Well the weekend has been mostly school work. I’ve been putting a lot of time into our lesson plan for teaching a nutrition class at the local community center. It really has been fun though. In order to prepare a fun and engaging lesson I am trying really hard to think like a third grader. How do you keep their attention? I want to include verbage that will encouraging them to try new foods, so maybe we’ll call them ”adventure bites” and playing with different ideas for hand washing songs so that it’s not just a task.. but another fun part of our activity. I might be home humming “wash, wash, wash your hands, wash them everyday. Top, and bottom, and in between to keep the germs away!” lol. We’re going to have fun.
Breakfast as usual..
1/2 cup old fashion oats
1 cup water
1 T SF Vanilla creamer
1 T almond butter
drizzle honey
I went for a run today after the rain stopped. I know it rains every winter but this has been a wet month! I just checked precipitation records and it has already rained 6.5″ this month!! Yikes. So I left the house with the intention of running 8 miles. I did that, but on my way back to the house I started thinking about the Seattle Half Marathon next Sunday. I didn’t have any plans to run it. But part of that was because I thought I would be with my family for the holiday weekend. Now I’m going to be staying in Seattle. I just might run that Seattle Half Marathon. We’ll see. I’m not too enthusiastic about running it if its going to be pouring rain. Either way I want to be prepared though. So on my way home I got to thinking that if I’m running a race in 7 days that I haven’t training for, it might be a good idea to make this a long run and then lay low the rest of the week. I ran right past my house and added a 4 mile loop. Voila! Now I have ‘trained’. I did a 12 mile run, I can spend the week cross-training and do a couple easy runs while I figure out whether or not I’m up for next Sunday’s challenge. The beauty of this training program, or lack there of, is that I didn’t give myself any time to get injured in training. Fortunately with my typical 30-40 mile a week running schedule I’m already pretty well tuned for a long run. I just won’t be prepared to set any new PR’s. It will be a few months before I have the opportunity to sign up for a half marathon again. I might as well make the most of my situation. Besides, I’m still a newbie. It feels good to say I’ve run three half marathons, but how cool will it be to say I’ve run four!?!
When I got home I was kinda sore. I took a long, hot shower. I still may soak in a epsom salt bath later just to minimize any inflammation.. and enjoy a little pampering too. I can sip wine and read a book. What could be sweeter than that on a Sunday night?
Along with a salt bath to recover I thought seafood may make for a good dinner since its rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and those have phenomenal antinflammatory benefits. It just so happens that I found a recipe for salmon AND shrimp in my new beloved Cooking Light holiday magazine.. and I have both on hand! So dinner was a salmon fillet with Sweet Chile Sauce, Coney Island Skewered Shrimp, 1/2 a baked sweet potato, and spinach salad. Favoloso!
Coney Island Skewered Shrimp
1 lb shrimp
1T EVOO
1 T chopped fresh parsley
Half a lemon squeezed
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
Mix all of the above ingredients and toss to coat shrimp. Thread shrimp onto skewers and put under the broiler for 2 minutes on each side. Easy!
Salmon with Sweet Chile Sauce
2 Salmon fillets
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1 T honey
1/2 squeezed lime
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp hot chile sauce
Cook salmon on the stove top with salt and coriander for about 4 minutes on each side. Mix remaining ingredients and drizzle over fish once its done cooking.
Question for you. Does your gym post flyers everywhere that says something to the effect of “Have a Healthy Thanksgiving”? I think that’s such garbage. First of all, Thanksgiving is one of the only days all year that you should not feel guilty about enjoying good food in good company of the people you love. Secondly, I feel like everyone in a gym is probably already health conscious, hence their commitment to fitness! So why can’t they post flyers saying “Have a Happy Thanksgiving”?
What do you think about Thanksgiving? Is it okay to enjoy good food in moderation, or more important to have a “healthy” holiday?
