Giving In to Old Man Winter

Hey there blog buds, happy Friday! As you know, it’s one of my two favorite days of the week! :)

Can a girl ask for anything more than a Friday morning that starts with a hike this pretty?

It was GORGEOUS out this morning as the sun was coming up (by gorgeous I mean FREEZING: 29 degrees!) This pic was taken at the parking lot looking up toward the trail … I’m kicking myself for leaving my camera in the car because the views of the snow-capped Front Range and of Pikes Peak were absolutely fabulous this morning.

So how was everyone’s Thursday? Mine was kind of a blur. I knew it was going to be “that” kind of day, so the DIVA mug was appropriate for the morning joe.

I had a personal training client at 6:15 AM, so I drank one of these to tide me over till breakfast:

Check out the floating seeds! Gotta check your teeth after drinking this beverage! This is my “lazy green smoothie” (a scoop of ”Amazing Meal” shaken with water.)

Post-client I had an old favorite: Ezekial toast with raw almond butter and raw honey.

Late morning I had a ‘date’ to catch up with an old friend at Starbucks, so I had yet ANOTHER (unpictured) soy chai latte. I don’t know what’s up with me and chai this week! I LOVE chai when it’s chilly out! I had another one today after my hike (OMG is that three trips to Starbucks this week? Or four? I better cool it – I’ll get my statement this month and all mydebits will be SBUX, SBUX, SBUX!!)

After I got home from said Starbucks chat session, I hopped on the treadmill for 45 minutes while watching a recorded Melrose Place from Tuesday night. (I really should give up on the new version of MP but it does make for good trashy TV to keep my mind off the treadmill…) Every 5 minutes I’d adjust either speed or incline to keep my ridiculously short attention span in line.

By the time I got off the TM, I was STARVIN’ Enter pita pizza:

Seriously, between these pizzas and the wraps, I think I won’t ever need to come up with a new lunch plan for the next two years. They are SO FREAKING GOOD!

I want to give a shout out to Carrie for taking the pita pizza to the next level!! In the comments section she mentioned that she made hers with some pesto as the sauce. EXCELLENT IDEA! Since I had some leftover pesto, I smeared it on in place of the olive oil, and it was another HEAVENLY lunch. With a side of cold pesto gnocchi, my new favorite side dish! Thanks Carrie!

By late afternoon I was feeling a tad sluggish, and knew a glass of bubbly would do the trick: half a bottle of Kombucha Tea, in a wine glass of course.

This was the view outside of my kitchen window when it was time to consider dinner options:

A salad was not going to cut it on this night – much too cold outside for that!

I decided to throw some veggies & corn tortillas in a casserole dish, smother with enchilada sauce and call it dinner.

Vegetarian CASSERLADAS

The “innerds”: green chile and lime non-fat refried beans, mushrooms, onions, carrot ribbons, zucchini ribbons, scallions (all veggies shown here are lightly sauteed before adding as filling.)

Mid-assembly:

I was so dying to try this meal that I didn’t even care about presentation — I just plopped it on my plate with a side of Uncle Ben’s Spanish Rice:

Nothing like a little mexican food to warm one’s soul on a cold and snowy night.

And since winter is making itself known this week, I thought today’s question should pertain to winter sports. The older I get, the more I realize I am a fair weather exerciser. I don’t like to be cold or wet (or BRUISED for that matter) so I gave up downhill skiing and boarding a long time ago. (Klutzy + skis do not add up to good times.) I do like to HIKE in snow and think this winter I’d like to give SNOW-SHOEing another shot. We went once a few winters back and we had kind of a weird experience (long story!) and the snowshoes the rental place put me in were WAY too huge for my kid-sized feet. But I think I’d really like it if I we go again. I’ve also never gone cross-country skiing and wonder if that’s something I’d like too.

What is your favorite winter activity / sport? Or one that you recommend I try? Drop me a comment!

OK Winter, if you insist on coming so early … BRING IT!! My fuzzy-ball hat and I are ready for you!

Have a GREAT Friday everyone!

– Shari B. =)

9 Responses to "Giving In to Old Man Winter"

Carrie says:

October 12, 2009 at 7:04 pm

Joan, I used heavy cream:-( I’m not very brave about trying substitutes. I usually follow recipes to the “T.” But…I’m sure a much healthier alternative would work just fine in the recipe.

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Joan says:

October 12, 2009 at 6:26 pm

pumpkin lasagna sounds WONDERFUL!! thanks for sharing. I”m gonna try it but am wondering…did you use heavy cream or substitute? am wondering if yougurt will do the trick?

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Carrie says:

October 12, 2009 at 10:45 am

Oh, and here’s the recipe, in case you’re interested in making it yourself: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pumpkin-lasagne

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Carrie says:

October 12, 2009 at 10:44 am

Hi Shari!

Just a quick note to say that my pumpkin lasagna was a huge HIT! Seriously, it was the talk of the party. I felt so good about it:-)

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Joan says:

October 10, 2009 at 8:06 pm

We love cross-country skiing and snowshoeing! Cross country skiing is a huge challenge for me as I never learned to ski as a kid so I fall alot, which makes the enjoyment scale slide but if you’re good at skiing you may just love it. My preference is snow-shoeing! It’s as fun as hiking and often you can go on the same trails year round just different foot gear. We bought show shoes and use them alot in the winter. We just rented skis wondering if the investment would be worth it. We haven’t been skiing in several years. Definately try both! And the right type of snow shoe is definately a must. There are different types of snow shoes depending on the type of snow you’ll be on. Get a knowledgeable sales person to really talk you through it before you buy. Renting is a great way to go till you’re sure.

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Carrie says:

October 9, 2009 at 10:53 am

Good morning Shari! I’m excited, too, that it’s Friday!

Last night I cooked with a new veggie – red Swiss chard! I made a homemade pumpkin (vegetarian, too) lasagna for a birthday party tonight. The recipe called for 2 lbs. of Swiss chard and since I doubled it for two pans, I bought a lot of Swiss chard. I won’t get to try it until tonight, but I’ll let you know if it turned out well.

Oh, also, I bought red pears at the market earlier this week – another “new” fruit for me. I’ve been putting them in my green smoothies.

I tell you – I don’t know how I’m going to get by bf to start eating his veggies. I served him a very simple, small salad with dinner last night and he would hardly touch it because it was “green.” Sigh!

Now – on to your question about winter sports. As you know, I love them! I highly suggest you give cross country skiing a try. It’s fun and a REALLY great workout. Plus, it’s very unlikely that you’ll end up with bruises AND all that activity sure warms you up when you’re outside in the cold snow.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Shari B. (FitFeat) says:

October 11, 2009 at 10:42 am

Hi Joan! OK, I’m definitely sold… I will try snowshoeing again this winter! Oh dear, if one falls while cross-country skiing, that may not be the sport for me! I can fall standing still! Hope you have a fantastic day!

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Shari B. (FitFeat) says:

October 11, 2009 at 10:45 am

Hey Carrie, check you out! I’m so impressed with all of the new foods and recipes you are trying!

How did the pumpkin lasagna turn out? It sounds terrific!!

The red pears sound great too… do they have a distinct taste that is different from green ones?

Sorry to hear that the BF isn’t joining your green bandwagon … trust me, we’re in the same shoes. I did get MSP to take a bite of my golden beet and one kale chip. Both of which he kind of made faces at. But I’m happy that he even TRIED them! That’s a big step. I think we will both have to get that Jessica Seinfeld book meant for hiding veggies in kids’ meals. You puree them and then add them to things and they never know!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

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Shari B. (FitFeat) says:

October 12, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Way to go Carrie! So glad the lasagna was a big success! Isn’t it so rewarding to have your dish be the one everyone loves at a party? And look how you are boosting all your friends’ nutrient levels Thanks so much for sharing the recipe – I’ll definitely be giving it a try (and tweaking the dairy to see how the MimicCreme works in it!)

have a great Monday!

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