay on track for me.  Going back to work in the fall also made it difficult.  I was tired when I got home and wanted to spend my time playing with Mya rather than working out and cooking healthy dishes.  This caused weight gain.  I have now come to realize that this will be something I will have to make time for each day... I'm doing this to set a good example for Mya, so taking the time to workout and cook healthy things are going to be so worth it.

I have found that not tracking what I eat is the ultimate problem.  When I'm losing weight, I count my WW points for everything that I put in my mouth.  When I don't do that, I gain weight.  I'm back to tracking everything, and I'm back to working out... that should lead to good results.

I have now ran in two half-marathons.  The first was in October and the second one was the Houston Aramco Half-Marathon just this month.  What a rewarding experience!!  I'm now addicted to the half!  I have another one planned for March.  My goal is to knock about 30 minutes off of my finish time.  If I do my training as I should, this will definitely be an attainable goal.

Why do I bother being honest about my weight gain?  Because I know that there are people out there that are inspired when they see the amount of weight that I have lost, but I think it is necessary for them to realize that I am human, and it is a constant struggle.  It helps prove the point that if I can do this, anyone can.  It does feel great to be back on track!!

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

I have never been really good at cooking chicken.  I always buy it, and it ends up staying in the freezer for a long time.  I found this recipe and decided to give it a try since it sounded fairly easy.  It was, and the chicken turned out great!  This is a simple recipe and can be done in less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), crushed  

1 pound(s) uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), four 4-oz pieces

2 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s), small, halved

1/3 cup(s) canned chicken broth

1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled

Directions:

1) In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil.

2) In a medium bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat.

3) Transfer chicken and marinade to skillet. Sauté chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

4) Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Sauté mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer.

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.

Serves 4; 4 WW Points+ per serving

Quick One Dish Meal

We had leftover meat/rice mixture from yesterday's stuffed bell peppers.  Rather than have it go bad, I decided to just create a simple, one dish meal from it.  It was really good.  We even liked it better than last night's peppers.

I cooked the mixture (ground beef, brown rice, Ro-tel). Then simply topped it off with one slice of Sargento reduced fat pepper jack cheese.  I added 2 oz. of avocado to the top along with some salsa.

One serving (if you use 4 oz of extra lean ground beef and 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice) = 10 WW Points+... I calculated mine a bit less since I didn't have a full serving of the ground beef left from yesterday.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

The ingredients... Can you tell we like to shop at Wal-Mart??

Directions...

1) Preheat oven to 365 degrees.

2) Saute onions and garlic until onion becomes transluscent.

 3) Combine meat (1 lb. extra lean), cooked brown rice (2 cups), can of Ro-Tel, onions, and garlic in a bowl and mix well.

4) Hollow the 4 bell peppers.

5) Bowl the bell peppers for about 5 minutes... or until the skin turns a shade different.

6) Stuff the bell peppers with the mixture and bake them for 40 minutes or until meat is thoroughly done.

7) Top each peppers with 1 slice of Sargento reduced fat pepper jack cheese and then bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

8) Remove from oven and serve.

Serves 4; Each serving is 8 WW Points+ (If you use all of the meat/rice mixture.)

We liked this okay... If I were to make them again, I would also add in a small can of tomato sauce.  The stuffing tasted just a bit bland since we just added one can of Ro-Tel.

Taco Cupcakes = Yummy!!

Tonight for dinner, I made Taco Cupcakes.  They were a hit.  Below is the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

8 Mission extra thin corn tortillas

1 can of Rosarita no fat refried beans

4 Laughing Cow cheese wedges

1/2 cup reduced fat mild cheddar shredded cheese

1/2 package of taco seasoning

1/2 cup salsa

12 tablespoons of light sour cream

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Spray cupcake tin with non-stick spray.

3) Line cupcake tin with corn tortillas.

4) Brown ground beef and then add taco seasoning.

5) Mix in taco seasoning and refried beans.

6) Place 1/2 Laughing Cow cheese wedge on each of the corn tortillas.

7) Add a scoop of salsa to each of the "cupcakes".

8) Evenly divide the meat/bean mixture between all of the "cupcakes".

9) Top each with salsa and then shredded cheese.

10) Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.  Then top with Light Sour Cream before serving.

Two of these Taco Cupcakes were 11 points.  Not too bad for a dinner.  It was very filling.