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pad thai

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Jen

I had a great full body weight session at the gym tonight.  My weight lifting sessions have been pretty much non-existent the past few weeks, so today I decided to just spend some time and work my whole body.  It felt great when I was done!

I snacked on 1/2 of this Kind Bar before my workout, since I knew I would need some fuel to keep me going.

This flavor was awesome.  I especially loved the yogurt coating!

I saved the second 1/2 for after my workout.

I warmed up with a 5 mile easy run – I felt exhausted though, it was a tough run!  Then, it was on to weights.  I decided to do some circuits to work my upper and lower body at the same time.

Full Body Weight Session

  • Overhead press (3 sets of 12, 10 lb weights) with squats
  • 21’s (3 sets, 18 lb bar) and step ups (10 lb weights)
  • Lunges with alternating front & side raises(3 sets of 12, 7.5 lb weights)
  • Upright row (3 sets of 12, 18 lb bar) with deadlift
  • Bicycles (3 sets of 20)
  • Alternating Chest press (3 sets of 12, 12.5 lb weights) & Fly’s (3 sets of 12, 10 lb weights)
  • Crunches (3 sets of 15)
  • Overhead tricep (3 sets of 12, 10 lb weight) & tricep dips (3 sets of 10)
  • V-ups (3 sets of 12) on bench
  • Hammer Curls (3 sets of 12, 7.5 lb weights) with calf raises
  • Lat pulldown (3 sets of 12, 50 lb weight) & Seated row (3 sets of 12, 30 lb weight)
  • Leg ups (3 sets of 10) & Back extension (3 sets of 10, 10 lb weight)

Wow!  What a session, no wonder why I was exhausted!

I decided to whip something yummy for dinner.  I was craving Pad Thai, and just happened to have these noodles in my fridge, so I gave it a shot.

I chopped up 1/2 green cabbage and about 1/4 of a purple cabbage, along with some leftover zucchini (I didn’t want it to go to waste!)

While the noodles were cooking, I heated up a little olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and added the cabbage and zucchini and cooked until tender, about 8 minutes.

Once the noodles were cooked (they only take about 5 minutes), I added them to the cabbage mixture.

I added peanut butter, toasted sesame oil, peanuts, chile pepper, salt and pepper to the mix and stirred up until mixed.

YUM!  Simple, quick and delicious homemade pad thai!

I really enjoyed this simple dinner.

Quick & Easy Pad Thai

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

  • 1 package Japanese Style Noodles (I used Nasoya)
  • 1/2 green cabbage
  • 1/4 purple cabbage (for color) 🙂
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp chile powder
  • 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook noodles according to package instructions.  Drain, set aside.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
  3. Chop cabbage and zucchini and add to the pan.  Cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes.
  4. Add noodles to the cabbage mixture and mix.
  5. Stir in peanut butter, chile powder, salt, pepper and sesame oil.  Mix well.
  6. Garnish with peanuts when serving.
  7. Enjoy!
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Filed under: Eating Laps, Recipes, Running Laps | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

stress busters

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Jen

I changed things up today with my Wheatberry bowl for breakfast!  Instead of the bowl being made up of mostly wheatberries, I wanted a lighter mix.  So, I cut up a pear, drizzled it with a little agave and cinnamon, and popped it in the mocrowave for 45 seconds.

Then, I added about 1/3 cup of pre-cooked wheatberries to the bowl and put it back in the microwave for 30 seconds, just until warmed. 

Next came some Stonyfield Maple Vanilla yogurt, which I picked up this weekend.  It smells so mapley and delicious – and tasted that way too!

I ended up dumping this entire yogurt onto my pears and wheatberries to make it more of a yogurt bowl.  Then, topped it with some dried fruit and toasted pecans.

Mmmm…I liked this better than the previous 2 mornings!  I love the heated up pear.

I still have mixed feelings about eating dairy…

I also had some tea with breakfast.  You all know that I love my loose leaf tea, and much prefer it over teabags due to the flavor!  In case you were wondering how I brew my loose leaf tea, I thought I would take some photos of my strainer.

I have a tea strainer that I use to brew the tea before placing it into my mug.  I purchased mine at Teavana awhile ago, but numerous tea shops sell them now!

You scoop the tea leaves into the strainer, i use 2 teaspoons since this is a 16 ounce container, and pour the hot water over the leaves, then close the lid and let steep for the necessary amount of time.  Once time is up, you just place the whole strainer on top of a mug and let it drain in!

It is such an easy way to brew loose leaf tea!  When the bottom is pushed on, the tea flows out, but it closes when it is just sitting on a table.

The day flew by so quickly, that I didn’t even have time to stop for my mid-morning snack or lunch until 3pm!!  So unlike me!  I was starving once 2:30 rolled around, so I scarfed down an orange and then heated up by lunch to eat around 3.

Lunch was more leftover stuffing from the baked acorn squash on a bed of spinach for some greens!  I was feeling like I needed some greens in my life, as not too many were consumed yesterday.

I’m planning to hit up the gym for a run and some weights after work, so hopefully this super late lunch will be digested by then!  Lots of carbs in the rice, so it should be a good pre-workout meal.

Work has been extremely busy lately (which is great in this economy!), however I find myself becoming more and more anxious about my life before and after work!  I try to get up early to work out, but my bedtime has become later and later which does not allow for an early wake up routine!  So, I have been trying to workout after work, which I hate!  While at the gym, I just constantly think about everything I need to do when I get home, which defeats the purpose of my anxiety reducing workout. 🙂  I know that I am stressed about trivial things, but I still needed to find a way to make myself less anxious.

I searched around the internet a bit and came across a post on Lil Veggie Patch about Gretchen Rubin’s Book, The Happiness Project.  It just so happens that she has a blog where she gives tips and yesterday’s tip was 20 Easy Tips For Lowering Your Daily Stress!  What perfect timing.  I made my own list from Gretchen’s list and added a few of my own.

Daily Stress Busting Tips

1. Wake up 20 minutes earlier, so that you are not rushing.

2. Always make your bed, it just makes you feel better and more organized when you walk into your bedroom.

3. Start off your day with exercise.

4. Eat a healthy breakfast to start your day off right!

5. Spend 15 minutes a day picking up, so that you wake up to a clean house.

6. Laugh once a day.

7. Pack your lunch the night before.

8. Read before bed in order to clear your head of the daily grind.

9. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier.

10. If you still find yourself getting stressed, then stop for a minute, walk away and take a long deep breath!

These might be small things to do, but they really help me!  Something as simple as making my bed can make me feel 100% better when I get home from work.  I always spend a few minutes before bed tiding up because it makes me feel better in the morning to wake up to a clean house.

What do you do to rid yourself of stress?

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