WIAW: Couch to 5k

About two months ago, inspired by my best friend who has lost 60 lbs. since the first of the year and ran her first 5k, I started jogging. 

I wanted to run a 5k too, so I printed off a couch to 5k plan and went to the Y.  I hadn't regularly worked out in months, but I felt great and wasn't out of breath.  Instead of resting every other day, I spent that first week jogging for 10 out of 30 minutes every day.

By that Sunday, my knees were killing me.

It hurt to walk. Stairs caused excruciating pain.  There was no way I could continue the plan.

So, I looked up knee pain, runners' knees, and how to rehabiliate my knees while building strength.  For six weeks, I stretched, lifted weights, walked, and eventually began using the elliptical trainer.  I decided to restart the couch to 5k at the beginning of June.

Last week, I made sure I didn't try to run every day.  I biked for 30 minutes during the off days and made sure I stretched well and continued to build strength in my knees by lifting weights every other day.

This week, my knees are in great shape.  I began week two on Monday.

Since my body feels so good from all of my exercising, I feel like eating healthy foods.  I'm more focused on how much I eat.  Even though the scale isn't moving as quickly as I wish, I can feel changes in my muscles.  I feel stronger, leaner, and I have more energy.  I'm trying to eat nutritious foods that fuel my body at regular intervals.

Here is what I ate.

For breakfast, I used 1/2 c. organic quick oats, 1/2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract, and 1 c. of original flavor almond milk to make oatmeal.  I topped it with 1 c. of chopped fresh strawberries and 1 Tb. of ground flaxseed for extra fiber.

At lunchtime, I created a delicious wrap with an Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla and 1 oz. of vegan cheddar-style cheese warmed in the microwave until the cheese melted.  I filled it with swiss chard from my friend's garden, sliced tomato, and 1 Tb. of Annie's Organic Goddess dressing.  I also ate a Golden Delicious apple.

For a snack, I had a piece of toasted Ezekiel sprouted grain bread with 1 Tb. of Justin's Maple Almond Butter and another Golden Delicious apple.

I made a simple supper for us: a salad, a Yukon Gold and a red potato topped with House Seasoning and broccoli florets.  I made the salad with lettuce from our friend's garden, then added cherry tomatoes and green onions from the farmers market.  I topped it with a Tb. Ken's lite balsamic viniagrette.

After supper, I ate four dates to satisfy my craving for something sweet.

I feel like I ate all day, but I only ate less than 1300 calories and managed to fit in 35 grams of fiber.

This week I'm going to try my best to post a new recipe!

Jamming on a Saturday Night

Last night, we ran out of jam.

Several years ago, I made pear-raspberry jam and strawberry-pear jam.  The pear-raspberry was the absolute best and didn't last long.  A month ago, I found a jar of strawberry-pear, then started sending it on sandwiches for my husband's lunches.

For the past year, we have been using store-bought jams.  Until recently, we didn't go through much of it, one jar every few months or so.  Since my husband takes his lunch to work every night, we have went through jam much more quickly.

After I made his sandwiches at around 5:00pm, I added jam to the grocery list.  Then, I got inspired. 

Before he left for work, I walked to the store and picked up pears, frozen raspberries, sugar, and pectin.  Two and a half hours later, I had nine pints of pear-raspberry jam and, remarkably, a clean kitchen.

The tangy and sweet taste of homemade jam and jelly is so much better than store bought varieties, which are often bland and full of high fructose corn syrup.   Since no pressure cooking is required, they are quick and easy to make. 

Instead of sending my husband peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I'm sending him homemade whole wheat bread with Justin's Maple Almond Butter and homemade pear-raspberry jam.  Yes, the sandwiches are as delicious as they sound!

What I Ate Wednesday: Baby Steps

Our 10 month old son has had a very dramatic month. 

In about six weeks time, he learned to sit up on his own, pull himself to standing, creep along furniture, feed himself, and to crawl.  He started waving and clapping his hands on his own.  He began sleeping through the night in his crib and napping in his crib.  As he developed all of these skills, he also was pushing four teeth into the top gumline of his mouth.  WOW!

For we adults, sometimes development takes a lot longer.

I started eating healthier and buying better food for my family over two years ago.  I learned about the chemicals and preservatives in processed foods and I started eliminating them from our diet.  Although it was often cheaper to buy packaged potatoes and plain wheat bread, I started making most things from scratch.  I canned produce when it was available.  I began to grow food in my own garden.

It has taken me a while to make the transition.  When I ate meat, I ate less of it.  I stopped using margarine and switched to butter.  We ate more fruits and vegetables with our meals.  I changed my son's "fruit" snacks to actual fruit snacks: dried cranberries and raisins.

I finally placed my first order from the food co-op in town.  No longer do I buy even wheat buns and tortillas; now, I only buy sprouted grain varieties and I make most of our bread from wheat I grind in my Vitamix.  I recently started buying organic cheese and eggs for my family.

Here are the healthy foods I ate.

After my workout (I don't like to eat before exercising in the morning), I ate a yummy bowl of Nature's Path Flax Plus cereal.  I added an extra Tb. of ground flaxseed to the top before pouring over 3/4 of a cup of almond milk.

For lunch, I indulged in a bowl of homemade raspberry sherbet, made with frozen raspberries, 1/2 c. almond milk, and 2 Tb. of light agave nectar in my Vitamix.  I topped with another Tb. of ground flaxseed.

For snacks, I ate a Golden Delicious apple (my favorite variety), but I didn't take a picture of it. I also had a piece of Ezekiel bread toast (I was out of homemade bread) topped with 1 oz. of thinly sliced Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar-style cheese.  It looked so good that I almost forgot to take the picture before I ate it all!

I made Amy's California veggie burgers for supper on Ezekiel sprouted grain buns with olive oil mayo. I topped the burgers with romaine lettuce and sliced tomato from the farmers market.  We also enjoyed a side of asparagus and a romaine lettuce salad with light balsamic viniagrette.

Even though it put me a little over the calories I wanted to consume today, I couldn't resist eating the crust from one of two loaves of whole wheat bread I made this afternoon.

Like my friend Mary, who still cherishes eating bologna sandwiches on white bread, I think I would become ill and given up if I had tried to make all of these changes right away.  I started with baby steps in the right direction.  Now, I can't even imagine going to back to all of the fake food I used to eat.