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Today I stayed home from work to take advantage of the somewhat quiet week of spring break.  Earlier, I told Heather that I would make dinner tonight and suggested baked fish and chips.  At the time I didn’t have a recipe or any experience making this dish, so I went to the internet.  I found two recipes and merged/altered what they said to create my dish.  Recipe 1 is Oven Baked Fish and Chips from fitnessandfreebies.com, Recipe 2 is Baked Fish and Chips with Oikos Tartar Sauce from MyKitchenAddiction.com.  It’s amazing what a quick Google search will give you!

I started with recipe 1 - I was intrigued by the corn flakes as part of the recipe.  This morning I went to the Fish Market and bought some freshly caught cod.  Both recipes used a typical flour then egg dredging process.  I went with the corn flakes in recipe 1 instead of the bread crumbs in recipe 2. The fish baked at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes then I flipped the pieces of fish and cooked another 6 minutes.  I thought it was really good.

The small dish is the Oikos Tartar sauce.  Personally, I wasn’t a fan.  I didn’t actually follow the recipe though (this was from recipe 2).  It calls for Dill Relish, I used sweet relish.  I’m not a fan of sweet relish (Heather is though). I also did not use Old Bay seasoning.  After I mixed the oikos and relish, I tasted it and then added a lot of things (garlic powder, dill, salt, onion powder) in the hopes it would taste less like sweet pickles.  It didn’t work.  Heather only tasted all the things I listed in parentheses, so she didn’t really like it either.  I probably wouldn’t try to make it again, I’d rather just eat pre-made tartar sauce.  Heather made her own using Miracle Whip (which shouldn’t even be considered a food!).

Next came the “chips”! Again, I used a combination of the two recipes.  I used recipe 1 for most of my inspiration, but I added a little olive oil to my mixing bag based on what recipe 2 listed.  Both recipes understated the amount of cooking needed, these were in the oven for almost 25 minutes.  I did flip them once after about 10 minutes.  Even though I seasoned generously, I though they were a little plain. 

Overall, not a bad dinner.  Would definitely make the fish again, would probably find a different way to make the potato.  Baking potato will never be as good as frying it, but our hearts are thankful for the choices that were made tonight! 

Have you ever done a baked fish and chips?  Any thoughts or suggestions for a future attempt?  Have you used corn flakes in your cooking before? I was surprised by the other recipes they had on the back of the box.

This is one of my favorite bowls…

Yes it is very non exciting.  But it was one of the first bowls I bought when I moved out on my own.  It was a part of a set of 3.  They all have tops and serve many purposes.   Before getting proper mixing bowls, I used to make everything in these bowls.  The tops have been in the dishwasher many times – they barely fit the bowls anymore.  I got them at Kohls. 

This bowl, in particular, was one of my faves to hold a big salad.  With the top on, it was perfect to shake and mix all the toppings around – especially after a drizzle of salad dressing. 

When brainstorming meals for the week, I decided Matt and I needed a “Big Salad” night and my favorite bowl made a reappearance from the back of my cabinet.

If you peel back the top, you can start to understand my love for this bowl

Take the top completely off and you can see the bigger picture In the mix was: 50/50 salad mix (mixed greens and spinach), cucumber, tomato, peas, mushrooms, avocado, craisins, yellow pepper, broccoli slaw and scallions.  I made my favorite dressing of olive oil, champagne vinegar and honey.

I could eat a salad like this every night.  So delicious and simple. 

In fact, I think Matt and I have decided to institute “Big Salad” night once a week in our house. 

What are your favorite salad toppings?  I need some ideas for next week!

I realized that I have missed a few Carbon Fast suggestions so here they are:

3/6 Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day:  Making travel plans?  Consider getting there without flying.  If you have to fly, balance out the carbon impact by buying offsets.  Fund a project that prevents one ton of greenhouse gases for each ton that your trip will cause.

3/7 Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day: Give your dryer a rest.  Hang your clothes to dry on a rack or clothesline.  Many households will spend more than $100/year on the energy used by their dryer, while the air can dry your clothes for free.

3/8 Carbon Fast 2010 Suggestion of the Day: Many electronics draw power even when off.  Today, unplug your appliance that are off; place computers, radios and TVs on a power strip and turn it off between uses.  Also, unplug your phone charger when it’s not charging. 

After my Iowa Girl Eats Baked Banana Oatmeal on Saturday, I knew I wanted to make this breakfast again soon. 

Last night I measured my oats and put them in an oven safe bowl.  I also took out my 1/3 cup measuring cup and the vanilla – all I had to do was measure and stir this morning.

I added another ingredient though – some leftover cooked quinoa.

Love this breakfast!  The banana I used today wasn’t quite as big as the one I used on Saturday – this bowl wasn’t quite as sweet.  The quinoa added an extra flavor as well – it almost masked the taste of the oatmeal.

I have an odd day at work today – I am going to work for a meeting from 9 am – 11 am.  I plan on working until about noon and then heading home for lunch and a few hours of reading.  I then will go BACK to work for an event tonight.  I will probably be back at work around 4:30 – 5:00 pm….the event goes until 1 am!

I am heading into Boston in a little while.  Fortunately I slept well last night – hooray – no phone calls at 3 am.

I’ve been a busy little bee preparing for some meetings tomorrow, doing laundry and packing. 

Knowing that I probably won’t be consuming the healthiest of dinners, I thought I would fill myself with some fruit and yogurt.

In my fruit salad was 1 ginormous banana, 1 kiwi and some grapes.  I topped my fruit salad with Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt and a handful of Heartland granola.

To round out my meal, I have a Deep Chocolate Vitatop.  It is Valentine’s Day – chocolate is required.

I warmed this Vitatop in the microwave and then ate my fruit salad first.  Sadly by the time I was ready to eat the Vitatop, it was a little dry…I think you need to eat these right out of the microwave.

I need to finish getting ready.  Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

Hi RunLeanGreen Readers!  My Aunt Heather wanted the night off so I thought I would write her a blog post – I thought I could write all about my first birthday party!

A big thank you to my mom and dad who invited over all my friends and threw me a great party.  We had lots of great food – a green salad and pasta salad made by my Grandma Nancy (famous for her clam chowder!)

With salad, we had sandwiches from my Dad’s favorite Deli

My mom made me wear this stupid hat (although people told me how cute I looked with it on!)

While everyone was eating sandwiches and salad, I had some chicken nuggets – they are my favorites

Look at my friend Lance and his brother Bryce – I’m so glad they came to my party.

I’m not sure what Bryce is eating – his mommy Alexandria brought it from his house. 

Look at some of my other friends and family

After we ate and played a little, it was time for CUPCAKES AND COOKIES!

My Mommy’s friend Erica made these – she is a very good baker and even has her own cake making business.   Check her out!

I ate my cupcake and it was very yummy – I couldn’t get it in my mouth fast enough!

Lance liked his cupcake too – look at the frosting around his mouth! 

My Aunt Heather had a chocolate cupcake and a cookie!  I didn’t have either but she said they were both amazing (plus she is going to bring some home to my Uncle Matt tomorrow – he was sorry he missed my party). 

Next up – Presents!

My Aunt Sammy got me a cool new train – I love playing with it!

I was pretty tired after my party – after everyone left, I took a nap.  I had a great day today and can’t wait for my 2nd birthday!

This morning I had planned on having Steel Cut Oats but as I got ready to eat my breakfast, realized I wasn’t craving them.  Instead I wanted an apple – so my favorite breakfast sandwich came to mind. 

I toasted up a Food for Life English muffin and spread on some soy nut butter.  In between the 2 halves, I layered sliced banana and honeycrisp apple. 

I love this breakfast sandwich – so simple and the various textures always keep my mouth guessing!

As I wrote this afternoon, I am now taking a class on Tuesday nights.  To help me out a little (and because I want to learn more), I would love to set up a Guest Post Series. 

I would love to hear of new recipes you have tried, family favorites or even about your experiment with a new ingredient.   Perhaps you have a new cookbook that you want to write about…the possibilities are endless!

Contact me at runleangreen@gmail.com if you are interested!

Checking the weather yesterday, I woke up this morning anticipating a deluge of water coming from the sky.  I was pleasantly surprised to find no rain but instead a strong wind.  Instead of driving over to they gym, I was able to walk and let me tell you Mother Nature turned on the heat this morning – according to the news, it is already 50 degrees out!

I used the elliptical for 30 minutes (plus a 5 minute cool down) on the “random” setting.  I enjoyed the changes throughout my 30 minutes and definitely broke a heavy sweat. 

Breakfast will be at work this morning where I packed some steel cut oats and quinoa I made yesterday.  I added 1/4 cup of milk this morning and have a banana and some dried berries to add.

Sadly, this is the end of my dried berries.  I really love this mix and need to keep my eyes peeled for it at the grocery store. 

Few meetings today so I need to get going.  

Saturday’s half marathon was quite interesting.  Never in a million years did I anticipate running in snow and sleet.  In Florida. 

Jim, Kristie, Howie and I – the Half Marathon runners in our group – met in our hotel lobby at 3:20 am to get a bus to the start line.  It was freezing cold but at that point, not precipitating.  I was wearing two pairs of pants (a big thank you to Maribeth and her running pants), a Under Armour mock turtleneck, a long sleeved shirt, a Disney sweatshirt (purchased the night before) AND my new running coat (a $17 purchase at Target the day before we left).  I had intentions of taking the coat off as I got warmer but in fact, it never came off.  That running coat was the biggest blessing.  It was waterproof.  I also had a new hat I bought at the running expo – another great purchase. 

We were dropped off at our first “holding tank” where we sat for about an hour.  Kristie brought a snuggie and we sat on it on the ground and ate breakfast – I ate a bagel with soynut butter and saw a first.  Snow!  It was flurrying.  So glad I was witnessing weather history in Florida (in case you can’t read the sarcasm in my writing, it’s there). 

After our first holding tank area, we hoofed it over to our Corral.  We were all in the last Corral – when we signed up for the race LAST January, we had no idea of a anticipated finish time.  This was a rookie mistake.  After all the training I did last year, I was hoping to finish in about 2:10.  We were put in a corral with the walkers which did not make that possible. 

In our corral, I took off my new Disney sweatshirt and put it on the side.  Disney was taking all clothes discarded at the race, washing them and then donating – yea for Disney! 

When our corral was released, we made our way up to the start line and began what I would like to call “the biggest game of frogger.” 

I was darting in and out of people and trying to fight my way ahead of the walkers.  It really slowed me down – my first few miles were spent running in the grass and dodging the walkers.  By this point, it was sleeting.  Let me tell you, sleet hurts on your face. 

Most of the race was spent dodging people.  I could not tell you where I ran through, things I saw and very sadly, I didn’t take any pictures.  It was too cold to unzip my jacket to take my camera out.  Yes.  I was that lame. 

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to my half-marathon spectators – Maribeth, John, Kevin, Meghan, Lina and Matt who were true troopers standing outside in the freezing cold.  They made the greatest signs and although I totally missed, them I really appreciate their support!

Matt did get a picture of me close to the finish line…

There I go – I’m the one in the bright pink hat.  If you notice, I have two different gloves on.  I’m special like that.

Here are my official results

My goal was 2:10 but I am happy with my results.  It was my first half marathon plus I stopped 3 times for water. 

Here are my stats from the Garmin. 

Plus the entire group at the finish

I’m less than happy looking.  I think its because I haven’t felt my toes for about 40 minutes.  

This was a great first half-marathon race – I need to find another one – probably smaller.  I’ve learned a lot about running and myself from this race.  Last January I signed up for this race just hoping to finish; I did that and so much more. 

My mom had emailed me this article from the Johns Hopkins Health Alerts.  Although I think a lot of these are common sense, I think it is helpful to be reminded – sometimes the easy stuff is the hardest to remember.  In this year of refocusing, I thought I would share:

Study after study reports that when your diet is high in fruits and vegetables — which are the richest natural sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber — you are doing the best you can to protect your heart and help prevent many diseases, including cancer. Yet, approximately 90% of Americans fail to meet the government’s recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption.

• Heart Health Tip 1. Stock up on fresh fruits and keep them accessible on your countertop or visible in your refrigerator.
• Heart Health Tip 2. Add fresh or dried fruit to your breakfast cereal.
• Heart Health Tip 3. Thaw frozen berries and add them to plain or vanilla yogurt for a snack or dessert.
• Heart Health Tip 4. Have a six-ounce glass of 100% fruit juice with your breakfast.
• Heart Health Tip 5. As thirst-quencher or a mealtime beverage, make a "spritzer" by adding 100% fruit juice to sparking water or seltzer.

I love a good POM spritzer!

• Heart Health Tip 6. Enjoy a fruit smoothie made by blending low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruits.
• Heart Health Tip 7. Bring dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries, apple slices) to work for mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks.

• Heart Health Tip 8. Add tomatoes, onions, peppers, and/or mushrooms to an egg-white omelet for a hearty breakfast or brunch.
• Heart Health Tip 9. Chill small cans of vegetable juice to snack on at work.
• Heart Health Tip 10. When dining out, start your meal with a salad.
• Heart Health Tip 11. When making or ordering a wrap or sandwich, include lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and other raw vegetables.
• Heart Health Tip 12. Add raisins, grapes, or apple slices to your salads.
• Heart Health Tip 13. Make a big pot of vegetable soup on the weekend and freeze it in single-portion containers to reheat for a quick weekday lunch or supper.
• Heart Health Tip 14. Make your own pizza (you can buy ready-to- use dough at a pizzeria or supermarket) and top it with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, spinach, or eggplant.
• Heart Health Tip 15. Double the portion of vegetables you already eat at lunch and dinner.

What do you think of these tips?  Do you eat enough fruits and vegetables?