Mason Jar Salads

January 29, 2015

In an attempt to eat healthier, I’ve started making salads for lunch. Specifically, mason jar salads.

Yes, that looks like a lot of dressing, but it’s not. It’s two tablespoons, but the veggies in it have squished it around quite a bit.

I have been using this site to get ideas about how to make mason jar salads. Mason jars are really trendy right now, but the theory behind making a salad in the jar is that you’re sealing out the air so the ingredients stay fresh longer. Allegedly.

A big part of the method is how you layer. Basically, you don’t want the lettuce to get soggy, so it has to go on the top and the firmest veggies need to be at the bottom with the dressing.

The salad above has blue cheese dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, a bit of corn, chickpeas, and lettuce. Why those ingredients? Because I had them in the house.

One important note – you cannot eat the salad out of the jar. The ingredients are super packed in. To the point where I have a mini spatula with me at work to help me get everything out. I eat it on a dinner sized plate. It is a LOT of salad. Which makes for a great meal, but it’s not like you can just throw the jar and a fork into your bag and be ready to go.

Allegedly, they’ll keep for up to seven days. I haven’t gotten that far on mine (I made five), but I’ll let you know how it goes. If nothing else, it was an easy way to put together some lunches for work.

I hope we all make it

January 28, 2015

I saw this sentiment floating around Instagram the other day so I made it a new graphic to share with you. I think we all fall into the competition and comparison trap, and we should try to support each other. I hope none of you fail and that we all make it, whatever our goal might be.

Scenes from a long run

January 26, 2015

Coach likes to torture me, so here are some scenes from this weekend’s long run. It was nice to be out before the snows come. Or as it looks now, the alleged snows.

Here I go!

Apparently, there are turkey vultures around. I had better keep running. Don’t want to look like a snack!

Free car keys! I love that someone picked these up and tied them up with orange tape in hopes that the owner comes back and sees them.

Some funky looking fungus.

This wall looks precarious.

This creek is really much prettier when everything’s green, but it’s a nice sound as I run.

Free glove! Or creepy wave. One or the other.

My favorite bridge. It’s usually covered in graffiti, which people keep painting over, as you can see. I like artistic graffiti, but this is usually just hastily drawn penises. Less classy.

So that’s the view on my long run. It got progressively colder and cloudier as I ran. I really wish we would get some solid snow. I know that those in the northeastern US are dreading it, but I’m pretty jealous.

So Many Muscle Knots

January 23, 2015

I have a confession to make. I am terrible about stretching after a workout. I mean, I think about doing it and sort of halfheartedly stretch, but really, I need to do a lot more.

How do I know this? After a few days of some solid workouts, my legs are a mess of muscle knots. My hip flexors ache. My lower back is sore (something that I’ve discovered happens to me when my hips get tight). So it’s time to get back to basics.

I spent about half an hour on the foam roller last night. It hurt. A lot. But my hips feel so much better today. Seriously, if you’re a runner/walker/whatever-er, get a foam roller. You don’t know how good you can feel until you try it.

I have a nagging knot in my calf diagnosed by my Coach that has been driving me nuts. I was having shin pain and she said “Hey, roll out your calf, it’s probably a knot there.” I poked around and yep. There it is. I worked on it with a massage ball and my R8 Roll Recovery (the most expensive, yet most useful massage tool I have ever purchased) and today it still hurts. I need to spend more time working it out.

And while stretching wouldn’t solve anything, it probably would have prevented me from getting into such a twisted mess. So learn from my mistakes. Stretch. Foam roll a lot. Not just when you think you need it.

Ow.

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Indoor Workout Entertainment

January 22, 2015

I like watching tv, but I’m not the type of person who can just sit and veg in front of the tv. In fact, if I find myself sitting in front of the tv and being entertained, I know that I’m either extremely tired or getting sick. I always have to be doing something else. When I have the time, that is working on a craft project of some sort, but usually I’m doing chores (I play streaming tv on my computer and put it in whatever room I’m working in) or on the treadmill or bike trainer.

I joke that I like to rot my brain while I’m working out, but that’s not quite true. I can’t workout and watch something that requires serious focus. I need something that I can enjoy while my attention is split.

There are a bunch of shows that I regularly keep up with, but there are a few shows that I discovered late and then plowed through entire seasons as quickly as possible.

Broadchurch – The first season of this British drama focused on a crime in the little town of Broadchurch. I’m a sucker for a good crime drama, and this one was very well written with awesome characterization. The second season just started in the UK, but I’m waiting til I can watch it legally in the US.

Arrow and The Flash – Shows on the CW aren’t typically my thing, but I had heard such good things about Arrow that I had to check it out. These are great shows to watch while working out because there’s a lot of action but you don’t have to be staring intently at the screen the whole time to get the plot. Plus every time Oliver or Sara take their shirts off, I realize what muscles can look like with a lot of work. It’s inspiring. And who doesn’t love a good superhero story?

The League – You have to have a slightly twisted sense of humor and be okay with relatively juvenile jokes to like this show, but I find it hilarious. The show is based around a group of friends who have a fantasy football league. I know nothing about fantasy football, but I still love this show. I was shocked to see a few episodes available for streaming on Southwest flights. It’s an entertaining show, but I’m not sure I could watch with some nice old lady sitting next to me looking over my shoulder.

I am currently catching up on Supernatural (which I never watched) and Law & Order: SVU (which I watched til about 2009) as well. I also need to get back into Doctor Who because everyone loves it but I didn’t get sucked in the first go around.

Suggestions for shows that are available on Netflix or Hulu Plus that I should be watching during my workouts?