Walk (run) for Farm Animals, Confession, and a Couple Recipes

Today was the big day! I was a little worried since I haven't ran in almost 2 weeks, and my diet has been all screwed up after the whole power outage fiasco, but I did it! And I was happy with my finish time considering I walked the first 5 minutes. Had I known I would have been so close to a PR (95 minutes) I would've started the timer AFTER the 5 minute warm-up ;)

Walk (run) for Farm Animals - World Run Day 11/6/11

Speaking of diet, it was bad and I mean really bad. We had to eat out every meal for 5 days straight. I have to confess that on the 5th day I had French Onion soup, with real cheese :(  I went from 112 to 120 in that week. Yes, that's 8 pounds in 5 days!  Thankfully when we got back home that night (Thursday) the power was back on. So Friday was spent shopping/restocking the kitchen with HEALTHY foods, and a lot of time was spent in the bathroom paying for the previous few days. TMI. I won't say anything else about that.

Friday afternoon I went through some of the previous 21-Day Kickstart menus and made a couple of (what turned out to be)  new favorites!  Since the kickstart is free to join I guess it's okay for me to post the recipes. 

Tamale Pie (from 21-day kickstart)

5 1/2 cups water, divided

1 cup polenta 

1 teaspoon salt (I used 1/4 tsp)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced (I used 3 Tbsp minced garlic)

1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and diced (I subbed a zucchini, shredded)

1 12-ounce package vegetarian ground beef substitute (I used Boca crumbles)

1 tablespoon chili powder (I used Hot Mexican Chili Powder)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (I used 2 tsp)

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I used 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes w/garlic)

1 15-ounce can vegetarian chili beans, undrained (I used Amy's organic refried black beans)

(I also added a 7oz can of chopped green chilies and a 4.5oz can of chopped olives)

Measure 5 cups of water into a large pot, then whisk in polenta and salt. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often, until very thick, about 25 minutes. Set aside.

 Heat remaining 1/2 cup of water in a large skillet or pot and add onion, garlic, and bell pepper(zucchini). Cook until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 Add vegetarian ground beef substitute, chili powder, and cumin. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 3 minutes. Add a bit more water if needed to prevent sticking. Add green chilies and olives, if using.

Stir in tomatoes and chili beans and their liquid. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

 Transfer mixture to a 9"×13" baking dish. Spread cooked polenta evenly over top. Bake for 20 minutes. (I baked for 30 minutes then broiled for about 3-4 minutes to get the top golden brown.)  

I divided this into 8 portions, but after I had them all even, there was still enough left for a whole nother serving (minus the polenta topping). Here's the nutrition info if you do 8 servings:

Per serving:

Fat: 4.8g

Carbohydrates: 36.1g

Fiber: 8.7g 

Calories:245.4

Protein: 16.4g

WW P+ 6

Breakfast Warmers (from 21-day kickstart)
This is super yummy! Like rice pudding meets apple pie :)  Instead of noting the changes I made (which were very few), I'm just posting it as I made it.

1.5 cups cooked brown rice
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup apple juice
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix it all together and heat! That's it :)

Makes 2 servings.

Here's the info per serving: 
Calories: 292.2
Fat: 1.5
Carbs: 67.3
Fiber: 5.2
Protein: 3.6

WW P+ 8 (totally worth it, trust me!)



Okay, I think that's about it for now. Oh! I got another award (I have no idea how since I'm horrible at this whole blogging thing) which I will do another post on, hopefully tomorrow! And I also apologize for not getting back to some of you with the last couple posts. I promise to do better!  Can I make up for it by posting a pic of my adorable kitty, snuggled up with his favorite duck toy?