No Bake Monster Bites

I needed something sweet....I use that term "needed" very loosely, but the struggle was real in the moment.  I didn't want to invest a lot of time, but I wanted something homemade.
These little monster bites are so easy to put together and they really are tasty without a ton of different ingredients.  I recommend chilling for an hour or so before eating, but they are really delicious straight from the spoon as well.  Whether they chill are not often depends on my craving.  I like to half the recipe (half makes about 10).
So, for my future self when I'm craving something quick, easy, and tasty and forget everything I ever knew in my pursuit of hunger quenching desserts-self, make these again.

No Bake Monster Bites

PRINT HERE

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. quick oats, 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. honey, 1/3 c. mini M&Ms, 1/3 c. mini chocolate chips
Instructions:  
Mix, Roll, Chill for about an hour (until the peanut butter is more firm).

Healthy Banana Muffins

I went on a quest last summer to find recipes that didn't use enriched flour.  I'm not to the point yet that I can eliminate it from my diet, but....it's not a bad idea to reduce it at least!  I discovered a ton of really disgusting recipes, but....there were a few good ones along the way.  Granted, you aren't gonna be like-oh my gosh, is this a banana nut muffin or a cupcake?  But this is a good one.  Add a little light butter and I really couldn't tell much of a difference on these guys.

Healthy Banana Muffins

Ingredients:  1 c. plain low fat greek yogurt, 2 eggs, 1/2 c. honey, 2 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, 2 T ground flax seed, 1 t. vanilla, 2 very ripe bananas
Instructions:  Spray muffin tins (12 total).  Grind oats in the food processor.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  You can add nuts or dark chocolate chips to your muffins for a kick.  Divide batter and bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

26.2 Miles? Check!

 Once upon a less than a year ago I ran my very first 5K.  I did it for health reasons, here's a little about that journey.   I had walked many a 5K, but I wanted to run one....one turned into....hey, I bet I could run a half.  I did.  Twice.  In March, I ran the Rock and Roll Dallas and I thought I died.  I didn't.  So, this September I ran the Plano Balloon Festival Half and I just kept going from there.    Somehow those halves turned into-if I can do a half, surely I could do a marathon.  The best thing I ever did was tell people I was going to attempt 'the' marathon or I would have quit 15 times over.  Daily.  The first half was just about what I could make myself do if I pushed myself, the full marathon was about how much more I could do with the support and prayer of friends and family.  I know everyone says this, I'm never doing this again, and at mile 8 I was having a good ol time, but by mile 20 I remember I said this-never again-and meant it-I will not be running any more full marathons.  The training takes an incredible amount of time.  I had blisters that could have passed as additional toes.  I was hungry.  All.  The.  Time.  I'm not sure my friends remember my name.  There is entirely too much alone time which equals entirely too much thinking time and I just shouldn't be left unsupervised for these length of times.  Plus, I'm pretty sure the body isn't supposed to run 26.2 miles.  The guy the marathon was named after, Phidippides, ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens, hence the name Marathon.  He was a herald sent to share the story of a Greek victory...and I'm pretty sure the story goes-he died after running that distance.  And now we do this on purpose?  It's just that 'thing' on my bucket list I've now done.  I'll still run halves as long as my body will hold out, but fulls....I'll show up with a sign for others from now on, so if this is my one and only, this is how that chapter ends.... 
So, my one (and only) marathon started on an unseasonably warm day.  It was 69 degrees at the start and pretty muggy, which is OK with me!  I know 'runners' like it to be cooler, and even the Kenyan's struggled up there at the front.   Gasp.  My whole goal was to run the whole thing, and finish before they closed the finish line.  True story.  Since it was my first race, as long as I finished, I would PR.  Win.  Win.  The only person I was racing for or against was myself. 
The Dallas marathon has been going on for over 40 years, but they changed the route this year so that we started downtown (the old Red Court House)...

 We ran to West Dallas and then back across the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. 

...back downtown through the design district...

 ....on to Highland Park where the half marathoners went back towards the finish.  It was hard to watch them leave, but I prepared for this....

 My friend Amber and her husband, Josh met me at mile 9 with a Gatorade and a power snack and words of encouragement.  My pal, Heather met me at 14 with a sign that has been my motto for this race.  I wrote about it here.  Her sign said Christy 14, Mountain 0.  I hearted it.  She gave me my dried fruit and cold frap drink.  It took me months to figure out what fuels would get me through.  I had a few gu, a few honey wafers, dried mangoes (for the sugar rush), a frap for the caffeine before and halfway through the race (energy drinks scare me)...and lots of Gatorade. 

 My pal, Melanie met me at mile 15 and she ran me to 18.  She has run a marathon before and she told me that the mental knowledge of having less than 10 left if she could just get me there would be a boost....and it was.....Gretchen  met me at 21 with oreos and ran me in....  At mile 11, I started taking a poll of every body part that hurt, and it included one of every body part, but talking through most of the last 8 really helped.  I never found that 'wall' because I took it slow, finishing was the goal.  I broke each part into chunks-make it across the bridge, make it to Highland Park, make it to White Rock, next up-Swiss Ave....friend here, text from friends there....step by step.  Enjoying it was a bonus.  I started getting a little emotional during a portion called the Dolly Parton Hills, insert your own meaning there, but they had written the reason some of the runners gave for running on the ground and my tear ducts started opening up, and I told myself to snap out of it and eat a dried mango.  Check.  And then....

Legs hurt.  Toe nails were questionable for a few days, there were a few moments I felt like passing out the night after, a few times I sat very close to the bathroom in fear of throwing up.  Getting up and sitting down required the 'old person' noise all week after the marathon (Dec 9th), but my phone is full of well wishes.  I have amazing gifts, cards and encouragement at home from awesome friends.  From bath salt and fuzzy socks, snacks, and magazines from Sarah and Fran to all sorts of fat filled goodies and faith filled cards (thank you, Nicole).   Friends that came to cheer me on, or run me through, and told me every step of the way they believed I could do it.   It was definitely a hug to let me know I can do it, but it's because my life is full of amazing friends who want me to reach whatever my goal is...the thing this gave me, other than sore muscles and a funny series of veins in my left legs that may forever be a little more 'present' than they should is the knowledge that I used to say I'd never be a runner, and now I can say I once ran a marathon.  It's fun to see what you can do if you just allow yourself to dream a little dream, run a little run and allow people to support you and pray for you if you are willing to share whatever the current goal/dream/crazy idea is in your life.  Next?  I'm not really sure....it won't involve running goals, but I'm sure it'll be something on the bucket list.....it just requires walking to my night stand where I keep that bucket list, and right now....I don't really want to walk anywhere.  ;o) 

1 Year and 70 Pounds Later

     Sooo…..I have a story.  It’s not finished yet, but….consider this a movie trailer of sorts-minus the movie, the paycheck, and the hot male actor playing lead along side me.  Not yet to the male lead, but it's still early in this movie.  
      A year ago I took up running.  Before that point, running was something other people did that sometimes interfered with city traffic on weekends.  It would have been on my 'never' list if I knew I needed to make that list.   It wasn’t a part of my vocabulary, except perhaps when one needs an antonym to describe one’s life. 
   So, not knowing I needed to be more deligent about guarding my 'never list,' as I was pondering my next exercise 'plan' to help lose some weight,  I heard about the Couch to 5K challenge App.  Hey, I've 'never' tried running, why not?  I decided to give it a go.  I started.  Three weeks later,  it snowed.  7 months passed.  I gained 30 pounds.   I turned 32.   I decided it was time to lose the weight.  But I like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Cheetoes, and :put the name of any carb here:.

     Here’s my thinking.  You have to find something you hate more than you love food.  Ta Da!!!!  I’m a runner! 
     True story.
     Assuming you will allow me to call it 'running' b/c the shoes and socks are found in the running section.  I’m a runner.  In reality, I got passed by speed walkers at my first half marathon last March.  Like, all of them.  The only people still on the course with me at the end of the race were those who were obviously experiencing physical problems, as in,  they pulled a muscle and they limped across the finish line with me.  But I finished, and I ‘ran’ :heavy air quotes: the whole thing.  Subtract the officer about mile 10 that was standing by the barricade who asked me if I was OK, and I’ll call it a success.   I realized-I don’t run for the cheers.  I, certainly, don’t run for speed.  I run because I’m 70 pounds lighter BECAUSE I ran. 
     I started out  thinking small, 30 seconds at time.  It was hard.   I usually run at this park (pictured above) that is .70 miles around a little pond.  I remember thinking my first goal was to run around one time.  I’d run from one lamppost to the next (less than 100 steps) and think-someday, I’m going to run past every lamp post without stopping.  And then, someday came.  I passed all those post one time, and then I worked on a mile.  I remember how hard that mile was to complete.  I couldn’t imagine three miles (goal #3).    But then I made it three.  And now 3 miles, 3 miles is my ‘easy.’  I think-oh, thank goodness, it’s only three.  Don’t get me wrong….three isn’t a walk in the park (ha ha ha ha ha….I amuse me), but it’s not 8, and it’s certainly not 13.1. 
     My first (and only) half in March, despite the training,  I remember seeing the three mile mark and I thought-you have GOT to be kidding me, I’m only at three?!?!?  The whole time I ran that race I told myself this was it, this was the only time I was doing it.  It was too hard.  And then those stupid endorphins stepped in at the end of the race.  They hand you energy juice, and chocolate milk, and bagels and all the sudden you feel OK again and you are telling people, as you limp to the car,  you are going to run a marathon someday. 
     This is where the prior part of my story meets the present, and then the future hope.
     So, I decided I would run another one (stupid endorphins).  I’d run one more half (As this post-Sunday the 23rd...7:30 am, I’m ‘running’ that half….air quotes still necessary around running), and then my plan is to attempt ‘the marathon.’  Just one attempt at a marathon December 9^th.  
      To be totally honest-running has taken over my life.  I’m doing a relatively light schedule to train because my goal is to just finish, and like, have a heart beat, at the end of the race, but it takes so much time, and I’m still just at the first 1/3 of the schedule.  October and November I’ll just be a distant memory to those that used to be part of my social life.  BUT, I knew losing this weight would be a full time job.  I’m not there yet.  I have more weight I want to lose….just a little more, but it will take me as long as that first huge hurdle took.  I know the running is the only thing that has kept me focused.  I’ve run through excuses, vacations, cake, cookies, issues inside and outside this body of mine, relationships, work, heart ache, bloody socks, and happy times.  I was inspired from great friends who ran first.  I’m so excited (and encouraged) by those that have joined me.  
      So here’s the bottom line.  I don’t know if I’ll finish that marathon…I don’t know if I’ll find my way home from today’s half.  I can’t imagine I won’t accomplish both, but….it truly is all up to God.  I never thought I’d run a mile.  I certainly didn’t think 13.1 was a possibility.  26.2 was the most ridiculous challenge of all, but I can do all things through Christ (Phil 4:13).  If He wills it, I'm training for that finish line.  The whole point was to make getting healthy a priority, and I’ve accomplished (or, rather AM accomplishing)  that focus and have changed the way I view life.  Minus a few miles at the end of each run, my life is better for this challenge. 
     I don’t think I’ll always be a runner. The whole idea is just there are so many things in life I put “I never…” in front of, and then I find myself in the middle of them, and it’s an incredible story.   I don’t know that I’ll ever attempt another marathon.  I’m not planning on it-I think I’ll find a new challenge, so don’t hold me accountable for anything I say December 9^th, but what a fun year of first.   Then again, I may be on my 4th marathon a year from now, who knows.   I have more to write, but….I had to put this first half of my story in writing to A)  Keep focused on my goal and B)  Hopefully someone else who is in that boat looking at the next lamp post will realize you are capable of that….and so much more.  Here's hoping it's not toooo long before I get to finish this portion of my story.   And if my fingers work.....I'll report back soon because somebody has to keep me accountable...and send me Reeses. 

Strawberry Salad

My pal Stacey, from work, shared this recipe with us. I always say I would eat more salad if I could make them taste as good as restaurant's offerings.  This one does the trick.  So, I guess January is as good a time as any to start applying that promise to action. 

Stacey's Strawberry Salad

Toss spinach, romaine lettuce, red onion (obviously this salad is best served when 'single')-sliced, feta cheese (I used one regular size package, glazed nuts (it callas for pecans, I found walnuts in a can), and Brianna's Homestyle Blush Wine Vinaigrette (there is a strawberry on the bottle).  A little dressing goes a long way (Stacey's good advice). 

Butternut Squash "Fries"

   

  In the world of vegetables, I'm a baby.  As in, I'm new to them, not-I get teary eyed or whiney....well, not too whiney.
     I've been eating the same vegetables all my life, but at the age of 29...I discovered I do actually like (fresh) greenbeans.  Who knew?  So, I began a hunt through the vegetable aisles at the store to see what other territory I've left unexplored. 
     Sure, I like lettuce, and all those 'salad-ie' things.  I also like all the 'bad for you' vegetables like potatoes (fried) and corn.
      I've gone through quite a few trials over the last three years hunting down vegetables I might could be friends with.  I've gone on a lot of bad dates.  Maybe it's me, but....still....
     This is as close as I've come to liking a vegetables.  I do like these 'fries.'  They are on the sweet side, but hey, salty and sweet...never a bad thing.  This was a recipe I received in a weekly healthy eating pamplete.  I usually use these sort of things to cover surfaces from getting glue-ee while I craft, who knew they had another purpose?   It doesn't hurt that these are easy. 
Ingredients/Instructions for Butternut Squash Fries
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced into 3/4 inch thick sticks (the smaller you cut them, the crispier these get....I like them crispy). 

1 t. salt (or to taste), 1/2 t. chili powder (optional), cooking spray. 
Spray pan with cooking spray. 
Lay squash down (without touching each other). 

Spray another healthy layer over squash strips, season, and bake at 450.  18 total minutes, but pull tray out and flip 'fries' after 9 minutes.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips

This is a recipe Regan shared with me this past weekend.  We served it at her graduation barbecue and it was a big hit.  She said it's 'her dish' she brings to all parties now, and it's delicious.  I had a dip like this years ago, but in my memory, it required more ingredients. 

You can really mix this up with any fruit, and it makes a lot more than the cup shown.  She said she generally sticks with the berry family. 

Salsa Ingredients/Instructions:  1 carton of strawberries (pulsed to chunky in a blender), 3 kiwis peeled and diced, 1 pint blueberries (quartered), 2 apples (peeled and diced).  Mix and chill until serving (this is best when it marries overnight in the fridge). 

Cinnamon/Sugar Tortilla Chips Ingredients/Instructions:  Buy a 10 pack of flour tortillas.  Spray with spray butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.  Bake on a cooking stone at 400 degrees for about 7 minutes (you might lower the time/temperature if you are using a metal cooking tray).  Store in an airtight container or baggie if you are not serving right away so they stay crisp. 

Cooking (Healthy) (Easy) For One-Chicken and Rice

The thing about cooking for a party of one are the left overs. I often cut a recipe in half...or fourths...when possible, but a lot of times when it comes to cans and containers, you still have to buy the 'whole thing' and then figure out what to do with the rest of it....There is also the 'healthy eating' element I occasionally try to bring into my life, and when I saw this recipe in a magazine....I knew it was right up my alley, and it was even better...and easier than I had imagined it would be.
I bought these single servings of brown rice. They have all sorts of suppliers out there, I have no personal reason for recommending this one, but I like it fine...

Here's the easy, one serving, steps to making this dish:
Cranberry and Nut Chicken and Rice
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 microwaveable ready to serve brown rice container
Small handful of dried cranberries
6-10 pecan halves, chopped
1 T of Light Italian Dressing
Instructions:
I seasoned my chicken with a rosemary seasoning I like, and threw it on the George Foreman. When it was finished cooking, I cubed it up.
I cooked the rice for a minute in the microwave as instructed.
I mixed the chicken, rice, dressing, cranberries, and pecans.
I ate, and was completely filled when the meal was complete.

Salad: Watching Your Weight: Macaroni Salad

I can't exactly say I've gotten a lot out of my membership at a club where I 'watch my weight,'....except...a bunch of recipes.  Yay for healthy, yummy recipes.  Boo for girls that think said recipe should be followed by a brownie or six.  Should I ever decided to get my game together, I've got a little collection going, including this one.  Umm....Oh...My...Yum!  I don't know how this goodness works into a lowfat recipe, I like it as much as my regular.
Here's the recipe for Low(er) Caloried Macaroni Salad
8 oz. elbow macaroni, 1/8 t. salt (for cooking pasta), 1/2 c. reduced calorie mayo, 1 T. red wine vinegar, 1 t. dijon mustard (I added 1 T.), 1/2 t. garlic salt, 1 c. chopped celery, 1/3 c. red onion (I used white, because it's what I had on hand), 2 T. fresh parsley (I didn't add this, but....it was on the recipe card), 1/4 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper.  Cook macaroni, drain and toss with ingredients.  Chill overnight.
 150 calories per serving, 8 servings.

Maybe You Shouldn't Read This?

Maybe I shouldn't admit this?
Maybe I don't really care anymore?
Maybe this blog is all about admitting things I shouldn't admit?
Maybe this blog doesn't even have THAT much of a purpose?
Maybe there aren't that many people that swing by to hear these confessions anyway?
Maybe that bothers me?
Maybe it doesn't?
BUT...
Today I was really hungry. REALLY hungry.
Maybe it's a combination of bad recipes, bad cooking, no groceries, and a monthly time clock?
I was really hungry.
I was trying to convince myself NOT to eat anything unhealthy because unhealthy eating defined last Sunday.
I was thinking about any healthy food I might have in my room at work.
I have three Diet Cokes, and one packet of hot chocolate in my room.
Nope, not what I wanted.
I thought harder-surely there was something....
Visualize...
Nope!
The only thing on my desk right now, besides paper and scissors, is a bag of crayons....and then...
I remembered this guy who I went to school with named Ricky.
In first grade, he used to eat crayons.
I like to believe everyone remembers the crayon-eater in class.
I never tried crayons, but...
I wonder what legacy I left?
Maybe I don't want to know?
I started to sort of....kind of....wish that I had been a crayon eater too b/c then...
Maybe I could channel that inner crayon eater?
...and eat a crayon to conquer the hunger.
Maybe I wouldn't be hungry anymore?
I don't think crayons have calories.
Then I remembered the PTA had left us bags of popcorn in the lounge.
God bless the PTA.
Seriously, this could have ended much worse than...
I went down and burnt the first bag...
I had my teaching partner pop the second bag for me.
It was that...or eat the crayons.
Maybe I should pack a snack tomorrow?
Maybe I should hide the crayons in case I forget to pack a snack tomorrow?

I Almost Died of Boredom....and Other Tales from the Gym...

I went to the gym on Saturday after Saturday School, and before the nap I scheduled three weeks ago (true story). I haven't slept in since December, and I won't sleep in until Friday Easter weekend (when I've schedule my next nap). So, what I really wanted to do was start that nap, but...I went to the gym. Oh, I forgot to tell you to tune your violin, this story is a real heart squeezer.
So I went to the gym, anticipating my nap.
I got on the elliptical to watch my daily dose of food network. It's the closest I get to good food these days (minus one or ten cooking projects I try out each week, but in my mind...I suffer...I suffer much.). Guess what? NO FOOD NETWORK. Some less than wonderful human had changed the channel (that says "don't touch") that's ALWAYS on food network to the LIFETIME channel. Gag me....pluck all my nose hair out....squeak your pencil....I just am NOT a Lifetime fan! At....all. The other five stations? SPORTS. I do like sports, but not enough to appreciate the Pre-Game to the PRE-GAME show...I kid you not. And TV #7....NANCY GRACE. Look, she makes me laugh...but there isn't a lot to laugh about on an elliptical machine. I couldn't do it. For 20 minutes I tortured myself...and then...I quit because I'm in charge of me! 'Me' wasn't havin' it. I was too scared of the other people at the gym to try to change the channel.
I went back on Sunday, and out of desperation found out that Pandora is a free app on the iphone. George Strait sang me through the elliptical and the treadmill, and all was right with the world...until my ear buds starting sending shocks through my left ear. Have you ever been shocked in the inner ear?
I just think the gym is bad for my mental and physical health.
I think God should reconsider how we gain and lose weight.
I think the world should reconsider sugar's impact on our eating habits.
I think that cookies should replace oatmeal for breakfast.
I think I need more elastic in my wardrobe.
I think I'll skip the gym tonight.
...there's only so much a girl can take.

Diet Plan, or Lack There Of....

I would like to lose 20 pounds by Friday, any suggestions? ...short of amputation, and/or giving up sugar, bread, or three meals a day...or some other crazy idea like that...as if...
P.s. The gym and I are 'working it out' with some pretty intense therapy sessions....it was just a trial separation, but I still think I deserve to be treated better than this, my imaginary counselor is totally on my side! I went back, despite my initial response...I have to have something to do while my cake is cooling in anticipation of cream cheese frosting.
P.p.s WHY is the food network one of the stations they offer for our gym viewing enjoyment?
P.p.p.s. Why do I watch the food network while I work out with five other channels to choose from? I think tonight I'll just bring the stinking cake to the gym, and just fork that into my mouth while I glide away....save myself the trouble, and a it's a much more efficient means of time management. I'll switch the fork between both hands in order to give each forearm an adequate workout!
P.p.p.p.s. Do they amputate hips? I'm rethinking the means of losing 20 pounds by Friday if they do. If not, I'll be waiting for that quick fix to the long term problem.

Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do

Dear Gym,
This isn't 'working out.' I think we should break up.
Love,
Your Unfaithful Girl