Monthly Running Update

I wasn't able to get in a Weekly Running Update so I'll just wrap up the month.


For the month of February I was able to get in about 129.5 miles. In the month of January I got in a little over 130 miles and that brings my total for the year to about 260 miles. I haven't lost any weight this year which is my overall goal. I've actually gained about 3-4 pounds since the year started. Hopefully you've read the previous posts and have seen that I have started a dumbbell circuit 3-4 times a week. Overall I've noticed some good muscle growth and tone and I think the weight gain is due to that(at least that's what I'm hoping)


I'm going on my third year of a challenge that I set for myself. It started 2 years ago when I first started running. I told myself I was going to log at least 2 miles walk/jogged/run everyday with no exception. The days part of it is usually anywhere from 45 to 50 days. Sounds relatively easy, but you would be surprised with how many excuses you can come up with to tell yourself that you're busy. Last year I moved up to doing a 5K everyday which is 3.10 miles. This goal was a little ambitious because I don't think my fitness and my lifestyle was there to do it so I ended up walking a lot of the time, but I did complete it. This year I've moved up to doing 4 miles a day, as of today I've completed 8 days in a row and I feel really good. I've actually been averaging almost 6 miles per day so far. I was trying to recruit some of my friends to try it with me, but only one took the bait. This year for the challenge, I think that I am ready. I've changed the way I eat and the way that I fuel my body and that has helped. I also feel like the weights have helped strengthen my core which I can feel the difference on my speed training runs. Overall for the past 6 months I feel like I've lived the healthiest I think that I've ever been. I've started a hash tag on Twitter #CheFit.


Follow me @Cheechnuts on Twitter.


If you have any questions please feel free to leave it in the comment section.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

What you will need:

I was challenged by a friend of mine who is vegetarian to come up with a soup, here it is......

Vegetable Oil

Package of frozen "Stir Fry" vegetable mix(I wanted to find something quick and easy first)

Minced Garlic

3 Tablespoons Cumin

28oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

4 small cans of Chopped Green Chiles

64oz of Vegetable Broth

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 can of Corn

Tortilla Chips(optional)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese(optional)

Avocado(optional)

I like a lot of veggies so I added an extra package of the frozen vegetables and 4 cans total of corn

Make It:

In a large pot, stir in the frozen vegetables, cumin, and garlic into the hot oil until the vegetables are tender. Mix in the chopped chiles and tomatoes. Pour in broth, corn, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Serve and Enjoy

My Vegetables

All items mixed in

Simmering

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Shrimp Pasta

What you will need:

**** I have to start this out by saying this isn't the healthiest thing I've ever made

*Linguine

Deveined peeled Shrimp

4oz Cream Cheese Spread(I used more and it came out way to creamy for my taste)

2 Chopped Tomatoes

Spinach

*I used wheat linguine(personal preference)

**I didn't put amounts on the other items because it's all up to you how much of any certain item you want to put. This dish is easy enough to play with different amounts of any ingredient you like more.

Make It:

Cook the Pasta

in a large skillet add the shrimp, tomatoes, and cream cheese. Cook and stir until the the cream cheese has melted and the shrimp are done.

Drain the pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the spinach and shrimp mixture, mix lightly

My Shrimp

My Chopped Tomatoes

Cooking the Pasta

Shrimp Pasta ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Green Eggs and Ham

What you will need:

1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

*Eggs 

2 Tablespoons of prepared Pesto (I made my own)

2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt

**Thin slices of Prosciutto 

*Whole Wheat English Muffins

Slices of jarred Roasted Red Peppers to taste

Cheese(optional)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

*Depends on how many sandwiches you want to make

**You can use Ham or Cooked Canadian Bacon  

Make It:

Poach the eggs. In a small bowl, mix together the pesto and yogurt until smooth and combined. Toast the English muffins.

Assemble your sandwich. Put the prosciutto, red peppers, and eggs on the muffin halves. Add salt, pepper, and pesto mixture.

***I put my sandwiches in the oven for a little while to melt the cheese

My items for Homemade Pesto

Toasting Pine nuts

Poached Eggs with Roasted Peppers

Green Eggs and Ham ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Easy Lettuce Wraps

What you will need:

~These are going to be the easiest Lettuce Wraps you'll make

*Meatless Ground Crumbles

Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing to taste (I used the light version)

Minced Garlic

Shredded Cabbage (to make it even easier I got the pre shredded bag)

Sliced Green Onions

Lettuce Leaves (the bigger the better, I use Boston Lettuce)

*you can substitute ground beef for the meatless ground crumbles

Make It:

Cook the ground crumbles, dressing, and garlic for about 5 minutes, stir occasionally.

Add cabbage and onions and cook until cabbage has wilted

Spoon onto your lettuce leaves. YES it's that easy

Cooking ground crumbles

Chopped green onions (I like to use the entire thing)

Mixed in the cabbage and onions

Easy Lettuce Wraps ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Roasted Vegetables with Sausage

What you will need:

*With this recipe you can experiment with different vegetables that you may like, the same goes for the sausage. Also you can add more of any vegetables and as much sausage as you would like.

**The sausage that I was "Soyrizo", a friend of mine turned me on to it. 

2 Heads of Broccoli

1 Eggplant

1 Sweet Potato

1 Squash

1 Zucchini

1 Red Bell Pepper

Sausage (any kind)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Make It:

Wash and cut all the vegetables into bite size chunks. dump them in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Place all the vegetables in a roasting pan and bake them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Stir them occasionally 

Cut the sausage in slices and add them to the pan during the last 15 minutes. **I personally like to cook my sausage first**

***You can use the mixture as the topping of your choice, I usually eat as is, but for this I used a little pasta.

Chopped vegetables

Chopped broccoli

All the vegetables in a roasting pan and ready to go into the oven

Roasted Vegetables with Sausage ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Tofu Potato Salad Review

 CLICK FOR RECIPE!!!

Review:

The time that I tried this recipe it was very good and something different from the things that I normally eat. I thought the steps were easy to follow and relatively easy to prepare. I'm not a big fan of Tofu and that's why this meal surprised me on how good it was. You can do all the other steps while the potatoes are cooking.

With the version that I made I substituted the Spicy Brown Mustard with Dijon Mustard (mainly because I already had some in the fridge), I would recommend sticking with the Spicy Mustard. One more thing, be careful with the lemon, I added a little too much due to not measuring, but nothing too bad.

I like my food a little spicy so I added ground cayenne pepper to give it a kick. I also used grocery store garlic bread, turned out awesome overall. I will definitely be making this again.

Items blended

Pan Fried Tofu

All the items together and ready to be chilled

Tofu Potato Salad ready to be Enjoyed