There may not be anyone who cares less about football than I do. The only time I've ever made myself interested was when Ian played offensive lineman on the H-SC team, and during his senior year when he'd hung up the cleats, but our families tailgated every weekend. Let's be honest -- even then, it was more about people-watching ;)
Today, however, I'm very excited to watch the Super Bowl at the home of Kristin and her boyfriend (Travis), and with Jennifer. We're potluckin' it and ordering pizza, which is pretty thrilling. I'm proud to report that pizza is a delicacy rather than a regularity for me now.
I don't have a stake in either team, so I'm not sure for whom I'll be rooting. My sister is partial to the Giants, and I'm not sure which way my comrades swing. Tonight will be about great company, great food, great commercials, and a (hopefully) great halftime show.
This is my contribution to the potluck:
My sister and I baked the above Vanilla Almond Cake Cookies. I'm beyond excited about so many of the Chobani recipes I've discovered!
On that note, I proudly tried out three(!) new recipes this weekend, including the cookies. Saturday night, Caroline and I grocery shopped for the ingredients for Greek Salad Pitas from my Good Housekeeping vegetarian cookbook.
I bear no responsibility for this. Though I did cry/snort laughing...
Prep: 20 minutes
Makes 4 sandwiches
What you'll need:
1 can (15-19 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt [we used Chobani]
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, peeled
4 (6- to 7-inch) whole-wheat pitas
3 cups sliced romaine lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
fresh mint leaves for garnish [optional]
What you'll do:
1. In food processor, with knife blade attached, or in blender, combine beans, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic; puree until smooth.
2. Cut off top third of each pita to form pocket. Use half of bean mixture to spread inside pockets.
3. Combine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, and chopped mint; use to fill pockets.
4. Top with remaining bean mixture and mint leaves.
And this morning, I toasted a whole wheat bagel and topped it with one egg, a slice of Swiss, two slices of avocado, and a juicy slice of tomato. The other half I topped with an old favorite, low-fat cream cheese and grape jelly. Mmm, mmm, mmm! I had seen this breakfast combo on one of my favorite blogs, and I'd been dying to try it out.
Today, my training program calls for a day off. Thus far, I haven't actually taken off any of my "off" days. Being that I hit the gym seven days consecutively, I decided that a day off would probably do my body good, even though I'm feeling great. I don't want to overdo it and injure myself. A day off, it is.
No matter what you're doing or whom you're rooting for tonight, I hope you enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!
P.S. Do you ever worry about purposefully taking time off from the gym or from your exercise routine? Do you relish time off, or do you feel guilty? I know I need not feel guilty, because this training program was developed for the benefit of novice runners.
P.P.S. Who are you rooting for tonight?!
4 comments:
I am rooting for the Giants! You never told us how the Greek Pita's were? They sounded good. Were they? Also, how are the Chobani recipes?
I think I'll be rooting for the Giants, as well :) The pitas were phenomenal! As with many of the recipes I've made recently, I was kind of ill-prepared, but I'm a good improviser! You've got to start somewhere, right? The Chobani recipes are also good -- check out the website for nutrition info. The cookies are a bit chewier than I expected they'd be, but that's not gonna slow me down!
I've realized that when I take days off, I feel more icky than guilty. Every time I take a day off I feel like I have to overcompensate the next time I'm at the gym. I'm thinking I'll combat this with a walk or something when I absolutely have no desire to don my bike shorts to cover my thunder thighs.
When I take days off from running, I usually do 1-2 strength training circuits. A lot of the literature (and people's personal opinions) I've read recently claims that mixing weight sessions in with running regimens is the way to go. I felt a little like overcompensating this morning on the treadmill, but I decided to stick to the plan, eat well, drink plenty of H2O, and not get myself down :)
P.S. You DO NOT have thunder thighs.
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