I Went For a Walk

Two nights ago, out of the blue, I developed a cough.  I don't have any sinus issues or congestion, just the persistent cough.  It kept me up most of that night.  Last night I coated myself in Vicks and slept a little better.  Running didn't seem like a good idea but I didn't want to just sit around either.  Originally I was going to do yoga then I remembered that yoga revolves around breathing and deep breaths make me cough.  Instead I headed to a park down the road and walked. 

I only coughed a couple times so that is good.  It was actually really nice and peaceful but I also felt like I got some exercise.  I went about three and a half miles.  It smelled really good, the birds were singing like crazy and there was a nice breeze.  Half way through my walk I realized that this was just as nice as the other park (with the Fit Trail) but this one doesn't cost $5 so I think I'm going to move most of my outdoor running to this one instead. 

The nice thing about this park is that it is surrounded by subdivisions, apartments, businesses and a school but when you are on the path, it feels like you're out in the middle of the country.  Today is garbage day so the truck sounds invaded every so often to remind me that I was only a couple streets from my house!  On my last lap, I took some pictures to try to capture the calmness.

This is my favorite spot when running - the point when you switch from the wood bridge (or cement coming from the other direction) to that sponge track surface.  It always gives me extra energy to keep going!

Interviewing Tips

I had my first interview today with a local bank.  I'm very happy with how it went but I'm trying not to get my hopes up because I've been down this road before.  Here is a picture before my interview:

That is the best I can look!  It is humid today and I was very concerned about my hair but it stayed somewhat tame.  I was also really stressed out picking something to wear because my nicest clothes are all winter.

This morning I was thinking about everything I know about interviewing and a few things really stuck out in my mind.  The first is from my former boss.  He said that no one gets a job based on their resume.  The point of the resume is to get you a first interview, the point of the first interview is to get the second interview, etc.  That was a really good reminder and it takes some of the pressure off.  At this point I wasn't trying to get the job, I just needed to make them want to talk to me further.  I feel like I accomplished that.

The second piece of wisdom came from my friend after I didn't get the last job that I interviewed for.  I went through three interviews but in the end they picked someone else.  I was really happy with my interviews and thought I represented my skills and personality well.  I had commented to her that I wish I knew what it was that made them not choose me.  She said it didn't matter because if I knew what it was and changed that part of me, I wouldn't be true to myself.  If they saw who I was and didn't think I was right for the job, then it wasn't the right job for me.  Even though I was very disappointed, this really made me feel better.

The final thing was e-mailed to me by another former employee.  His job was eliminated several months before mine and he hasn't found anything yet either.  He said we just need to be patient and the right position will come along.  I think this is possibly the most important reminder.  I always say that everything works out in the end but sometimes I get so wrapped up in my day-to-day issues that I need someone to remind me of that.

So now I'm going to try to remain optimistic and wait to see what happens.

Eggless Experiment #1 - Hemp Seeds

First of all, that workout yesterday didn't even feel like exercise but Kayleigh and I are both very, very sore today!  My arms hurt the most but my back, legs, shoulders, basically my whole body, is feeling the pain today.  Now on to the real post.

I am always writing down various egg replacement suggestions as I come across them.  I decided to pick a recipe and try several of the options to see which one works best.  Kayleigh is going to help and Bill volunteered to be a taste tester (what a sacrifice!).

I selected this chocolate chip cookie recipe because it doesn't make too many cookies and it calls for only one egg.  Usually with egg substitutes, the more eggs you are replacing, the less effective they work.  We might take the top two from this experiment and try a recipe with more eggs in it.

I'm not sure where this recipe came from originally.  When I moved into an apartment for my junior year of college, my mom typed up several recipe cards for me and this was one of them.  These are chewy cookies, not cake-like.  Here is the original recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Original Recipe

2/3 C margarine
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix margarine, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla thoroughly.  Stir dry ingredients together.  Blend in.  Mix in chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded teaspoonsful about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Cool before removing from sheets.


First of all is "teaspoonsful" a word?  That is what is on my card.  Anyway, you get the idea.  Also, we used parchment paper on the pan.

We get these from amazon.

So this time we chose to substitute the egg with 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds and 3 tablespoons of water.  We used room temperature water (it is freezing here right now so our room temperature is a little colder than usual).  We mixed the water and seeds together in a bowl and left them sit for a couple minutes but I don't think this is necessary.  The seeds didn't seem to soften during that time.

In case you don't know what hemp seeds look like.

 

First we tasted the unbaked dough because that is our favorite part.  We all agreed that the taste, texture, and appearance of the dough was the same as always.  After baking the cookies, we didn't notice any difference in the appearance.  The taste of the warm cookies was a little gummy but once they cooled, we couldn't tell any difference from a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  



Overall we rate this as a success.  They were easy to substitute, didn't change anything about the cookie and we always have hemp seeds on hand because I use them in my morning smoothie.

Here are some pictures of the process (although I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to make chocolate chip cookies!).

I love these blue bowls I'm using to pour the dry ingredients into the mixer.  They collapse so that you can pour everything into that small space without it going all over the counter.  I don't know what they are called but I think I got them from chefscatalog.com.

Next week we are going to try chia seeds.

Fit Trail

This year our local park put in a Fit Trail so Kayleigh and I headed over there this afternoon to try it out.  I was really excited because they used to have this when I was young and I really enjoyed it.  Kayleigh wasn't so excited but she went along and humored me!

First off, they weren't supposed to start charging to get into the park until Memorial Day but they charged us today.  So we probably won't be back much in the future since it wasn't really worth $5.  Also, we were a little irritated that there were so many workers in there driving all over the place so you had to keep watching out for them.  Still we made the best of it and had fun.  Here are tons of pictures.

 First, an exercise I could actually do.

 Then one I couldn't do.  Seriously, look at my face - I'm really trying!

 Here were the instructions.

 And here is Kayleigh actually doing it.  I was very impressed.  I was happy that, judging from her face, at least it wasn't real easy for her!

 As payback here is an exercise Kayleigh couldn't do.

 

 But I could!  Just to prove it, I did extra reps!

 I was really excited to see a balance exercise and thought it would be really easy.  Kayleigh was nice enough to take a video to show how bad I did! 

 But do you hear all that wind?  I'm sure that is why I did so bad!

 Now for something neither of us are good at.  This is seriously as far as either of us could stretch!

 Look at my face.  I'm really trying.

 After completing the whole fitness trail, we walked around the lake again so we went a total of almost 2 miles.  For the last quarter mile or so, I ran so that Kayleigh could tell me how my stride looked (she said it is getting better).  This was a nice, fun, active afternoon.

 By the way, the weather is as cold and miserable as it looks.  It is about 60 right now but has got down into the 30s for the past several days.  And our furnace isn't working!

Changing perspective

I thought I had a really bad day yesterday.  It started off good but around 7 AM my stomach became really upset so I ended up sitting around watching TV all morning.  I finally drug myself off the couch and made a terrible lunch.  I ran in the evening and was very disappointed that I could only run 20 minutes and then I couldn't even walk to finish the 3.1 miles. 

But when I look back through the whole day, there were actually a lot of good things, too.  In the afternoon I got all the housecleaning and laundry done.  I planned out meals for the next week and fixed dinner.  My parents came over and my mom commented that I had "really slimmed down" which is always nice to hear (although I think it was just a flattering outfit).  Then we went to Kayleigh's final orchestra concert.  It was sad that this was her last one but the concert was really enjoyable.  They performed a lot of fun songs and I always enjoy the spring concert because all the students (6th through 12th grade) perform "Ode to Joy" together.  Then even though I could have come home and watched TV, I chose instead to go downstairs and run.

I was letting a few bad points in the day overshadow the good.    First I was upset that I didn't run in the morning.  But does it really matter if I sat around in the morning or in the evening?  In the end, I still managed to workout.  Then I was really disappointed with my run but my husband was very nice to point out that "you can't PR every time".  A few weeks ago I would have been thrilled with 20 minutes running. 

So I am going to try to remember that just because a few things don't go as planned doesn't mean that the whole day gets a negative mark against it. 

Here is Kayleigh in her orchestra dress (which she hates) for the last time.

I tried to get pictures at the concert but they all came out like this!

Thai Tofu

Today has been one of those days where I feel like I didn't accomplish anything when actually I did.  First of all, I got my workout in so that is always a good day.  I also did some laundry and cleaning, read a little bit. The best thing is that I was called for a job interview- hurray!  Those have been few and far between.

Tonight we had a thrown together meal but my daughter was happy because it was one of her favorite tofu recipes.  Several months ago I made a stir fry and she didn't really care for it but loved the tofu.  I experimented and came up with a way to make the tofu as a side dish.  It can also be combined with vegetables or eaten on top of rice or pasta. 

We usually call this Kayleigh's Tofu but I wanted a more universal name so she came up with Thai Tofu.  I think she came up with the name because she was offered a summer job today at our friend's Thai restaurant.  We're being flooded in employment opportunities today!

I think it would be good with cilantro sprinkled on top but Kayleigh doesn't like cilantro so I leave it off.

Thai Tofu

1 pound tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
1 T cornstarch
1/2 T oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger
1 T tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp ketchup
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

In a medium bowl, toss the tofu in the cornstarch.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, tamari, vinegar, ketchup and sesame oil.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat.  Add the tofu, spreading it in an even layer.  Leave for 2 minutes.  Toss, scraping the bottom,
and let set two more minutes.  Continue until the tofu is nicely browned on all sides.

Add the ginger mixture to the wok.  Cook while stirring for 3 minutes. 

Breakfast Smoothie

I am currently reading "Salt Sugar Fat" by Micheal Moss.  I'm only about a quarter of the way through but so far it is very interesting.  Yesterday I was reading the section about sugar and a researcher he had interviewed was talking about how sugar has been added to many foods in the United States that weren't traditionally sweet and that, "there is absolutely no tolerance now for foods that are not sweet."

I have been cutting the sugar in baked goods in half for several years now so I was feeling pretty good about myself until I started to think about this quote.  Then I realized that I also add sugar to foods that shouldn't really be sweet such as spaghetti sauce and pizza crust.  I'm going to have to start rethinking some of my recipes.

But I have managed to remove the sugar from my breakfast.

A long time ago I used to have Instant Breakfast and then over the years switched to several other powdered drink type things.  My stomach is usually funny in the morning so I do better with drinks that I can eat very quickly and get something in my stomach before it realizes that I am fully awake!  Plus I take one tablespoon of flax seed oil every day to help with my IBS.  It was easiest to add it to a drink in the morning.

I always felt a little uncomfortable with the purchased powders though because they have many ingredients which I didn't recognize plus lots of sugar.  So I experimented for a while and came up with this smoothie which I now drink every single morning.  It is quick and easy and the only sweetness comes from the banana (if you get unsweetened non-dairy milk). 

Breakfast Smoothie

1 frozen banana, slightly thawed for easier blending
1 tablespoon hemp seed
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
3/4 cup non-dairy milk

Blend everything until smooth.  Enjoy!

I don't have a picture but it looks just like chocolate milk.  Instead here is a picture of the same flowers from yesterday.  This is only a couple hours later.  The heat and humidity made me feel just like these flowers look.

We're all better today though!