MMM: Chocolatey Pumpkin Bars

Hollywood tries the bars

Princess is not so sure.

As the weather started to change, the cravings for carbs started to ramp up. After looking through "No Whine with Dinner", I decided to make a recipe from the Snack Attack section, Chocolately Pumpkin Bars. I love a simple recipe and this is one I could whip together in no time. 

Unfortunately, Sunshine had to miss out on the recipe testing due to basketball practice, but Princess stood her ground even without her mischievous partner and picked it apart before tasting a corner of the bar. She suspiciously eyed the chocolate chips as if they were raisins which were going to revolt and attack from inside the bar.  

The Review: 2 thumbs up!

Camo-Man & Hollywood loved the bars as did I. I thought they were moist and tasty - and a little too handy to have around. Man, I've got to work on my self control! Just because you see it on the counter doesn't mean you have to eat it!

Princess just had to be difficult

Surprisingly, Princess gave it a mixed review with two thumbs kind of up. I think she liked them, but didn't want to fully admit it. Maybe I should hide the names from her until we get a full review...Pumpkin probably threw her off. Or maybe that was supposed to be her street look!

Think like a THIN Person

I used to think THIN people were naturally thin….until one day I decided to actually observe them and pay attention to their behaviors. Why are some of my friends thin while I feel like the frumpy, dumpy mommy?

• ·         They split a meal when I order a full one for myself.
• ·         They don’t include snacks such as potato chips.
• ·         They don’t have to eat out of the candy bowl every time they walk by.
• ·         It doesn’t happen naturally. It happens consciously.

I am the mom of three daughters – each with their own body types. My eldest daughter is bone rail thin. My middle daughter is not. My youngest daughter has an athletic build – skinny, but not tiny with a layer of muscle. What is the difference between each of my girls? Their approach to food & exercise.

My oldest daughter would choose to eat a bowl of fruit over cookies or chips any time of day. She rarely eats processed foods. She doesn’t think about food until she is HUNGRY.  She is tiny, skinny as can be, but she exercise is not really a part of her life.

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My middle daughter loves sweets, baked goods, and bread.  If a bread basket is put on the table, you can watch her eyes drift to the basket again and again while she’s waiting to have the next piece. For some reason, you can almost see her thinking about food at all times. She exercises because she wants to be a part of school sports, but it’s not her natural inclination.

My youngest daughter eats like a toddler. She doesn’t eat a lot of meat and only a few fruits and no vegetables.  However, I can’t keep her still to save my life. She’s on the run at all times and wants to be the best at everything.

All of these factors lead me to “The Beck Diet Solution”.  The characteristics of How THIN people Think in Chapter 3 really hit home with me:

1. THIN people can differentiate between hunger  & cravings
2. Most THIN people feel hungry & occasionally notice cravings, but they don’t dwell on those feelings for long. Generally, they don’t think much about food at all.
3. THIN people eat to the point where they are reasonably full.
4. THIN people have a pretty good gauge on how much they eat.
5. THIN people don’t comfort themselves with food.
6. When THIN people gain weight, they just exercise more and watch what they eat for a few days. They have the confidence that the scale will go back down.
7. THIN people don’t focus on the unfairness of eating smaller portions or making healthy choices. They accept those limitations without too much of a struggle.
8. THIN people don’t D-I-E-T. They know it’s a lifestyle and have changed their mindset about food.

The first few steps:

Record the Advantages of Losing Weight

Pick a Reasonable Diet Lifestyle

Eat sitting Down – and not in front of a screen or with a book

Give Yourself Credit: Recognize your successes

Eat Slowly & Mindfully

Find a Diet Lifestyle Coach

Arrange Your Environment

Today my small group is reading Day 1 - Record the Advantages of Losing Weight. Why do you want to lose weight? Take those reasons, put them on a note card and read them several times a day. 

MMM: Greek Chicken & Chickpea Stew

Greek Chicken & Chickpea Stew
with a salad & Mediterranean salad
dressing

I haven't been really good about posting our reviews....heck, I haven' been really good about cooking from the "No Meal with Dinner". But with a sick kid and not being able to leave the couch, I thought it was time to play catch up.


Way back in December heck make that NOVEMBER, I made Greek Chicken & Chickpea Stew from the Meal Makeover Moms. I love the concept of crock pot meals. How simple can it be? Throw it all in a crock pot and cook for several hours, come home from work and WHOLA! Dinner is served! I was especially excited about this meal because I love Greek food and thought this would be a wonderful match to go with my Mediterranean Salad dressing.

Princess was less than
excited about trying the
stew.

HOWEVER, the reviews were less than promising. Camo-Man said it tasted like a typical chicken crock pot meal. Kind of bland and not a lot of flavor. Sadly, I had to agree. The meal fell flat in my mind. It was ok, but it didn't really satisfy any of my craving for flavorful, tasty food.

Sorry Meal Makeover Moms. I am going to push more flavor in my crock pot meals. That's what seems to satisfy my eaters more.

Training in Rhapsody

Because I couldn't make it to many of the group trainings last week, I decided to hop on my bike Sunday and make up for lost time. I put in Tudors (Season 1 this time) and set off. The training plan was 

Warmup - Ride 5 to 10 minutes at about 70%

Main Set - Ride 5 minutes @ 77% then ride 5 minutes @ 83%. Then repeat until you reach 40 minutes or a total of 4 at each level.

Cooldown - Ride 5 minutes progressively easier

Now because I tend to procrastinate, I didn't get to the basement in time to do the whole thing. I had to cut my main set short. I only get 2 intervals in instead of the full four because Hollywood had to go to a birthday party. 

Dolfin Uglies Rhapsody

While Princess & I were the only ones home, I spent some time scouting the internet for a new swim suit. When Sunshine swam competitively, we discovered Dolfin Uglies which are made of 91% polyester and last way longer than regular swim suits. When you are in the water 3-6 days a week having a long lasting suit is a requirement. I ordered the Dolfin Uglies Rhapsody suit from Swim Outlet. Ahhh! I can't wait to get my new suit in the mail. My old one is half eaten through by the chlorine and I have to double up on my suits so I don't scare the young lifeguards with their nice, tight, non-stretch-marked skin. 

Inspired by my new suit which was inching my way I went to the pool for some laps and completed 1300 yards. Here is my workout from Learn to Swim on Beginner Triathlete.

• 2x100 warm up swim              :45 seconds rest between each 100
• 4x100 (25 kick/25 Fist Drill/25 easy swim/25 fast swim) With :60 seconds rest after each 100
• 4 x 100 pull + 50 swim             With :60 seconds rest after each 150
• 100 cool down swim

All in all a good workout day. Princess is still running a fever and I think a visit to the doctor is necessary on Monday. :(

Spongebob, French Braids & a Treadmill Run

Starting Friday morning, my body hasn't moved much. It's pretty much been plunked on the couch cuddling with my little Princess who woke up Friday morning complaining of a headache, stomach ache and sore throat. I kept her home from school in the morning thinking maybe a little extra sleep might help, but by 9 am she was running a fever.

While it may sound slightly morbid, I do enjoy these sudden days off. I spent the morning getting caught up on laundry, cleaned off my kitchen counter and mopped my kitchen floor. By 11 am, I felt pretty good about my accomplishments sitting down at my computer to do some work from home while watching one of my favorite Christmas gifts, Season 3 of The Tudors. It's definitely not something I can watch with my children. (The S-E-X scenes seems to come out of nowhere.) Princess spent most of the day in my room watching Nick Jr & The Disney Channel - much more appropriate for my Princess. I was supposed to go swimming on Friday morning, but that was definitely out the window. I thought about heading downstairs to the trainer or treadmill, but with Sunshine's 1st volleyball game and Hollywood dancing at the high school boys basketball game, Camo-Man had to go support our other daughters for the evening. So instead, I snuggled on the couch with Princess into the late hours of the evening. I just didn't feel right leaving Princess alone upstairs for any length of time with a fever... and for good reason. I woke Princess up about 10 pm to give her a dose of Motrin before heading to bed....and up came dinner....all the through the house. As soon as it started, I picked Princess up with one arm, the other covering her mouth and pulled her through the living room to the kitchen and into the bathroom. We left a trail of  - well, you know - all throughout the house. Good night! That was enough for me.

Luckily, the upset stomache was just a one time thing. We spent Saturday pretty much repeating Friday....and boredom set in. I read all of my blogs. I sorted through email. I read everyone's Facebook statuses. We even worked on Princess' American Girl Scarf kit she received from Santa, but nothing could alleviate the boredom. I taught Princess how to braid hair and even tried my hand at French braiding. B-O-R-I-N-G!! Finally, Camo-Man came home from coaching Princess' basketball team in the tournament and I RAN down to the treadmill. I couldn't wait to get on the treadmill and have something TO DO!

I haven't run much in the last few months and this was only the 2nd time in 2011. I did a nice 5 minute walking warm-up and some light weight work to get my body nice and warm before running. I didn't want to have a sore hip when I was done so I made sure to take my time and make sure it was nice and warmed up. I set the treadmill on incline 1, speed 5.6 and started out with a nice easy mile. At mile two, I increased my speed to 5.8 and mile 3 went to 6. I could tell I haven't run much when I started to feel a dull ache behind my shoulder blade from the repetitive motion, but a little stretching eased the ache. After completing my three miles, I did 5 intervals setting the speed up to 8.0 for 30 seconds, jumped off and rested for 15 seconds, and the jogged for 15 seconds at 6 again before starting it all over again. Finally, I did my cool down for 5 minutes to complete a total of 3.9 miles. WHEW! It felt great to get up and move my body.

Sunday I'm hoping to get my swim in AND a trainer workout. It's going to be another busy day for our household, but I have the feeling that Princess and I may be plunked on the couch again.

2011 RACES

I've been thinking, planning and altogether obsessing over my 2011 races. I don't know why. I guess I like to plan, but it's the follow through that presents an issue for me! I love to plan for the races and think about how much fun they are or possibly will be......until race day...when I become filled with dread and almost puke on the starting line!


I shouldn't say that. It's not 100% accurate. I only feel that way at triathlons. At foot races, I know I am slow and it's no big deal. I'm not there to win a spot on the Olympic team. I am there for my own personal journey toward physical fitness, but when it comes to triathlons....Some small part of me actually believes I could....

DROWN


Yep, I think it. I worry about it. I don't BELIEVE it will happen, but that small part of my gray matter that actually considers it a possibility sends an adrenaline rush to the pit of my stomach and makes me want to hurl. Up come the pancakes!


Because I am some sort of masochistic attention monger, I actually said out loud to some invisible person out there, "I want to do a half Ironman distance this year and possibly a full in 2012." WHOOMP! There it is! No sooner had the words come tumbling out of my rather large mouth when some of my other T3 team members pounced!



(The following is an excerpt from our January T3 newsletter)....
RUMORS
A fun section for some gossip I’ve heard the following members commit to training for a new distance this year:.....
Carla Leber – ½ Ironman


Eeeekkk! Oh dear Lord in Heaven what have I done? No one was actually supposed to hear me - let alone pay attention to what I was saying! CRIMINETLY
So.....I guess I'm doing a 70.3 this year. Time to map out my game for the summer. Only problem is finding a half ironman distance late enough in the summer so I have time to build my confidence. A half ironman distance triathlon is a 1.2 mile swim (YES 1.2 MILES!), 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Some of the guys from T3 are doing the Pigman Tri. 


PROS: Because it's not an Ironman Race, it doesn't cost over $200, but only $90 instead. It is in late August and the later the better. The race is in Pleasant Creek State Park just northwest of Cedar Falls, Iowa and who wouldn't want to go to Iowa in August? 


CONS: It's hilly. It's really hilly and I don't do well on hills. And let's face it...it's August - 8/21/11 and bound to be 100 degrees!


So, I don't know. My commitment phobia is rising again. Here is what I do know. I am registered for the following races:

• Indy Mini 500 Half Marathon 5/7/11
• Tri Shark Classic 6/4/11 - The race is closed, but someone is transferring their registration to me. Thanks, Nate!
• Tremont Turkey Festival 5k 6/11/11 - Registration isn't open yet, but I will definitely be doing this one. I have a goal in mind...I'll share later.
• Steamboat Classic 15k 6/18/11 - Again not open yet, but it's a good hilly course to prepare for the Pig.
• Tremont Triathlon 6/25/11 - Registration opens Monday!

Races I'd like to do:

• Frozen Turkey 5k 2/26/11, but I doubt I can since I'm putting it on.
• Delavan Frostbite Classic 3/20/11
• Tour de Cure 5/21/11 A 100 mile bike ride starting in Springfield, IL
• Evergreen Olympic Triathlon 7/16/11 Guess I'd better complete an Olympic first if I'm going to do a half ironman
• Lakeland Bi-Tri classic 8/6/11 I've done this one for the last 2 years, but if I do Pigman I should probably skip this one. 
• Abe's Amble 10k 8/21/11 Another hilly race, but I guess I can't do it if I'm at Pigman
• Shoreline Classic 15k 9/18/11 

Other possibilities:

• Pioneer Sprint Triathlon 4/17/11 - Awfully early in the year!
• Sullivan Triathlon 5/1/11 - Chickened out last year! Will I do it this year?
• I'd also like to run a marathon this year, but so far I'm not having much luck there either. I would love to do the Chicago Marathon, but sadly I am supposed to be in Cancun at that time. 
• Canal Connection 10k 11/6/11 - Happy Anniversary, Honey!
• Disney World Marathon Weekend 1/8/2012!!!

So these are my hopes and dreams for the next year or so. I'm full of life and ambition right now. We'll see what the next year has to offer. Of course, I need to achieve all of these goals before the world comes to an end in 2012 anyway, right? 

2010 Miles

Here is my mileage (and swim yardage - please don't think I swam 9,000 miles ~ I wish!)  recap for 2010. Not all that exciting, but you can definitely see the peaks and valleys in my training. I really don't know how I completed my first half marathon in Indianapolis with that low of mileage, but I think part of the problem was that I didn't successfully track my completed workouts until later in the year. On the other hand, if this is accurate, I can expect to finish the Indy Half Marathon in less than 2:12 this year! HAHAHA! That makes me want to get on the treadmill right now!

Yep, this is ME while I wait to start the Indy Mini 500
my first half marathon in FREEZING May weather

Now, I know I swam before June of 2010. I was registered for Sullivan last year when I decided   chickened out hours before the race because I didn't want to face the gale force winds, rain and sleet on my new Dolce bike. Speaking of which - Honestly, I probably didn't bike much before May last year because while I had a brand new shiny red bike, I did not have a trainer. (Last fall, however, I rectified that situation.)

Once August hit though, I started tracking my mileage...and again, that doesn't mean it was anything impressive. I ran and ran and ran in preparation for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, but once I finished that race, I took it easy again as I pushed into Body Flow training and strengthening my IT Band.

So, what does this tell me? That I am a horrible data keeper!!! But I will do better this year. I promise to keep accurate workout records and let you all know how I am doing.