Slimming Down

I have to admit that earlier in the year I was eating much healthier than I had been lately. I even managed to slim down a bit but recent marathon training schedule had caused me to consume carbs again in order to fuel my long runs and eating too much carbs is just so easy to do. I mean, that stuff is just delicious. And when I say carbs, I am referring to pasta, bread and rice/noodles. I also started eating a lot of sugar again in the form of cupcakes and was consuming more meat...more fatty meat. I was also eating bigger portions which I felt was just over doing it a bit since I really didn't need to be consuming that many calories. All this mindless eating and running has caused me to lose a lot of muscle weight and even though I have not really gained scale weight, the combination of me running more and strength training less has made me flabby in places that I had once worked so hard to get rid of.

So...now that Chicago Marathon training is over, I am going back to a healthier diet of veggies, grains, fruits and the occasional lean meat. I'm cutting carbs and sugar again. I've already started and it was shaky at first. Those sugar withdrawals are terrible. But I am getting back into the swing of things. So the first thing I did was go to my local organic market and picked up some fresh produce. I haven't cooked in a couple of months. Yeah that's terrible. I also have not been eating a whole lot of leafy greens like I use too. For dinner, I mostly ate out and would divide my meals in two so that I could eat the other half at the next meal. I ate turkey on wheat everyday for lunch for the past few months.

No more, I am going to start making my meals again because I was feeling so much better when I was leaner and I think running better as well.

Butternut squash, this was the first time I purchased one and cooked with it. It was hard to peel the outer part off the squash. I had to work for it! :) But I ended up roasting it with some olive oil and some salt.

I also made a batch of massaged kale salad in olive oil, salt and lemon juice. I love this leafy green!

Sister K recently gave me a fancy high end bottle of olive oil from Williams Sonoma and I have to say that this stuff is really tasty. I can see why it cost so much. Thank you Sister K! I'm really enjoying cooking with it!

Roasted butternut squash. It was tasty!

A couple of nights later, I purchased this lot and cut it all up and roasted it all. I also baked up a turkey meatloaf that I had purchased at the Sprouts Market but I forgot to take a photo of that. The meatloaf was too salty anyways. I think they may have accidently put too much salt in it. I may try to make my own soon.

This is the AFTER photo! So delicious!

I also picked up these dates with almonds. I've seen them many times before but never bought them until now. They are SO good! They are the perfect little treat after meals. Not too sweet and very soft and moist!