2010 February | Healthy and Sane

Celebratory sandwich

February 23rd, 2010

I got promoted at work yesterday. Woohoo!! It feels so good to be recognized for my hard work – definitely made me extra motivated yesterday. Adam and I considered going out to celebrate, but I wanted to do that with my parents once our kitchen is done (SO close!). This way we’ll have 2 things to celebrate about. So we didn’t go out to a super fancy dinner, but I did treat myself for a little something special – a prosciutto sandwich from Tatte.

Look at this big guy!!

Prosciutto, goat cheese, fig, arugula on a french baguette

I had all these plans to eat just half, or eat it open faced – nope, it was too amazing. I just couldn’t stop eating it. I did give Adam a few very generous bites (you know, “guy bites”). Tatte is definitely my favorite bakery in the Boston area!!!

After my celebratory dinner, I called my parents to share the good news with them, and Adam poured some “champagne” for us (edited to add: my dad would like to point out that Korbel is a sparkling wine – not champagne. So technical! ). He even took the pictures for me.

I was laughing hysterically at this picture below. Yeah, food stylist he is not.

The rest of the day’s eats…

BREAKFAST

Turkey, egg, cheese and avocado on a FFL english muffin

It was hard to taste the avocado but the few bites I did get with it were excellent. Kind of a fun veggie addition to breakfast.

[378 calories]

MID-MORNING/PRE-WORKOUT SNACK

A mini Larabar – these are tiny but today one did the trick

[110 calories]

WORKOUT

During my lunch break, I took the Rope’n class I’ve blogged about before. We start with 3 minutes of jump rope, then alternate between 1 minute jump rope (with different moves – high knees, twists, sideways, etc.) and 1 minute some other exercise, finishing with jump rope sprints. Man, this class was tough! I still did everything the instructor asked for but I was definitely feeling it. I’m glad my legs were up for such an intense workout after my 9 miler.

LUNCH

Ellie Krieger nutty sweet potato soup (I froze 2 servings and reheated one today) + Ryvita crackers

This soup is so flavorful. I just love the peanut buttery goodness!

[390 calories]

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

An orange with 1T pb

[165 calories]

Celebratory truffles after dinner. The white heart had a lemony filling and a gold leaf on top for decoration. I’m really in love with these truffles.

How do you like to celebrate special occasions?

Mike & Patty’s – my new restaurant obsession

February 22nd, 2010

I have a new restaurant love. No, it’s stronger than that – I’m obsessed!! I can’t stop thinking about my new “crush.” I hope we get to reunite very soon. I can’t be away for too long.

Since I kind of gave this away in the post title, you know I’m talking about Mike & Patty’s – small sandwich shop in the Bay village area in Boston. I’ve wanted to come here for what seems like eternity. The problem is, they close at 2pm on Sundays, and somehow I’m always ready to go there way past that. Tina’s post about it finally sealed the deal for me though. A trip to Mike & Patty’s had to happen this weekend, no matter what! I’ve been dreaming of that banana sandwich for way too long. The dreaming had to stop and I had to make it a reality.

Luckily, Coco must have read the same post, because we both suggested Mike & Patty’s for brunch at the same time. I thought it would be the perfect spot for a post run meal. Best.decision.ever!

A little paparazzi action Hi, Coco!

Mike & Patty’s is tiny! This is the entire place + a table for 4 on the right and a little window bar for 2 on the left (I’m literally standing in the doorway to take this picture).

The kitchen area. This is where the magic happens.

So like I said – I came there with a plan. I NEEDED the grilled banana sandwich with cinnamon and honey butter. The thing is – the second I looked at the menu, I wanted EVERYTHING! Every single thing sounded better than the next. I’m a sweet breakfast kinda girl but savory dishes sounded even better – croque madame, cubano sandwich, tortas… oh boy. I was in trouble! I stuck to my original plan and ordered one egg over medium on the side to satisfy that savory craving. It was a good choice!

Grilled banana sandwich close-up…

A little closer…

+ the egg

I was picturing this would be like a stuffed french toast, but it was actually a real sandwich – crunchy toast with sweet caramelized bananas. The honey butter is definitely the secret ingredient. Good stuff! I ate 3/4 of it and called it a day. I can’t wait to take Adam there next weekend. Yep, we’re going back!!!

Ah, the most unflattering picture of me, but Coco looks too cute so I’m posting it anyway.

Thank you, Mike & Patty’s for being so awesome!! Now could you maybe open another location in the Back Bay? Thanks!

A long run all by myself, I’m growing up!

February 22nd, 2010

My running partner in crime, Molly, is out skiing this weekend. How inconsiderate of her! I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up on a run with Meghan who’s currently training for the Boston marathon, but the poor girl got injured on Monday and is taking the week off from running. For a second there I got nervous – I haven’t done a long run by myself since I met Molly. My longest run on my own was 7 miles last August. Instead of being discouraged, I decided that this was actually going to be a really good test for me. I’ve become a much stronger runner since those 7 miles. I’ve covered hundreds of miles – I could do this!!

[This ended up being a long recap - follow along at your own discretion ]

I woke up an hour and a half before my planned run and had my usual toast with Barney Butter and banana (you’ve seen it a million times, click here for a visual if you need it ). I was a bit nervous, but decided to just take it really easy. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Ok, no exactly… but it may make for a more pleasurable run. After a 1/2 mile warm-up walk (until my Garmin found the satellites) I got to it. I roughly planned out my route to make a 9 mile loop. I like running to a “destination” so there is something to look forward to. Also, this prevents me from deciding to cut the run short because I’m already so close to home. Today’s “destination” was the Jamaica Pond (in Jamaica Plain). I’ve done this run so many times and it never gets old. There are always so many runners and power walkers by the pond, no matter the weather, and I feel proud to be part of this little community.

So I took off, every time I looked down my Garmin said I was doing an 8:30-8:40 pace. I couldn’t believe it – it felt so easy! I know that usually when Molly and I run we talk the entire time. It makes the time really fly by, and we catch up on everything that’s happened in the past week. When we ran the half, we ran side by side, but didn’t talk, and our pace indeed was the pace I was running at today. I wasn’t complaining, that’s for sure! Around mile 3, I really wanted to stop and walk. Originally my plan was to run straight through – no stopping, but right around that mile 3 marker that seemed like a silly plan. So what if I stopped for just a minute? Would it really make that much of a difference? I bargained with myself and decided to take a walking break at the half-way point. Man, that’s a whole 1.5 miles away!! No, no – that’s negative thinking, I could do this!

Minutes after deciding to allow myself that walking break, I realized that I was running uphill. The second I hit flat ground, a walking break seemed like a silly idea. Now I really wanted to make it a full 9 miles without stopping, and this time I really did know I could do it. I ran around the pond twice, it’s fairly flat there and very beautiful. After the second loop, I was at 5.6 miles – the perfect time to run back home. I was smiling ear to ear at this point. OMG, I’m going to rock this run!!

By the way, I forgot to mention that this run was basically the exact same route that the BAA half follows (except I turned around 2 miles earlier). Around 7 miles or so, I was starting to slow down. My legs were starting to hurt a little. I was at the exact location that I started to really feel it during my half (it was mile 9 then). I distinctly remember Molly asking me if I wanted to walk for a minute or slow down… and I remember saying “I don’t know…” and kept running. I wanted to be stronger than that on THIS run. I pictured the point at which I thought I saw a 13 mile market (it was a 12-mile marker in fact). I wanted to get there, and I wanted to keep going. Remember, I was going to rock this run!! So I kept running and drinking water. I brought some orange slices with me for fuel, but I didn’t want them. I knew I could finish without them. I slowed down a bunch just to make sure I finished the run strong. Finishing the distance was my main goal. I didn’t care about speed. At the end, I was happy with both. I finished 9 miles in 1:22 hours – 9:08 minute average pace. I did it!!!!!! [Insert happy dance here ]

After a good stretch and a shower, I met up with Coco for a celebratory brunch. I’m going to do a recap of that in a separate post because you are probably tired from reading. Here are the rest of the day’s eats.

Organic fuji apple