Starbucks

Quiet Saturday in the kitchen

How was your Saturday? Mine was fairly uneventful, spent mostly running errands and meeting a friend at Starbucks for writing time.

Immediately upon waking up, I hit the treadmill for W3D2 of C25K. (Okay, it wasn’t quite immediate. I lazed in bed, checking email and Twitter for about 15 minutes after my alarm went off.)

The workout went as well as can be expected. I sweated buckets and those 3-minute run intervals still seemed to take for-ever. I bumped up the speed on my walk/run intervals (to 3.7/3.8 and 4.1) and racked up mile 1 at the 15:53 mark. (Last time, I finished my first mile sometime after 16.)

Mile 2 was complete just before 32 minutes — after the end of the C25K portion. I kept walking for an extra 15 or so minutes because every time I hit a milestone (a new lap or certain number of calories burned), I was in the middle of a song. And when the next song came on, it was one I didn’t want to miss.

Guess it’s time for me to sit down with iTunes and create a timed playlist for C25K workouts, eh? Or maybe it’s better that I don’t. I end up doing more this way.

My errands included stops at the health food store, Walmart and Safeway. I went to New Frontiers first, specifically to pick up my unsweetened almond and coconut milks. Turns out I could have gotten the almond milk $1 cheaper at Walmart. I didn’t even know Walmart sold unsweetened almond milk. I’ll have to remember that for next time.

After writing time, I hit the grocery store. I’d picked up most of the items on my list, but needed produce and meat. Found a great deal on pork chops — 4-plus pounds for a little more than $7. Tomorrow’s dinner suddenly changed ethnicity. (It went from a Crock Pot full of Italian beef to pork/green chile stew.)

When I got home, it was time to make dinner.

This:

Became this:

It tastes better than it looks. Trust me. The recipe called for chicken, but I used pork instead. It is “the other white meat,” after all. I’m glad it turned out well, since I have three more servings. I left one in the fridge and put two in the freezer for dinners on work nights.

After dinner, I ran out to the mall to use a Cost Plus World Market coupon. You can never have too many sugar-free flavored syrups. On the way back home, I was seized with a craving for cake. But I couldn’t just stop at the store and buy a slice, the way I used to do.

Luckily, I remembered the Molten Chocolate Cake recipe from the Atkins website. I made it last summer and knew it’d hit the sweet spot for very few carbs.

The only problem? With all the ingredients that need to come to “room temperature,” it’s not a quick fix. I got home from the mall at about 9 p.m., and didn’t sit down with my cake until 11.

It was worth the wait, though: Rich, chocolatey and delicious. Even better, the recipe made two, so I have another one for later in the week (probably Monday).

After enjoying my cake, I decided another short walk on the treadmill wouldn’t hurt. Treadmill at midnight? Don’t mind if I do. I can’t disturb anyone when I’m the only one at home, right?

This time, I tried the ifit.com personal trainer workout preloaded on the treadmill. At first, it was a little strange/annoying to have Jillian Michaels talking to me while I was walking. But it was kind of nice, too — made me feel a little like I was on “The Biggest Loser.” Of course, the contestants on that show would have been running until they barfed instead of walking at a max speed of 2.6 mph.

Now I’m watching a very old episode of “Law and Order.” Chris Noth looks so young. In contrast, they’re showing an ad for the new “Dallas” and JR and Bobby look ancient. The new blood next generation is hot, though. It’s enough to make me want to sing “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”

Sorry. That was one of the songs I listened to during my workout Saturday. What can I say? My iPod has a strange, strange mix of music.

Vacation from vacation

Am I the only one who goes back to work feeling the need for a vacation from vacation? I sure hope not. I don’t like feeling alone.

Why does that happen? I had a perfectly relaxing week off, spent doing exactly what I wanted to be doing (writing and hanging out with the Boyfriend). Yet I’m totally exhausted after a few hours at the office.

Why couldn’t I have won the lottery while I was off work? Oh yeah — you can’t win if you don’t play.

No workout this morning, unless you count time running around the kitchen. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I made a half-dozen hard-boiled eggs, whipped up a batch of Atkins Classic Ham Salad and grilled a chicken breast for my dinner salad.

Better yet, I got all that done and still had time to get to Starbucks for writing time before work.

Today was a kitchen-loving kind of day, because I tried a new recipe for breakfast, too: This Almond-Berry Smoothie. Yeah, I lifted the picture from the Atkins site. Mine wasn’t nearly that photogenic … but it was tasty. My only complaint? Raspberry seeds. I’m not a huge fan of getting seeds stuck in my teeth — or sucking them up through a straw.

Seeds or no, this was one seriously delicious smoothie. I’ll definitely make it again (soon, to use up some more of the raspberries I bought).

Thursday weigh-in and W3D1 of C25K are on the agenda Thursday morning, followed by writing time at — where else? — Starbucks at noon.

Hmm. Maybe I’m so tired because I can accomplish more before noon than some people do all day. I have to stop burning the candle at both ends.

Did it to myself

As I sit here tonight, watching a “Criminal Minds” marathon on A&E and fighting food cravings out the wazoo, I can honestly say it’s my own damn fault.

That’s right. After a week straight of sitting at Starbucks most of the day, hard at work on my manuscript, I decided to treat myself to an oatmeal cookie and a mocha-coconut Frappuccino  today.

Even though I got the Frappuccino made with light mocha and base and whole milk, it was a big mistake. Huge. I shouldn’t have done it. I know better. And now I’m paying for it. I can’t stop eating … cashews, cheese, an Atkins brownie … and nothing’s filling me up. Blech.

Okay. It’s time to take deep breaths and know that one day of indulging won’t make me blow up. I just need to get back on track now.

I don’t weigh in until Thursday. Plenty of time to undo the damage before then. I’m back to work tomorrow, which means back to my routine … and that has to be good for my diet. I’ll be in my own kitchen, with the ability to cater to my own healthy, low-carb whims.

Anyone else out there a fan of “Criminal Minds”? What does it say about me that my entertainment of choice is cop/FBI shows or true crime stuff on Investigation Discovery (now ID)? Maybe I ought to try my hand at writing romantic suspense.