Fig Time

The fig harvest at work was completely dismal this year. We went out one time and were happy with what we got, but when we went back for more the tree was picked clean! We got probably 1/6 of what we enjoyed last year.

With my small basket of figs, I made one batch of jam.

I got five half pints and one 4-ounce jar from this batch. I was a little disappointed though, because I boiled it just a little too long and the jam set up to be very firm. It tasted fine, but to be spreadable has to be heated up. It will work well for a glaze for pork, and Adam managed to mix some into plain Greek yogurt so I'm sure we'll use it up!

Hope for more figs next year! Fig trees produce on new growth, so we are planning on giving the (huge) tree a strategic trim later this Fall in hopes of increasing production. Also hoping for more rain--last year was so dry I think it reduced fruiting as well.

How I Eat. What I eat.

I have no idea if anyone is even interested in what I'm eating...but I'll tell you anyway just in case someone out there is...

My weekdays are busy. My weekends usually are too!

Because my commute is an hour each way, I drink my breakfast on the way to work (smoothie) and don't have a lot of time in the evenings to cook anything that takes longer than about 30 minutes. I do my best to meal plan and have a few recipes to do each week, and we always eat leftovers for lunch. For weekdays, I have a general formula that I follow.

Berry banana smoothie.

Breakfast: Smoothie with a small snack once I am at my desk at work (usually dry cereal with a few nuts, 1/2 cup total)
Mid-morning snack: greek yogurt
Morning: Drink tea (decaf)
Lunch: Vegetable and meat
Afternoon at work: sparkling water
At home: Snack, usually a small bowl of cereal
Dinner: Vegetable and meat
Dessert: Something small, sometimes not-so-small involving chocolate
All day, especially in the morning: Tons of water (usually 2.5-3 quarts between waking up and the time I leave work in the afternoon, not counting tea and sparkling water)

See this post for my smoothie formula.

For my morning yogurt, I usually eat ~1 cup with 1/2 cup of fresh fruit or applesauce (plain/unsweetened) or 1-2 tbsp of homemade jam.

I make all of the jam we eat using local fruits and low sugar recipes.

Lunch is usually a big salad with a little dressing and meat leftover from dinner the previous night. Sometimes I eat frozen (heated) vegetables (I prefer the chopped broccoli but will also eat mixed veggies or green beans). I usually eat 5-6 oz meat.

Snack: I love cereal. Especially with chocolate chips and nuts on it...

Dinner is usually very similar to lunch and I usually make lunches while I make dinner.

Food prep:
I shop on Mondays and that evening I usually make 2 dinner salads (for 2 nights) and salads for both of us for lunch. I try to do as much food prep early in the week as I can.

My downfalls:
-Morning smoothie--could probably have fewer calories. I really love peanut butter and a super creamy smoothie.
-I love cereal. And I always feel snacky in the evenings. I also always want dessert. I know that if I wanted to cut calories I could just stop eating as much in the evenings...but it's so GOOD.
-The occasional drink...I do like gin.
-Starbucks. Never thought I'd say that! I'm not a coffee drinker. But since I have been doing this long commute 5 days a week, I've been allowing myself to stop there once a week (last week I went twice.....). I always get a Frappuccino, usually a tall Mocha Light Frap. Sometimes I get whipped cream because that's the best part. For a while I was getting the Mocha Cookie Crumble one with fat free milk and chocolate whipped cream...but I think that was a really bad idea.
-Condiments: I could probably cut back here too to cut calories. I don't like a lot of salad dressing, but I do need at least some, and I also like BBQ sauce with grilled chicken.

Homemade yogurt ranch dressing. 

My good parts:
-Work--there is generally zero temptation there. There are no restaurants, no other sources of food (unless it's someone's birthday but that only happens 5 times a year). So what I bring is what I get!
-I drink a ton of water and rarely have caffeine.
-Since making some changes earlier this year, I eat a lot more protein and fewer carbs, and I notice that my GI tract prefers this.
-I eat a lot of veggies and lean meat and just a little processed foods (processed foods are usually cereal..which is frequently Cherrios).

So there you have it! Some info on how and what I eat.

Meals+Workouts Week of Oct 1

Hi All! Tomorrow is October--hard to believe. We are already considering our plans for next weekend, and looking forward to our Fall vacation later this season.

This weekend was spent relaxing, a little exercise, and household chores. It was awesome. I even took a nap today! YES.

Really old photo of baby Bruce and Spencer, back before Bruce was allowed outside off leash. 

This week on the Menu:
Chicken with Garbanzos, Tomatoes, and Apricots
Seasoned grilled chicken with salad
Citrus tilapia with salad and zucchini tots
Black bean patties with eggs and salad

This weekend I made:
Slow cooker pork roast
Slow cooker french dip sandwiches (I made a version close to Jenny's on that page, with low sodium ingredients)
Zucchini whole wheat rolls (using all whole wheat flour, no lemon, and the "dough" cycle and then forming them into buns and baking in the oven)

And those will be had for lunches this week.

Another old kitten picture. Post-workout snuggles. 

Workouts:
Everyday before work: 2+ mile run with dogs + this before/after

What I hope to accomplish in the evenings--(may not happen in this order)
Tuesday: Legs and Back P90X video+Abs
Wednesday: Road bike ride (~28 mile loop)--hoping to get in one or two more after work bike rides before it gets dark too early!
Thursday: Kenpo P90X video+Abs

Work should be busy this week! I look forward to going when everyday is a blur of business.

Pinteresting

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Week Roundup: Workouts and Menu

This past week was really busy and just flew by. It's the busy season at my work, which is my favorite time of year. Never a dull moment!

I just really like this picture. Milkweed (Aslcepias) seed pod.

Here was my schedule (with workouts) for the week before/after work:

Monday: Before: Run 2 mi with the dogs, After: Grocery shop and food prep, clean house

Tuesday: Before: Run 2 mi and incorporated this workout into my morning routine (doing the non-running exercises before and after the run), After: Cooking and finish cleaning house

Wednesday: Before: Same as Tues, After: Chest and Back + Abs P90X workouts, cook

Thursday: Before: Same as Tues, After: Plyometrics P90X workout, cook

Friday: Before: Same is Tues, After: Yard work and then reeellaxxx

Saturday (today!): Ran 6 miles with Adam then 2 miles with the dogs, then did the Shoulders and Arms + Abs P90X dvd plus a ton of yard work

Here was the dinner menu: 

Monday: Chicken soup with biscuits (similar to this but I made biscuits separately and used boneless/skinless chicken breasts in the soup with more veggies)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes (similar to this but less sugar)

Wednesday: Grilled chicken with salad

Thursday: Eggs with salad

Friday: Snacked and made green monster muffins (not sure how I feel about them yet. They are like baked oatmeal. But green and peanut buttery.)

Saturday: slow cooker pork with veggies or salad

Lunches are always leftovers.


After my workouts this morning, I made myself a smoothie. I just recently started adding spinach to my smoothies. My go-to recipe is (all measurements are approximate):

1 frozen banana, chopped into pieces before freezing
1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
2/3 cup nonfat milk
1-2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/4 cup water
Handful of fresh spinach

And sometimes (pending on my mood, exercise, etc)

Ice
Chocolate ovaltine
Plain whey protein powder
Frozen berries

Put into blender and blend until super smooth and creamy! So good. This morning I added ovaltine and protein powder because I'd been working out for over 2 hours beforehand.

Here's a bad picture of it before it was blended:

I've been lusting after a Vitamix blender, but honestly this cheap-o old blender I have does the trick well enough.

Update

Update!

I am having a really nice Saturday. Spent the morning exercising and doing yard and house work, and now I'm working on the computer from the couch. My view is pretty nice. The ottoman is serving as desk, with a stack of papers to look through, a stack of snow peas from the garden, tea and the cat bed patiently awaiting the arrival of Bruce the cat.

I've been reading more blogs lately, and have realized how many good ones exist! I particularly like reading blogs written by people who are really active like I am--who like to exercise and eat well. I've decided I'm going to make an effort to post here once a week since I have been so inspired by what I've found online. That goal isn't too lofty, so I'm hoping I can exceed it.

The main things I'd like to post about relate to the title of my blog: "Simply Active"
I'm going to post my workouts, some of my meals, outdoor adventures, and things relating to our "simple" lifestyle--we like to be self-sufficient do-it-yourself-ers, so that includes things like food preservation and other household stuff. Let's see if I can keep it up!

Thanks for reading!

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