Whohoo Friday night! :mrgreen:
Apparently there is a party going on in our backyard…
Don’t be fooled by his cuteness…he leaves ‘surprises’ on our deck for us!
The squirrels and raccoons love climbing up on our ‘squirrel proof’ bird feeder. Last summer, I also saw the raccoon hanging from it!
Little buggers! ;)
Amazingly, I made it to the lunchtime swim today just in the nick of time! I had a speedy yet satisfying workout.
Today’s Routine:
- Freestyle- 25 metres
- Breaststroke- 25 metres
- Flutter board- 50 metres
I did this 7.5 times for a total of 750 metres/30 lengths. My time today was just under 25 minutes. I was really pushing myself and I was so out of breath, which made it hard to do the bilateral breathing during the freestyle. I do a breath every 3 strokes and I was barely making it today!!!
I noticed a couple things today:
- My ankles get sore when I use the flutterboard to work on my kick. Hopefully they get stronger over time!
- My arms were sore today…not sure if that was the baking I did all morning or what (I mix every batch by hand).
I finished the swim with 3 minutes of treading water and 2 more pool lengths for a speedy 30 min. swim.
In conclusion:
1) Swimming is HARD. No run I have ever done has challenged my lungs in this way, except for maybe my 2 half marathon races!
2) Swimming makes me soooo hungry. More hungry than running!
I barely made it back to the car before I broke into my Glo Bar emergency stash!
It was so needed.
I came home and I was craving a fresh juice in a MAJOR way.
In the juice: 4 carrots, 1/2 lemon, 1/2 cuke.
It wasn’t my best combo to date, but it did the trick! Then it was onto lunch.
Quinoa + Mushroom Tomato Sauce Wrap
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce
- 1 can organic canned mushrooms
- 1 Ezekiel wrap
- Seasonings, Salt, pepper
Directions: Cook quinoa. Mix together pasta sauce and drained mushrooms and heat. Scoop quinoa and sauce onto a wrap and serve.
For some strange reason, I have been obsessed with canned mushrooms since I was a child!!! It is the only canned veggie I buy occasionally. I just love the taste of canned mushrooms for some reason! When my mom and I used to make pizza, I would always steal a few canned mushrooms with pizza sauce on them before they went into the oven. Bliss!
This wrap was major.
Dessert…2 organic dates…aka- nature’s candy! YUM!!! I love dates so much. I used to be scared of them because of how they look (cockroaches!), but I am so glad that I tried them.
[Insert afternoon of work here.]
[Insert crazy bird smashing over and over into our windows all day long.]
DINNER:
One of my favourite easy dinners = roasted vegetables.
1 parsnip, carrots, 1 huge sweet potato, 2 red peppers, 1 sweet onion.
Roasted Vegetables:
Directions: Chop them all up, throw them into a big plastic container, add EVOO + salt, pepper, seasonings…put the lid on and SHAKE!!!
x 2
Throw onto a baking pan lined with tin foil and bake for about 50-60 minutes at 400F, tossing once half way through.
After 1 hour the house smelled ahhhh-mazing.
I had mine with leftover quinoa.
and Orange water ;)
It was quite possibly the perfect dinner. The hunger monster was silenced. For now.
I’m off to work on the website re-design. Keep your eyes peeled for the new look which I hope to reveal this weekend!
Enjoy your night :)
Ugh my hunger monster has yet to barely make an appearance today! I wish she would;)
Yummy eats! I admit that I am still scared to try dates!
I love how you use a fancy glass for your ‘orange water’!! It’s like when “Holly” Golightly drink milk out of a martini glass in Breakfast at Tiffany’s :)
P.S. Racoons are big meanies
I’m still turned off by the way dates look…yuck!
You have so many creatures in your backyard!! I don’t think I would do well with them considering I am scared of squirrels ever since 2 made their way in my apartment (I left a window open about an inch by accident and they got in!). I give you so much credit for your swimming workouts! Go you!
oh no. now each time I eat a date I’m going to think of cockroaches. we are having all the brother / sister / parents over tomorrow for Mom’s Day BBQ… one of my menu items includes dates. Hmm.
*LOVE* the third photo of the raccoon + feeder! just goin’ for it!
have a fabulous weekend!
sorry :(
’tis ok… I just ate one, and I’ll be fine.
oh, and *LOOOOOVE YOUR NEW LAYOUT* !!
Beautiful !
:) Cheers
haha glad you are ok ;)
That looks like my kind of dinner! How much EVOO do you use when you put it in the container and shake? I’m still a bit nervous about using large amounts of oil so I was just curious. And do you eat the whole pan by yourself? (I normally do so that’s why I’m worried about the oil, haha.)
I really need to try dates and buy some Ezekiel wraps again! I got them once and didn’t like how chewy they were but I think my taste might have changed :P
I used about 1 tbsp total and I split the veggies with Eric :)
Sounds like you had a good day.
Stuff your dates with nut butter or coconut butter – so yummy! I need to buy some more. Dates and raisins are great in oatmeal and cereal also.
Have a lovely evening.
I always laugh at videos of things like that ;-)
You are right that swimming is a hard workout. I loved doing it when I wasn’t allowed to run with my back problems.
i JUST silenced my hunger monster with a delicious after-dinner snack! vitatop and chocolate pudding!
I love your glass! It’s so cool!
Quinoa is one of my new favorite foods.
I now know what’s for dinner tomorrow. Thanks Angela!
Ohh those veggies look amazing!!
Your dinner looked amazing. I love roasted veggies too. Never roasted parsnips…must try that :) Quinoa is so yummy. It is good mixed with garlic and spinach too.
Hope you have a great weekend :)
Swimming creates a hunger like no other exercise. After a good swim session I am so hungry I want to eat everything in sight!!!! I’d eat my shoe!!! I haven’t experienced that hunger with any other exercise.
I now why is that!?
definitely some tasty looking food there.
thats funny how squirrels and raccoon get into the feeder thats made to keep them out haha. gees.
Your dinner looks so good. I have to start buying myself fun glasses and dishes, although I don’t want to end up with a whole cabinent like you :)
I think maybe running feels easier because we’re acclimated to it. I did Jillian’s shred the other day and was dyingggg and super hungry…hungrier than I would have been after an 8 mile run lol
[Insert crazy bird smashing over and over into our windows all day long.] <– haha
Roasted veggies are THE best! I’ve never cooked mine that long (I’m usually too impatient) but I bet they end up with much better flavor and texture. I think I’ll have to plan ahead of time next time ;)
P.S. – The bird smashing into your window comment literally made me laugh out loud…haha, thanks! :)
Omigoodness I think that I absolutely HAVE to try the quinoa + mushroom wrap. I would have never thought of that pairing but it sounds delicious.
roasted veggies are the best! I love seeing wildlife in your backyard. Growing up, we had a slat lick for the quiet deer that would wonder around. Living in the city just isn’t the same.
That raccoon bird feeder photo is hilarious! Its so weird, I used to always be so out of breath running but could swim forever. Now I haven’t swam much so not sure how out of breath I would be, but its funny how for many others its the opposite! I LOVE that combo of roasted vegetables, I made a similar baking pan earlier in the week. Amazing!
The wrap looks aaaaahmazing! And your dinner. Ohmagawd. Roasted veggies = HEAVENNN!
have a great night! :)
Wei-Wei
I randomly looked out my window the other day and saw a raccoon sauntering across the yard. It freaked me out a little since they’re nocturnal so I wondered if it might be rabid or something.
Good job with your swim successes! You’re doing great for just starting the sport. I think you’re going to do a fantastic triathlon
When I first started swimming, bilateral breathing was a killer! But now I like to do breath-control sets where you breath every 9, 7, then 5 strokes. It can be challenging but it’s so neat when you start to see yourself improve over time!
Tonight’s dinner looked so yummy. :)
(Accidentally posted this comment on your lunch post! Oops!)
I’d love to swim for workout but we don’t have a pool around – it sounds great!
Swimming definitely makes me super hungry! I LOVE quinoa. The wrap looks delicious and those veggies…YUM! Have a great evening and good luck with the redesign! Can’t wait to see it!
roasted veggies are a huge favorite of mine, and so are canned mushrooms! i can’t wait to see the redesign..it’s going to be amazing :)
yum those meals look so delicious!
I am liking this new website layout…liking the blue and white.
You look so pretty in that picture you used for your header :)
I love animals, regardless of what they are and those pics just prove how wonderful and curious nature can be. Love it!!!
Your roasted veggies are so colorful it makes me hungry. Question, I love Quinoa but I only have one recipe for them and it has all these additions, do you or any of your fellow bloggers or responders have a plain quinoa recipe, where I can make one huge pot and fix them however I want for different meals?
It’s odd because when I sweat during a workout, I’m thirsty and don’t really have an appetite but when I swim I want to eat anything I can find.
I googled why swimming makes us so hungry…here’s what I found: Swimming is an activity that uses many muscle groups at once. Unlike other types of exercise that focus on a particular group of muscles. This causes the body to use more energy. Energy is supplied to the body through food intake.
Fitness on-line says this on this link: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/expert-advice/why-am-i-always-hungry-after-swimming/
That is interesting! I am definitely much more out of breath when I swim and my arms and legs are all sore at once.
oh my gosh same here, I have always loved canned mushrooms.
I love the new layout and the header is amazing!
Hi Angela!
I really love your blog. You do a great job. I think the new layout looks nice but I would either left or right justify everything in your second column. When things are centered, it kind of looks dated. Otherwise, keep up the great work. You are such a breath of fresh air.
Yes I agree, however I couldnt figure out how to change it. I’m going to inspect the element in firefox. Should be an easy change
its fixed! yawhoo
I noticed it right away when I popped over today. MUCH better! :)
OMG Angela I love the new blog look! :)
LOVE the new blog layout! the picture of you in the header is gorg
I get super hungry after swimming too. As for your ankle – you may be kicking with your lower leg in that case. Your power should come from the waist and thighs. I like to concentrate on “swinging” my hips a bit with the kick. Your knees shouldn’t really be bending at all.
Hope that helps with the ankle! If not, definitely do ankle rolls before and after to stretch!
Oh wow I didnt know that! I will try this next swim. Thanks for the tip :)
Hey Ange – had to share this recipe with you, since you’re a quinoa fan. I had this for lunch all last week and cannot believe how full it kept me. My lunch break is at 12:30 and I was usually just getting hungry for dinner around 6 pm; not bad for just under 300 calories! (I added a cup of canned chickpeas to this recipe): http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Quinoa-Greek-Salad-97764
OMG. Making this…as in tomorrow! Thank you!!!!!!!
Swimming always cranks up my hunger and I love your new page design!
Thanks everyone!
Hi Angela,
Make sure to relax your ankles when you use a kickboard…it’ll help you to go faster and will put less stress on your ankles. :)
We had the exact same dinner tonight: roasted vegetables and quinoa! Weird!
Your new design is great! And your masthead is beautiful. Nice work!
Oh my, that quinoa wrap is calling my name… I’m making it for dinner!
Have you heard of the Total Immersion DVDs? That was how I learnt to swim freestyle and improve on my form (all without a personal coach). It’s basically a set of swim drills that you practice to gradually get to a level where you’re a really efficient swimmer. They lately came out with one for open water swimming too. There are some videos on YouTube or you could get it from Amazon. I hope this was helpful (:
http://www.totalimmersion.net/
P.S. Love the new layout!
Wow, I love the new look! It’s really fresh and minimalistic – in a good way. And love the blue :)
WOW! Your new layout is GLOWING. I love it. You’re using Thesis now? I wish I had the blogging knowledge to create such an aesthetically pleasing site. Is that you in the header? I don’t think it looks like it, but perhaps it is. Great job to you [and Eric]!
This is kinda random, but I love the color of your juice! For some reason, brightly colored drinks really intrigue me. I think that’s part of how I was persuaded to try a green monster.
I love canned mushrooms too. Heck, who am I kidding? I love them fresh, canned, dried, etc. Ha ha!
Can we please talk about the layout?! I LOVE it!!! Well done! And you look gorgeous in the header! (As always!!! :) )
Holy redesign, Batman! AMAZING! :D
I need to talk to you about this design.
I am dying on the inside.
I am stunned.
Beyond belief.
This is beautiful. You are beautiful. Your blog is beautiful.
Can I marry this layout?
New layout looks great! Very fresh and minimalistic :-)