Oatmeal for Breakfast and other things

Yesterday I spent all day cooking. First I made my scrambled egg whites (with one yolk; can’t quite give it up!) with some cheese and chicken sausage. It was a delicious breakfast. Then I browned some ground turkey and made a chili. I love chili.

The chili didn’t turn out very… chilish, however. It’s very beany and not brothy. Its got all the right flavors and is still very moist, so ultimately I think its okay. I think my mistake was using “fire roasted salsa” instead of “fire roasted tomatoes.” Who knew it would make such a difference?

For dinner last night, I made a chicken stir fry. I had some of the left overs tonight and it was still delicious.

The chicken stir fry turned out excellent. I included diced sweet potatoes which gave it a nice flavor, and made the recipe simple by using some frozen veggies. Topped with a little soy sauce and into my belly it went!

I made enough for at least two more meals. It would go nice with a side of quinoa or brown rice. I don’t think I have either at the moment, however.

The meal I was most excited about making was my oatmeal. The ingredient list was pretty long:

• Chia seeds
• Flaxmeal
• Bee Pollen
• Gogi Berries
• Cinnamon
• Just a sprinkle of nutmeg
• Stevia

Holy healthy ingredient overload, Batman! I didn’t skimp (ie: measure) on any of the ingredients. It kind of tasted like spiced dirt this morning. After I cut up half an apple and mixed it in, it tasted a little better. I should have known better than to go heavy on the healthy. But I’m trying, right? That’s gotta count for something!

I made five bags of it; one for each day. So as long as I make sure to add that apple first thing, and maybe mix in a scoop of honey, it should be fine. It’s not sweet enough. Part of this is to start backing me off sugar, but I think part of it is also the amount of extra sugar that’s put into the processed stuff. The other side of “sugar-free” can’t possibly be “tastes like dirt.”

I’m still going to eat it. I will not let it go to waste. But I will maybe try to find or follow a better recipe for next week. One I didn’t throw together to show healthful I can be.

School starts next week, and Monday’s are going to be the worst. I have two back to back classes that will have me in a seat from 5:30 til 9:45. Plus 8 hours of work. Are you kidding me? I have to get prepared and stay prepared. There is no room for getting off track, especially on day one. Wednesday I only have one class so that won’t be too bad.

My gym schedule will be Tuesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday. My main focus will be on weight training at the gym and Pilates/Yoga at home. Luckily I won a bunch of DVD’s the other day so I can try all of those out. And I rearranged my room so I actually have space to stretch. Its lovely. Now all I have to do is keep my clothes off the floor.

I’ve thought long and hard about this.

I’m not ready to give up running. I never wanted to. I just needed a new goal. I want to run a 5k under 30 minutes. I’ve completed several 5k’s, each one a little faster than the last, but even so, it’s always been a subconscious dream that I finish under 30 minutes. You may not think that a sub 10 minute mile is fast, but when you’re clocking them in at 14:55, its sooo fast. I want to be fast. If only for 3.1 miles.

It’s not going to be a main focus. It’ll be more of a… check in. A way to measure my success. I’m not impressed or moved by the numbers on the scale. Numbers on my body rarely seem to go anywhere. But I’ve seen my half marathon pace drop from 16 minutes to 13 over the last year. That is HUGE. That is measurable. My last 5k was done in about 45 minutes. Taking 15 minutes off that would be amazing.

I’ll keep you posted.