Thanks friends!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

You all pretty much said what I already knew.

I didn't mention it in my last blog but I was already considering seeing someone, and I just checked my gym's website and found out that the athletic trainers can evaluate an injury for free. I dunno about treatment or referrals or anything, but at least I can see someone who knows what their talking about and if I get referred to see a specialist, I also looked up my insurance coverage and it looks like I'll just have to pay a copay. BLAH!

I remember reading that if the self treatment does not work after 1-2 weeks see someone, and it started hurting a week ago last SATURDAY, so it's been nearly two weeks since it started...

Sometimes it's just nice to know I'm not being a wimp and be reassured I'm doing the right thing. *HUGS*

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

RACHEL630 10/30/2008 9:21AM

Best of luck with that! Get the help you need. :) Report Inappropriate Comment

LANC92 10/30/2008 9:04AM

Hey I can say from EXPERIENCE that these types of nagging things are real and you are definitely not wimpy. Seeing someone and getting help sooner is always better than later with this sort of thing. Yes, you might have to roll it, ice it, rest it but taking care now will insure that you get to run later :-) Report Inappropriate Comment

SKYFYRE 10/29/2008 10:35PM

Aw, sweet pea, you will get all things settled eventually, just don't kill yourself in the process! Oh, and you are a bada$$ bunny, don't forget that! Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEATONCEADAY 10/29/2008 7:15PM

you are a wimp. you wanna kick my butt now!!!!!?????!!!!!! you are a fighter. wimp is the last word i would think of for you. Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLIE13 10/29/2008 5:28PM

Hmm...let's see?... 1. Lost over 100 pounds 2. Runs 3. Swims 4. Swings kettlebells 5. Strength trains 6. Eats healthily 7. Does all of the above on a consistent basis, all the while pushing to be her very best. Umm..NO that doesn't not all add up to being a whimp because your knee hurts. Yay on being able to see an athletic trainer at your gym! I see my doc on Friday for the second time since I've moved...and I think I'm going to stick with him because he's a RUNNER! So important now in our cases, don't you think? Especially for extra reassurance that you're not being a whimp. ;o) Report Inappropriate Comment

SHINYSILVRVOLVO 10/29/2008 5:23PM

Yeah, you're definitely NOT a wimp!!! Farthest from, actually! Report Inappropriate Comment

UGAHGUSAHRAISHERAQ@I#O!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

So...

I braved the cold today, geared up, and went out to give this running thing a shot.

WHAT IS THE DEAL??? It started hurting again and I'm not sure if it's the ITB after all -- the pain this time was more so at the bottom of the left side of my knee... but still on the outside and the same leg. I dunno.

Maybe I went out too fast? I started with walking but maybe I didn't walk long enough, and maybe when I started running my tempo was too fast. I finished 1.4 miles in 18 minutes and that's with some a couple of walking/stretching moments... ?

I don't know. I'm just going to massage, chill, and try again on Saturday if it feels normal during the day. It's not like I'm limping around all day or anything, it just happens when I'm running and right afterward...

I'm just so frustrated. I miss running. I never thought I would ever say that but I miss it SO MUCH. Maybe I needed more than a week's break? Maybe I should just run through the pain? It's not like it's agonizing or anything, I'm just afraid of running to a real injury. BAH. And according to mapmyrun I only burned like..130 calories doing that.

OH YEAH. I left my HRM watch at work. Put the strap on this morning and was like HEYYYYYYYYYY where's my watch... DANGIT. It was in my drawer at work. So that might have contributed to me going a bit too fast setting out. ?

? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

That's how I feel. Full of questions and anger. *sigh* I even used different shoes. The last two times a ran and had this problem (the long run initiating it and the attempt the following Wednesday) I was wearing my newer Asics Gel-Kayano 13 shoes. So after a week's rest I decided, maybe I should go back to my Brooks and see if that helps, but to no avail.

Nothing else to really talk about. I ate steel-cut oats this morning. It was good.

OH P.S -- TOM showed up today.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

RACHEL630 10/30/2008 9:23AM

Grats on doing such a great job running! I'm starting out with running and I am sooooo new at this. I'm sorry that your knee is hurting you. So frustrating! Report Inappropriate Comment

SLCOLMAN 10/29/2008 10:11PM

Sorry that the run caused the pain to come back :( Go see an orthopedist maybe? Hang in there!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEATONCEADAY 10/29/2008 7:45PM

do you have a foam roller? i know they are a bit pricey but they are great for rolling out after a run. sometimes it hurts like hell but it might help ya, Report Inappropriate Comment

BRUIN2 10/29/2008 5:11PM

No, don't try to run through it. Go see the doctor... Report Inappropriate Comment

CATIATM 10/29/2008 5:02PM

Train around the pain. That kind of pain is telling you that something is wrong. ... Do you over pronate? A lot of women do. Have you considered seeing a podiatrist to see if otrthodics might help? If the feet and ankles are off, then the mis-alignement works its way up. Report Inappropriate Comment

SHINYSILVRVOLVO 10/29/2008 4:27PM

I agree with the others...don't try to run through the pain. Too many athletes have done that and it always seems to lead to more problems. Maybe see if you can get into a doc soon so that you can get on the road to recovery that much sooner. I hope it heals up for you quickly! Hugs, Em Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLIE13 10/29/2008 4:22PM

Bummer and how frustrating, huh? I remember how frustrating it was when I was having issues with my foot. I'd suggest getting it checked out too. How long has this been going on now? It's been over a week right? Or close to it. I ate cottage cheese. It was not good. ;o) Report Inappropriate Comment

TELERIE 10/29/2008 4:18PM

I third that- you should check with a specialist before running again if the pain persists. Your body is trying to tell you something. How frustrating, but you'll get back to it eventually! Have you tried running in water?? Report Inappropriate Comment

MDTWEETY 10/29/2008 4:05PM

Hey Dana! I think you should go see a doctor or a specialist if you continue feeling this pain. It's definitely not a good idea to keep running without getting it checked out (if the pain persists) -- it would aggravate the situation and make it much worse. I guess the bright side to all this is that you won't get burned out from too much running, so when you do get back into it, you'll enjoy it more. Report Inappropriate Comment

**PRICELESS** 10/29/2008 3:48PM

:( I'm sorry, how discouraging! I would NOT recommend running through the pain. You really don't want to make things worse and our knees are sooooo vital. lol Maybe go check it out w/ a Dr.?? Set backs a lame. Hope you get back on the road soon...but not too soon. ;-) Report Inappropriate Comment

Workout Completed.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

So I did an ST workout at home today... seems like I forgot just how much the cold outside makes me want to NOT leave the house to go to the gym. Will fix that. ANYWAY.

Did a million things. Lateral raises, V raises, shoulder presses, chest presses, chest flyes, tricep extensions w/ sumo squats, tricep kickbacks, lunges w/ hammer curls, crunches, reverse crunches, fancy crunch giantset, some calf raise curl press thingie..... jump roping in place. I think that might be everything??? HAHAHA :D oh a few pushups, good mornings, straight legged deadlifts, single arm bicep curls, and bent over dumbbell rows. Yep. That should be everything. Burned 300 calories in about 34 minutes. Did some dynamic stretching at the beginning to warm up, did some static stretching afterward.

Plan to run tomorrow. Still toying with the idea of swimming tomorrow as well. LATER!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

RACHEL630 10/30/2008 9:29AM

GREAT JOB! Looks like you're kicking butt. ;) Report Inappropriate Comment

MDTWEETY 10/29/2008 9:38AM

LOL! I did the same thing yesterday. It was bitter cold and rainy. Since I walk to the gym, well...I didn't. Instead I did my Leslie Sansone DVD. It was a bit boring, but hey, I got a workout in. It's a good thing that you have the option to choose "music only" on the DVD menu. She is way too perky and annoying for me. LOL! It's only one of 2 fitness DVDs I own. The other is Zumba, which is kind of fun. I need to get more DVDs for the winter. Report Inappropriate Comment

LOBO1978_2000 10/29/2008 8:58AM

Thanks for the comment on my blog. That is good use of your inside the house time to get all those good strenght training workouts in. Way to go. Report Inappropriate Comment

TRECECOOKS 10/29/2008 8:53AM

That is awesome - 300 cals. in 34 minutes!! I hear you on not leaving the house - we gotta nip THAT in the bud!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SKYFYRE 10/28/2008 9:39PM

Yowza! Sounds like you did a at home modified MTC workout! Yay! I hope you aren't too sore tomorrow! Mind the knee! Report Inappropriate Comment

BOTZZZ 10/28/2008 8:25PM

I feel ya on the not wanting to go out in the cold! we had a rainy day today and it was cold to boot so I did the same as you, made it a work out day :) it doesn't surprise me that you blast through a workout like that on a cold day. when life gives ya lemons and all that ya know? ;) As Ever Me Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLIE13 10/28/2008 5:53PM

And your knee feels great? That's a great calorie burn! Report Inappropriate Comment

BRUIN2 10/28/2008 4:06PM

YAY - this must mean that your knee is feeling better! Wahoo! Report Inappropriate Comment

My Strategies for Danger Foods

Monday, October 27, 2008

So... I was reading someone's blog today and commented on it with my tactics towards those unhealthy foods we love in spite of our desires to be healthy living people.

I posted a comment and I wanted to come back and post about it here so that I commemorate it and share with those who may read my blog but not heard me ramble on this subject before. SO HERE GOES!!!

Strategy #1: Find a healthy version.

I have made so many "healthy version" recipes of foods that are craved that it is one of my favorite go-to weapons. So many things we eat out at restaurants are seemingly PURPOSEFULLY made unhealthy, when there are simple things we can do to make a healthy version. Use less oil. Use leaner meat. Use different/less sweetener. No salt added ingredients. Increase the veggies to add volume with less calories and decrease the calorie dense ingredients. If you are feeling wary of trying to modify recipes on your own, there are PLENTIFUL resources out there with healthified versions of recipes, including our SparkRecipes.com. I am personally in love with Ellie Krieger's boog, The Food You Crave. :D Also, try eatbetteramerica.com (I think that's right...)

Strategy #2: Fit it in your calories.

If you can't find a healthier version, or just don't enjoy the ones you've tried, or it's something that can easily be enjoyed in smaller amounts without any modifications -- this is a great way to go. Try smaller portions and you can fit many treats in on a daily basis (or ok, if you want to be more super healthy, maybe a couple times a week or something...). I've used this strategy with things like ice cream (buying a light version and portion control has allowed me to enjoy ice cream fairly frequently...), dark chocolate, nuts, potato chips, tortilla chips, stuff like that. Some things can be found in portion controlled packaging! Individually wrapped is a good option, and 100cal packs can be useful -- as long as you don't double up! :)

ALSO: SUB STRATEGY for this one: Remember you can always enjoy this little treat tomorrow, or next week. If your calories are already too high today, you know this is something you can easily fit in tomorrow, then just wait. You're not denying, just postponing. :D This can also be helpful with strategy number 3....

Strategy #3: Enjoy on the rare occasion.

There are some foods that just do not stand up to modification or portion control. Fried mushrooms? Pecan Pie? Those are my two that come immediately to mind. No, I'm not going to have a tiny bite of pecan pie every day. I don't even think I'd want to. But I can allow myself to enjoy a reasonable small slice once in a blue moon without feeling guilty. SO CAN YOU!!! If you allow yourself a cheat meal from time to time... maybe once a week, maybe twice a month, maybe on special occasions like birthday, anniversary, thanksgiving.. .WHATEVER. But indulging on occasion is OK and does not RUIN ALL HEALTHY EFFORTS. :) You're human. Your hard work and dedication for the majority of the time won't be foiled by that slice of cheesecake -- as long as it doesn't become a regular occurrence. Then you need to employ strategy #1 or #2 to that cheesecake. Healthify and/or fit into calories.

Lastly I'd like to share my vacation strategy:

Exercise, and follow a 2/3 ratio of healthy to free choice.

Meaning -- keep up the activity, and each day eat two nice healthy meals that would fit into your regular healthy lifestyle, and for dinner (or whatever meal you choose to splurge) choose what you want. This doesn't mean you have to eat crazy unhealthy food each day for one meal, but that's the beauty of it. It's vacation. You're allowing yourself the opportunity to indulge, and if you want to, go for it. Or if you feel like enjoying your beachside locations fresh delicious seafood and some steamed vegetables, ROCK IT!!! :D

As for exercise -- if you can walk, do body weight ST, and optionally take some resistance bands -- you're golden. And if you're lucky, you can make use of your hotel's gym if it has one!!! :D

These are the strategies I've used to continue to enjoy the foods I love throughout my healthy lifestyle change and deal with holiday and vacation temptations and I hope it can help other Sparkers out there!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MISSHOLLYDAE 11/4/2008 10:08AM

Really great tips. You should post this regularly so people can find it easily, lol. We all need the help and your tips are really practical. Report Inappropriate Comment

RACHEL630 10/30/2008 9:34AM

Great hints! I will be remembering these in the future. I LOVE you 2/3 ratio. Great advice! Report Inappropriate Comment

KKATZE 10/28/2008 10:08PM

Thanks for sharing! I kind of thought I know these rules, but need to practice :) I especially get all these cravings now the days are getting so dark and cold outside..... Report Inappropriate Comment

TELERIE 10/28/2008 4:04PM

Oh I SO agree with the others you should be a writer for SP! Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLIE13 10/28/2008 3:14PM

Awesome awesome blog miss Dana! I especially loved the part where you said that you're not denying, you're postponing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SHINYSILVRVOLVO 10/28/2008 2:24PM

Excellent tips! Thanks for sharing! Report Inappropriate Comment

CATIATM 10/28/2008 2:16PM

AMEN! Excellent ideas for long term coping strategies. I don't want to diet; I want to live a healthy life, and these are great ideas to make it work. Report Inappropriate Comment

KMKMOM 10/28/2008 12:52PM

What great advice! Thanks for sharing it with all of us here. Report Inappropriate Comment

LOBO1978_2000 10/28/2008 10:23AM

I like the strategies. We have to develope good relationships with food. After we reach our goal weight everyone has to do just thatjust to maintain their weight. thanks for sharing. Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEETZMIX 10/28/2008 10:17AM

Awesome strategies. I will be using some of them. But the one thing u mentioned that has helped a lot is portion control. I just eat a little bit of the food I love and step back. I think I forgot that one for a while, but I am getting it back. Thanks for sharing these great tips!! Report Inappropriate Comment

BRUIN2 10/28/2008 10:05AM

Amen Sister!! I agree with Krissy - SP should totally snatch you up!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MDTWEETY 10/28/2008 8:54AM

Great blog! Awesome advice!! Report Inappropriate Comment

VEEJAY3 10/27/2008 11:50PM

Amen to these VERY wise strategies! All of which I've gone to before. (I love finding another pecan pie groupie -- last week, on vacation, I ate a really healthy dinner ... and then the entire table of 8 shared a single piece of pecan pie. My share? One whole lucious, decadent, fantasmagoric forkful. That's always the finest bite of a dessert, anyway.) And I agree with SKYFYRE -- you SHOULD be an SP contributor! How does that get done? Someone, bring me an application for this woman!!!! Raise your hands if you want a ZIRCADIA regular column!! Comment edited on: 10/28/2008 11:18:54 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEATONCEADAY 10/27/2008 10:49PM

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SKYFYRE 10/27/2008 10:05PM

An incredilby well written plan as well as some great options and alternatives for geting to eat the things we love! Thank you for this Dana! You should be a writer for SP! Report Inappropriate Comment

**PRICELESS** 10/27/2008 8:29PM

You ROCK! Thanks for sharing those great ideas! Report Inappropriate Comment

TELERIE 10/27/2008 7:55PM

Beautiful. we live our lives and it IS for living, and that doesn't mean a whole lot of diet deprivation, just a bit of common sense and some planning. Thanks again, Dana, for excellent advice! Report Inappropriate Comment

Report on the Weekend!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ate in the break room at work and then headed straight to the gym.

Did some ST. (Kicked butt.)

Went upstairs to the cardio floor and hit up the rowing machine.

I REALLY LOVED IT!!! :D Not a super high calorie burn from it, but actually pretty decent. I can't remember how much really... but it was something like 100 from ST and 100 from 10min on the rower... maybe less, but by the time I got downstairs and changed and ready to swim I was at 230-250 I can't remember... then I swam and got up to 450-470 calories before my knee started bugging me and I really didn't feel like swimming anymore anyway, it was getting on my nerves, so I decided to go upstairs and bike, I changed, and then when I started to go up the stairs my knee was like DON'T DO IT. So I turned back around and showered and went home.

A total of 493 burned, but.... that is including changing and going in between areas. So *shrug*. But well below my goal for the week. If we count 400 of the calorie burn from Saturday, that puts me at roughly 1100 calories burned last week... (although I didn't count that one day of ST so a bit more maybe), so I was like 800-900 calories short of my average burn for how much food I've been eating.

This week, even if I don't start running again right away, I'm going to excercise more and use my HRM for every session. I know I can get closer to 2000 if I don't do just like... one day of ST, one good workout day but knee aggravating, and one truly good workout day.

I'm optimistic about being able to run again at some point this week and attempting the bunny 10K on Saturday. I might have to revise my goal and do a 5K instead, depending on how I'm feeling... but we'll see. This could just be considered a massive taper before the race... right???? ;) BAH.

Can't wait till Friday -- HALLOWEEEN!! I promise to take pictures of my costume.

UM. OK.

SO FOOD STUFFS ETC.

I cooked twice yesterday -- I made this incredible roasted butternut squash pasta dish that I ate WAYYYYYYYYY too much of. One serving would have been enough but I was so blown away by it I ate two. Then I was stuffed all day, made pizza for dinner, and ate not that much of the pizza (which was fine with my DH! hahaha). I MUST share the pasta recipe. SO GOOD.

8oz your choice pasta (I used Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Penne, the recipe actually calls for Farfalle (bowties) but I had this on hand and for fewer calories)

Butternut Squash 3.5lbs ish, then peel and cube (I ended up with 2lbs 4.9oz of actual squash)
5 cloves garlic
2 big handfuls of Spring Mix torn up (or escarole or curly endive or some other crap, I used Spring Mix)
1 medium to large onion, diced to your preferred size
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
Basil
Sage
Red Pepper flakes (I just kinda sprinkled dried versions of those last three in, but the actual recipe calls for 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves torn and 13 sage leaves or something like that... and 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes)
Salt and Fresh Ground black pepper

1/2 cup fat free half and half
3oz Italian Cheese Blend (I used Great Value for 80 cal per serving -- the recipe actually calls for 3oz of asiago cheese. This blend contains asiago, so I just used this instead.)

OK! BIG TASK! Preparing the Butternut Squash. Cut the sucker in half down the middle, scoop out seeds/guts. Then place the cut half down on the cutting board and cut crosswise into inch wide slices. Then you can more easily remove the hard rind - PREHEAT THE OVEN AT THIS POINT TO 450 degrees! w/ a Sheet Pan or shallow baking dish inside!

and just cut the crescents into inch cubes. (This suggestion came from the cookbook.) This was the longest and hardest part of the recipe -- everything else was a PIECE OF CAKE. Chop up that onion. Then mix everything in that middle section. (the veggies, the herbs - salt and pepper) and turn it all onto that sheet pan carefully and roast for about 25 minutes.

While it's roasting, boil up that pasta! :D

You should turn around the squash mixture 2-3 times while roasting. When the squash gets tender, turn on the broiler and broil until things start getting caramelized. (About 5 minutes -- watching and turning every couple of minutes.)

OK! Then turn the squash mixture into the serving bowl, add the pasta, and then add the half and half and cheese. Stir everything until well mixed and SERVE.

I did not weigh the results, so I'm not sure how big a serving really is, but it was probably about 2 cups. -- it makes FOUR SERVINGS.

And here are the nutrition facts:

423 cal/ 13.9g fat - 1.2sat/2.2poly/5.1mono /1.5mg chol/ 488.9mgsod / 649mg pot / 70.9 carbs - 7.2gfiber/1.6g sugar / 15.8g protein

So not too shabby! As long as you don't eat two servings like me. ;) HAHAHAHA. And really, one is PLENTY with this recipe. The butternut squash is so creamy/sweet with the melty cheese in there and everything -- just soooooo good.


SHOPPING: I want to change my shopping habits. I normally go shopping at WalMart, once a week, for all my grocery needs. My DH and I recently watched a very disturbing documentary about WalMart and now it makes my heart hurt when I go in there. I have had to go a couple of times since watching it, but my new plan is to avoid it at all costs. (Well -- not at ALL costs, but you know what I mean.) This past weekend I went to the local health food store (Manna), and bought a bunch of bulk items. I made my first purchase of bulgher and wheat berries -- exciting! -- and I also bought a bunch of nuts and some unsweetened banana chips and sesame sticks and made our own nuts and snack mix instead of buying a premade nut mix. I asked my DH if he minded if I left it unsalted and he did not! So we have a couple of 5 cup containers of this stuff and I'm so jazzed about it. :) There's one of my regular sodium contributors CUT drastically. :D I also bought some beef jerky that is nitrate free. It's still got the sodium of course, but it's lower in calorie also. WOOHOO on that!

I got some collard greens from a local farm! And honey from an alabama honey farm also! I would love to be able to buy everything there, but it's so expensive. I went to a different grocery store to pick up some other items and that was that.

But then I forgot some things I had to go back for the next day and I just swung by WALMART on the way home after church out of habit. *DANGIT*

But I'm going to try. I have a plan to start buying meats at a MEATS place down the road from us. I'm thinking if I can purchase most produce from the farmer's market (which unfortunately is shutting down for the winter, but I'm thinking long term), good healthy staples and other special items from Manna, regular processed items that we still use (like Dannon Activia Light for example, or possibly also some Kashi products that they have at Manna but might be cheaper...) at the regular grocery store, and cut WalMart out of the picture except for prescriptions we are currently filling there. I'd love to be the kind of person who buys meat at the butchers, pickes up produce at a farmers market, stops in a little health food store for everything else... I'm not quite there, but I think I can make these changes. And hopefully some of the changes will be better financially as well (The meat from the meat store??? maybe finding good sales at a local grocery?) to compensate for some of the more expensive items.

All this reading I've been doing has made me want to shift my mindset about food and try to think ecologically about things and also about supporting local business, etc... I hope we're financially capable of doing this and I think with some good planning on my part, it will work. The bulk items at Manna are really well priced, so I know where I will be buying my beans/couscous/quinoa/nuts/etc in the future.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LUCYA8 10/29/2008 1:21AM

Go you on the change of shops! I say just pretend Walmart doesn't exist and never did. Just wipe it off the mental map - that tends to work for me on most things - then after a while, when you pass it, it won't even appeal - you'll find so many more interesting ways to get what you need within your budget and it'll make you enjoy shopping and planning so much you won't want to go back to the big box way of life. the farmers market sounds great when it's in season - and you'd be surprised the deals you can find there, especially at peak season. farmers often really need to get rid of their weekly harvests, and you're not paying for hundreds of miles of transportation fuel and packaging. During the winter, don't forget how cheap root vegetables are - sweet potatoes and carrots and onions are so warming and comforting (in addition to being vitamin powerhouses), and they're always lower in pesticides, to boot! Also, I don't know about the regular grocery stores near you, but the ones near where I live (both in CA and VA) are really improving both in price and in quality of goods. There are more healthy foods available, and often produce prices are competitive with the Box prices. You can also see if there are any co-ops in your neck of the woods that distribute produce in exchange for an annual membership. The other nice thing about shopping at the local shops is that you can build a relationship with the owner, which often pays off in a number of ways - they can suggest new things for you to try, and often have things on sale that they can point you to (or put things on sale for you), and they're often really good at suggesting brilliant ways of putting together menus on a shoestring. At least that's been my experience. Bulk section is the way to go - I buy almost everything that isn't a fresh plant in bulk: brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, oats for breakfast and baking, wheat bran and germ, dried fruits, muesli, even almond butter and peanut butter. That leaves just a few items, like bread and breakfast cereals and refrigerated products like [soy] milk/yogurt. And if you like to bake at all you can make a weekly batch of loaves on the weekend and toss one in the freezer until you need it. That might be getting a little to serious but it does make the house smell good and is nice to do when things get colder. besides, kneading is a great arm workout :) As you can see, you've gotten me going on one of my favorite topics - sorry for the rant :) but really - you are KICKING BUTT - and don't shrug over an awesome workout like that, especially when you're working with a setback. you RocK! keep it up - Luca. Comment edited on: 10/29/2008 1:20:50 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

JAZZSIREN 10/29/2008 12:39AM

I really like the butternut squash ravioli lean cuisine dinner, so I'm thinking this recipe would be the BOMB! Thanks for posting it! Report Inappropriate Comment

SLCOLMAN 10/28/2008 9:50PM

Good luck with trying to change how you shop!! I love the ideas that you have about this, and that you live somewhere that this type of shopping is possible too :) Maybe someday I will live somewhere that has all those nice types of Mom & Pop shops so I can eliminate Wal-Mart too!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MOM2ACAT 10/27/2008 7:43PM

That squash recipe sounds good! Report Inappropriate Comment

BRUIN2 10/27/2008 4:58PM

Mmmm, the recipe sounds great!! And I think your taper is going to be fine! BUT, if your knee isn't up to running, it's not up to it AT ALL - you can just run the Bunny 10k a little later!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MARLIE13 10/27/2008 3:18PM

Way to go on your workouts. I know how tough it is with an injury. Oh and YAY you!! for trying the rowing machine!!! That recipe sounds soooo yummy. Can't wait to try it! I love your thinking for grocery shopping as well. I'm getting there as well but still many areas I can improve on. Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEETZMIX 10/27/2008 3:15PM

Hey Girl, I try to buy my stuff as locally as possible. Especially since eating healthier costs way more money!!!!! Buying in bulk helps a lot even though there is only 2 of us, it still helps out a lot. I am not sure of which documentary you saw, but it must of been deep. That recipe sounded sO good...mmmmm mmmmmmmmm And don't worry about not being able to run the 10K. You know what ur knee feels like and what ur body is capable of!! Can't wait to see your costume!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MDTWEETY 10/27/2008 2:33PM

That sounds like the most delicious recipe EVER!!!!!! Thx for sharing! I will have to check out that wal-mart documentary. I've always hated shopping there anyway. Do you have a Trader Joe's in your town? That's a good store for healthy food. Lots of wonderful treats to be found there. Report Inappropriate Comment

CATIATM 10/27/2008 2:26PM

If I ever make it to Alabama, I am SOOOOO coming over to your house for dinner!!!! I hope you'll post more of your recipes here and in the Kitchen! Speaking of the Kitchens, so we have a challenge this week?? Walmart ... Rent Walmart: the High Cost of Low Prices, or something close to that. I would never shop there after seeing it. Glad you had good workouts, and I hope you're stoked for this week! Report Inappropriate Comment

SWEATONCEADAY 10/27/2008 2:10PM

can you come be my personal chef? i can't afford to pay you though. wouldn't it feel good to volunteer - lol. sounds like a kick butt workout yesterday. i also fell short of my calorie burn goal for the week. i may also have to shorten my bunny 10k or it will be slow with the stroller if dh ends up working halloween day. Report Inappropriate Comment

SHINYSILVRVOLVO 10/27/2008 1:58PM

I love it when you share recipes! This one sounds amazing and I'll be sure to try it! Report Inappropriate Comment