Stuff I’ve Put In My Mouth Lately

I have been trying to stay on point with eating.  (Hold on a sec while I put this Easter candy down…it’s so hard to type with just one hand!)  ANYWAY, to me clean eating isn’t steamed broccoli and grilled chicken with a seasoned rub.  I honestly think I would die.  I love flavor, food, and cooking too much and that feels like throwing in the towel.  Instead, I try to make smart choices and use whole, healthy ingredients.  Running also helps.  So does moderation.  😉

Here are some of my favorite eats from last week:

A few days after Easter, I realized that we weren’t going to eat the leftover ham unless I got creative.  (Big shout out to my mom for leaving a bunch of cloves in the ham, so I got a mouthful of potpourri not once, but TWICE.  ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS).  So, into a frittata with the leftover asparagus that didn’t get cooked with Easter dinner, some spinach that’s been hanging around, and a bit of shredded pepper jack cheese:

of course this monstrosity is my own creation

Some semi-clean comfort food that got us through the chilly days:

original recipe

It tastes like comfort food, but its just 363 calories per serving.  The 33.7 g of protein pack a huge punch and it’s healthy carb heavy.  I subbed in almond milk, so I know mine was lower in fat than the original recipe.  I love it when I feel like I’m having a cheat meal but it’s still pretty clean!  This stretched out over several days worth of lunch for myself at work.

 

This apple-cheddar stuffed chicken didn’t photograph so beautifully, but HOOBOY was it yummy.  This is another home run from Iowa Girl Eats – her recipes are amazing and if you don’t follow her on Pinterest, I’m sorry for your loss.

original recipe

These gluten-free, dairy-free muffins were a great find on Pinterest!  Christina of course hates them, but I think they are mighty tasty.

original recipe

Strawberry Chicken Spinach Salads (mine with balsamic, hers with Poppyseed)

The End.

 

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Checking In!

I was just testing you guys to see how long you would come here to stare at an indecent plastic humanoid before you quit reading my blog all together.

Glad you guys are committed!

I have been SUPER busy lately, but I am managing to stay on track with my training.  Easter Sunday was my scheduled long run – my longest distance ever y’all.  5 miles!  The point in my training plan where shit gets real.  I still can’t believe I did it.

Shout out to Ron, the runner/2010 BM finisher/marathon coach/all-around good guy for randomly finding me and sticking with me for those 2 miles!  Despite the fact that your “easy pace” was more like a sprint to me, and despite the fact that I was super self conscious and tried to take a dozen walking breaks to scare you away, you stuck with me.  When I finished my run and got back in my car, I realized that the only reason my pace was so great was because of Ron and his ignorance of my awkwardness.  I finished strong – I felt horrible but great all at the same time!  I barely even had time to gather my thoughts or stretch because I had to high-tail it back home to get ready to drive to New Castle for Easter.  Phew!

Easter was very low key this year as we are all trying to eat cleaner.  The kids are finally old enough to enjoy Easter without the bunny.

I’m starting to feel really nervous about the relay, but I also have something big to share with you in the upcoming weeks!

Easter Endurance

Well the morning starting in a frenzy.  I had slept in longer than planned (I wanted to jog this morning so I could spend Easter a little more guilt-free.)

We were off to my parents (an hour away) by 9:30!

Well, hello Easter!

And (as predicted), plenty of beautifully dyed eggs…

Almost immediately, jelly bean boredom started to set in over the kitchen…

It was clearly time to start getting some appetizers made so that we could munch on healthier stuff!

If you’re from New Castle, Pennsylvania then you know what Mary’s Restaurant is.  And you know how excited I was to find out my mom had saved some of her hummus from the night before…

Chic plating, I know.  Be impressed with our domesticity.

Oh, the eggs.  How darling are these…

Easy enough to make, just cut 1/3 of the egg off instead of halving it (like you normally would to make deviled eggs).

Keep the caps to use as hats, and then just add some olive and carrot to make faces.  Every other part of making deviled eggs is the same!

I mean, how adorable are these eggs?  How have I lived 28 years and NOT thought to do this?  No idea…

Don’t you hate waiting?

The food was finished relatively early, with of course my dad having to take over mashing the potatoes.  For whatever reason, my mom is incapable of making mashed potatoes without lumps.  Its the one thing I can always remember my dad handling in the kitchen.

Yummmmmmmmm!  Best!!!!

Everything turned out really well, especially the ham…

I made my famous three-cheese macaroni with cauliflower…

And overall, everything was amazing!!

Easter Part 1 was pretty good, but we had to get back to Pittsburgh because we had another dinner to get ready for…

Lordy, lordy.  Thankfully we didn’t eat Easter “dinner” until around 6, because I was stuffed.

As usual, things at her♥ mom’s were amazing in general…

I could burst.

I even let my mac & cheese broil differently, and I believe it turned out better the second time:

We even got some Easter baskets at the end of the day from the MIL♥

She’s pretty much adorable…

I’m exhausted, full of ham and regretting giving all my candy to DR♥ because I am really craving some candy and that damn bunny didn’t bring me a thing!