My Mom’s Fitness Journey Part 2 – Healthy Recipes

It’s after 10:00am, and I just woke up (and it felt amazing.)  Tonight I’m running the Harbor Town 5K with my mom and a bunch of friends and bloggers.  This will be my longest run in my new Brooks Pureflow 2 shoes, so I’m excited and nervous.  This is always my favorite run each year because the neighborhood gets so involved.  They stand outside and cheer you on, spray you with waterhoses and even pass out jello shots to you.  Afterwards they have free beer, music and Sonic food, and we will be having a pool party.  Shane and I have been doing this race together for about 6 years I believe.  This one will be special though, as it is the first time we’ve done this race and lived in the neighborhood.  We usually meet at my mother-in-law’s house and walk from there to the race, but this year we are actually residents, which will make it even more fun.  This out first spring to live downtown together, so we’re really trying to enjoy it and experience all it has to offer.  I’m getting ready to clean the house right now (fun!) to get ready for Holly and Chris who will be here this afternoon to run with us.  Then hopefully I can squeeze in a little pool time before the race.  While I was sleeping in my mom was sweet enough to type up a guest post for me today.  I hope to see some of you at the race tonight, and have a great weekend!  Take it away mom!

Hello everyone!!!  As I write this, I’m getting ready for the Harbor Town 5K.  I’m nervous about this one.  I haven’t done any the last month and I don’t do as well in the heat.  But I’m just going to jump in with both feet and see what happens.  I’ve been finding it a little more difficult with the warmer weather to enjoy my daily run.  I tried going out at dusk when it’s cooler, but the mosquitoes are fierce.  So I’ve just had to suck it up and do it.  Once I get back home, I’m always so glad I did it.  I really enjoy this particular race.  I love looking at the beautiful homes and landscaping in Harbor Town as I go by.  My goal is just to finish and try to improve my time.  And it sure doesn’t hurt to enjoy yourself while doing it! 😉

I’ve also been trying some new recipes.  I try to eat as healthy as I can.  I’ve found that avoiding sugar and flour works best for me.  I try to eat organic.  I found  a recipe for some healthy cookies and pizza without flour in the crust!  I haven’t made the pizza yet, but I’ve made the cookies twice.  They are pretty good and it makes me feel like I’ve had a treat.  The funny thing is that to look at them they look like Chocolate Oatmeal cookies (my previous favorite cookie.)  The cinnamon gives them a brown color. But there’s no sugar in them!  Just oatmeal, bananas, applesauce, almond milk (I used organic skim milk), raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla.  I also put some walnuts in mine, it gives them a nice crunch.  I sometimes find myself just eating the same things over and over.  Then I get bored and start feeling sorry for myself  that I can’t just eat anything I want.  But, there’s so many healthy recipes out there.  Just a quick search and I found plenty.  I’ve also tweaked some of my old favorite comfort food recipes and made them healthy.  I’ve made meatloaf using oatmeal instead of crackers or bread and it was quite tasty. It’s so much easier to eat healthy when you enjoy your food.  I LOVE ice cream and I could eat it everyday and never get tired of it.  I found a way to make a healthy alternative.  I take a banana, cut it into large chunks, put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. I put the frozen banana and 8 to 10 frozen strawberries in my blender on high until smooth and then add about 1/2 cup or more to taste of plain fat free Greek yogurt and blend until smooth.  I use Stonyfield  yogurt because it has no sugar.  You can add a little stevia to make it sweeter.  You can use any kind of fruit.  I’ve also used blueberries, mango, or  peaches with great results.  It tastes like ice cream to me!  I’ve went from XL to L in my scrubs!  And I’ve been able to wear the new/old clothes in my closet! (That I bought last spring hoping to get into)  🙂  I know I’m on the right track. I’ve just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other!  I hope to meet some of you at the Harbor Town 5K. I might be one of the last ones to finish, but I just want to finish.  As Jodi said, “I’m lapping everybody sitting on the couch!”