Run and done(ish)
The low down: This week marks week four of my self-proclaimed Kick the Knee Pain running program. I started off this new program with intervals of 2 minutes walking 1 minute running, and each day I run I bump my run interval time up by 1 minute. Sunday I completed 3 intervals of 8 minutes running and 1 minute walking.
Status: Other than some mild tightness in my knees, I haven’t had any knee issues so far!
Contributing “Success” Factors:
- Buying new running shoes BEFORE starting to run.
- Running primarily on softer surfaces (trails, paths, etc.)
- NOT running every day and giving my knees a chance to recuperate
- Being conscious of my natural tendency to heel-strike and focusing on NOT
- Strength training. Building up the muscles in my legs and my core supposedly takes stress of the knees.
Conclusion: Boo ya.
*Note that stretching is not on the list above… feel free to leave angry comments about the importance of stretching. Maybe that will get it through my stubborn brain.
Short-Term Goal: Be at 30-minute running only intervals (i.e., no walking) with no knee pain by August 15th.
And now on to more exciting things… like this lovely tuna wrap I had for dinner 
Isn’t it perdy? This was a quick hodgpodge I threw together after work and consisted of:
- 1 can chunk tuna in water, drained
- 1 tbsp light HELMANS mayo (none of that miracle whip crap
) - 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 small dill pickle, chopped
- Handful of romaine lettuce
- Handful of grape tomatoes
- S&P
- Dried Dill
- 1 light Italian Flat-out wrap
This made for one gynormous wrap, that I basically inhaled. Along with some cucumber salad:
This should be called the Lazy Girl Salad. It consisted of 1 sliced cucumber, some white vinegar, and some dried dill. Easy peasy!
Tomorrow is Wednesday! And for the 92nd week in a row, I’m going to attempt to NOT forget it’s What-I-Ate-Wednesday. I even put a reminder in my phone
Question of the evening: How do we feel about my giant head on the right hand side of the page?
Chicken and Barley Salad
School is back in session – which means it is officially the end of summer in my book. In honor of this self-declared change in seasons, I decided to make one last summer salad for dinner Monday night.
The January 2010 issue of Cooking Light featured a recipe for Greek Chicken and Barley salad which was my inspiration and starting point to my dinner.
First up, I seasoned a few chicken breasts with McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning and tossed them on to the George Foreman grill. I only used 4 ounces of chicken in this recipe, but grill once eat thrice I always say.
When the chicken was done grilling, I roughly shred four ounces of it:
Meanwhile I brought 1 cup of Nature’s Basket Free Range Chicken Broth (fat-free and low sodium) to a boil, then tossed in 1/2 cup Quaker’s Quick Barley and cooked according to the package instructions.
Next I got to choppin the veggies. For this salad I used:
- 1 roma tomato
- 1 large cucumber, seeded
- 1/2 a yellow bell pepper
- 1/4 cup of reduced fat Atheno’s feta cheese
In a small bowl, I mixed together a yummy dressing for the salad:
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp water
- 1/8 tsp each salt, black pepper, ground thyme
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
Once the chicken and barley were cooled off, I added them to my veggies and feta, added the dressing, and tossed to combine.
I put the salad in the fridge to let the flavors merry while I cleaned up the inevitable disaster I created in my kitchen.
Dinner time!
This salad was light and the veggies were so crisp. I really REALLY like the dressing, and I had forgotten how yummy barley is. I will miss you summer salads… but I won’t lie. I’m looking forward to some dinner SOUPS!!
Chicken & Barley Salad Ingredient List (makes two servings):
- 4 ounces grilled chicken
- 1 cup Nature’s Basket Free Range Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Quaker’s Quick Barley
- 1 roma tomato
- 1 large cucumber, seeded (or 1 seedless cucumeber)
- 1/2 a yellow bell pepper
- 1/4 cup Athenos reduced fat feta
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp water
- 1/8 tsp each salt, black pepper, ground thyme
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
Myfitnesspal stats on one serving: 309 calories, 37g carbs, 5g fat, 26g protein, 6g fiber
