Productive Workouts

This morning it was actually chilly outside!  50 degrees and feeling rather cold…so of course oatmeal sounded perfect.  Especially since I had a little extra time to make and enjoy it.  😀

So I got to work and threw my favorite mix together:

• 3/4 c. oats
• 1 c. milk + 1/2 c. water
• cinnamon and nutmeg
• splash of vanilla
• 1/2 an apple (and munched on the other half while waiting, of course! 😀 )

Cook that for the amount listed on the box, and then top with:

• 2 T. walnuts
• 1 T. homemade pb granola
• 1 tsp coconut

Voila! 

I decided to spend the 10 spare moments I had on some stretching and yoga before heading over to my grandparent’s house to paint their shed.  After showering and throwing on some beat up work clothes, I was prepared to get to work. 😀

It took me a good 2 hrs. to paint the shed, and all I can say is…

If you ever want a really good arm workout WHILE being super productive, paint someone’s shed. 😉

Seriously, my triceps and biceps were burning by the end, not to mention all the squats and stretching I was doing simultaneously.  Good stuff! 😀

Then it was time for lunch…and before you take one glance at this picture and gag, promising yourself to never visit this blog again, let me explain. haha…

My grandparents are French-Canadian, through and through.  And my memere is a French cook.  I remember growing up, watching her make the recipes that were handed down to her from her French grandparents.  No recipes.  Just a handful of this and that.  I was always in awe and still am.

Anyways, let me explain this meal. haha…people who don’t know what it is oftentimes say that it looks like a Brain in a Bag.  haha…what is it?  It’s a poutine!!  Basically, the surrounding part is half grated raw potatoes/half cooked & mashed potatoes with a mixture of other ingredients (bread crumbs, eggs, salt & pepper, etc.)  Inside is salted pork.  I know it sounds totally gross, but I grew up on this New Brunswick favorite, and love it to peices.  Especially with ketchup (some prefer it with sugar.) 

So I had two because it’s such a special occasion to be served these…along with a glass of V8 on the side.  My grandparents aren’t big veggie eaters, so I decided to get some in via the V8 route…;)

Now back to some normal food…;)

I picked up a pint of blueberries for super cheap at the grocery store today and I think I’m pretty sure I ate the entire thing myself.  These were super tasty and fresh…love these summer treats.  I can’t wait till its finally blueberry season around here so I can go pick some (and maybe make some homemade jam, too??)

I decided to include the berries in my afternoon snack.  I had also picked up a 2% fage yogurt as a fun treat, so it all made sense to have a yogurt mix. 😀  I topped it with lots of blueberries, about 1/2 a banana, and a handful of almonds.  Mmm…hit the spot and held me over really well until dinner.

I’ve been absolutely craving meatloaf lately, which is really weird for me.  I’m not the type of person to ever really crave meat, but this recipe for Turkey Meatloaf from Cooks Illustrated Light Recipe Cookbook caught my eye and I’ve been wanting to make it for a while now.

It took a little work to put it all together, including making some homemade bread crumbs from stale whole wheat sourdough bread I had on hand.  Oh, yes, and there was also the slight interruption that occurred when I realized we were completely out of onions.  So I hopped on my bike and had productive workout #2 today by taking a 7-mile round trip ride to pick up an onion.  All worth it. 😉  These productive workouts are great for fitting in workouts and for getting things done. 

Despite the effort, it came out super tasty.  The one thing I’ll change next time is the glaze though.  It was super sweet, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of sweet meatloaf.  I think I’d prefer it with more of a barbeque style flavor, or even a tomato sauce. 

On the side, I made a zucchini and summer squash stirfry by throwing this all together in a frying pan:

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• sprinkling of salt and pepper
• crushed, dried oregano and basil…sprinkled liberally or to taste

I also made some mashed garlic potatoes because you can’t have meatloaf without mashed potatoes. 😉  These were regular mashed potatoes with parsley and garlic powder sprinkled liberally in while mixing.

Dessert! 😀

After dinner, I decided to soak up some more sunshine and blue skies. 😀  The weather forecast is showing no sun in sight after today’s beautiful weather, so I wanted to take full advantage of it. 

Now I’m going to get all my stuff ready for tomorrow’s day of shadowing another RD.  I’m excited to see a different side to being an RD in a hospital, and I’ll be sure to blog all about it too, of course. 😀  After that I’ll be sitting down, reading the new Runners World magazine…and enjoying this bowl of Barbara’s Shredded Oats with the last of the blueberries and milk.  Yum!

Happy Hump-Day!!! 😀

Exercise: productive workout of painting my grandparents shed…;)…2-mile walk after lunch with mom before she went to work…7-mile bike ride to pick up an onion (productive workout #2—gotta love these!)…2-mile after-dinner, just-for-fun walk.  Lovin’ all this sunshine!! 😀

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