LUNCH

I received an email from active.com not too long ago about suggestions for lunch time meals. Here is what they had to say: (they focus a lot on salads and let me tell you that if you don't load up on salad dressing a salad is a great meal. Full of dark greens, veggies, protein, and maybe the occasional fruit, that salad is a delish meal!)

"Your midday meal is the parachute ripcord for the rest of your afternoon: If you don't pull it, you'll go splat. The nutritionist's perfect lunch contains plenty of protein, fiber, and water to fill you up, averages about 500 calories, and can be easily packed for work or ordered as take-out. Getting all of that in a single dish sounds about as likely as Kim Kardashian winning a Pulitzer Prize. But there's one offering that fits the bill: a gourmet salad."

If you work all day then make sure to make your lunch at home when you can. It will save you time, money and calories! through together a salad and put the dressing in a separate container so you don't make your salad soggy before you're ready to enjoy.

Here are some fast and yummy ideas for healthy salads:

• Spinach, artichoke hearts, goat cheese, pecans, and dried cranberries
• Romaine, tomato, salsa, black beans, avocado, and cheddar cheese
• Mesclun, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, feta cheese, and grilled chicken
• Iceberg and arugula, tomatoes, avocado, hard-boiled egg, and grilled chicken breast

And another yummy salad that I just LOVE is:

Apple, Dried Cherry, and Walnut Salad with Maple dressing!
(Again just watch how much dressing you put in it and you will be fine with the calories)

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salad:
1 5-ounce bag mixed baby greens (about 10 cups lightly packed)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips (I use one apple and one pear)
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
I also add some fresh sliced Parmesan cheese - not too much though, just enough to taste
Adding some grilled chicken would be more than great too

Update on Warrior Dash

First an update of the Warrior Dash last Saturday. This race is insane in the membrane, but the most fun I've had at a race in a long time. I got muddy and loved it. I climbed over junk cars, scaled a cargo net, jumped over fire, and crawled under barbed wire.

The entire race is ran wither on hay, grass, or thick clay mud with everyone sliding around. It went a little too fast for me I was having such a good time. My husband was waiting for me at the end with muddy hands that he held my cheeks with the moment I got to him. What a loving husband :)

When we were walking up to the buses to go to the race I saw a bunch of people coming back to their cars, and I was a little disappointed because these people were not as muddy as I had hoped. Well I came to find out that it was because at the end of the race they have 3 fire hoses spraying groups of people to wash off. I loved that part too, so cold and refreshing.

Jared saved his mud for our friends whose house we were staying at and ultimately their mater bathroom shower.

At the end they served Turkey legs, and tons of muddy hands were holding one. We didn't get to eat one so I thought that would be a perfect recipe to share.

Turkey meat is great protein. It has about half the amount of saturated fat that red meat has, and had B vitamins for energy. Turkey helps turn your body's proteins, fats, and carbs into usable energy, which is a little funny because people are known to fall asleep on Thanksgiving because of the turkey, or is that the football? Just kidding :)

If you have a smoker this recipe would be fantastic, but I think a grill would work too. I found this recipe on Food Network and it looks delish.

Turkey Legs:
6 Turkey Legs
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Veg. Oil
Dry Rub Recipe (follows)
Mob Recipe (follows)
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce

Dry Rub Recipe:
1/4 cup chipotle seasoning
1 to 2 tablespoons mild dried ground red chili or paprika
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

Mop Recipe:
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon BBQ Sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Several hours before planning on barbecuing, loosen the skin on the turkey legs by running your fingers under it as far as possible without tearing the skin.

Combine the Worcestershire sauce and the oil. Coat your fingers with the mixture and rub really well into the turkey legs, getting as much as you can under the skin. Sprinkle the dry rub over the skin, liberally rubbing into the turkey legs and under the skin. Place the legs in plastic bags and refrigerate.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220 degrees F. Remove the turkey legs from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Re-warm the mop mixture over low heat.

Transfer the turkey legs to the smoker. Cook until the legs are very tender and the juices run clear, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Mop the legs at 45-minute intervals in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. Serve the legs hot, to be eaten with your fingers, with a side of barbecue sauce.

For a bit healthier meal I think you could leave the BBQ/Mop off and only use the dry rub which I like more anyway. But hey its only a Tablespoon just go for it.

Warrior Dash - Tomorrow

Warrior Dash is tomorrow night in Chicago. I've been pumping myself full of angry carbs and dangerous energy bars, I'll be completely ready to take on the Warrior Dash. Updates will come after the weekend.

For those of you not participating in a Warrior Dash this Summer here are some ways you can practice being a warrior everyday:

1. Open a can of tuna with your teeth

2. Do squats with your office water jug

3. Skip packing a lunch--just bring a slingshot
4. Curl gallons of milk at the grocery store
5. Before driving to work, try a barrel roll over your car

How to Train a Future Warrior:

1. Keep a full stock of Turkey Legs to feed their warrior hunger
2. Give mud baths, not bubble baths
3. Dress your warrior in the newest Warrior gear
4. Substitute your lullaby with "Eye of the Tiger"

You Might be a Warrior if...

...you sweat mud
...your beard has braids
...your biceps have biceps
...you have to check your axe before you board a plane
...your mate's attractiveness directly correlates to their ability to scale a cargo neter your car

Enjoy the Weekend

For My Utah Followers...

For those of you in Utah and the SLC surrounding area I thought I would pass on a good emailing list that you should be on.

I joined the Salt Lake City Running Co. email list when I visited Utah in May after I bought my new running shoes. They were awesome and they now have the largest running store in Utah. It's a good size with shoes that aren't built for style but for comfort and longevity. I have shopped there before getting ready to run the first marathon. Jared and I got braces, energy gels, socks, etc there and they were great.

If you buy a certain amount of shoes there they even give one free! Surprisingly enough Jared bought shoes the day before the marathon, wore them the day of and didn't get any blisters (well more than normal when you run a marathon I guess you could say)

I've received a few different emails with running events and just some things to do. This is a great email fro Summer activities too. You can go to their site and sign up

National Running Day!

Today is National Running Day! And mine and my husbands 3 year anniversary :) Make sure you do something to celebrate this day of all days.

Go for a run, enjoy the feeling of the wind in your hair your muscles pushing you forward. Fly round corners and put a smile on your face. Heck, you could even get new running shoes and count that as a celebration! I went for my run this morning and I feel great.

Tip for today: Eat Dessert
The average women can burn 345 calories in just 30 minutes of running. That means you can have a 16-oz. milkshake, a 2-inch brownie with 2 tablespoons of real whipped cream, a ½-cup of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, or (that’s “or,” not “and”!) 3 Godiva truffles, guilt-free.

Spicy Indian Chicken and Mango Curry

Looking for a healthy, fresh, summer time dish? You can find it here! My good running buddy sent me a recipe a few weeks ago to try, I did, and fell in love. This meal is delicious, a definite keeper.

What you need:
2 medium mangoes
1 (10 oz) can coconut milk (you can you the diet kind no problem, it won't affect the taste)
4 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used even less and a non stick pan)
4 teaspoons curry paste (not hard to find at all, look in the Indian section at any local store)
14 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in cubes. You can use about 3 or 4 chicken breasts.
half onion chopped small
1 red pepper (optional)
1 green pepper (optional)
4 servings of brown rice

The recipe calls for cucumbers sliced as a garnish. I didn't add this, but I did add 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper cut up in 1 inch squares. I would highly recommend you add these as well.

1. Place half of the mango slices into the bowl of a blender with the coconut milk. Blend until smooth and reserve for later.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the curry paste, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken, onion and peppers; cook until the chicken is done and the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the mango puree, and cook until heated through. To serve, stir in the remaining mango slices.

Serve over rice. Also good with Shrimp.

You will not regret making this, it's the perfect June dish. Sit outside enjoying the late sunset, and the fresh air while you succumb to the Spicy Indian Chicken and Mango Curry.

Enjoy!