Looking for an easy and delicious dinner?

Three words:

• Chicken
• Goat cheese
• Bacon

I had all three in my fridge today and was scratching my head on what to do with them for dinner. Stuffed chicken? Chicken and goat cheese salad? Some sort of encrusted chicken?

That’s when I decided to keep it easy. I cut the chicken breasts into tenders and rolled them with goat cheese in the middle and wrapped a slice of bacon on the outside. A toothpick down the center held everything in place.

See? Easy. Took me less than five minutes to make chicken, goat cheese, and bacon pinwheels.

They baked at 375 for 30 minutes.

The end result sort of resembled a pig’s snout.

Oink. Oink.

Or maybe it’s just me.

The stuffed pinwheels were delicious. Bacon really does make everything better, especially if there’s goat cheese is involved.

I served my pinwheels on a bed of wilted spinach with baked rutabaga.

Afternoon snack was a mix of nuts and dried fruit.

Dessert was the other half of yesterday’s peanut butter birthday cupcake (had to savor it as long as I could) and a sliver of Key Lime Pie.

Derek’s mother informed me that the Key Lime Pie recipe was courtesy of the Food Network and can be found here.

Wedding Page

After hours of making the process way more complicated than it should be, I *think* I have a Wedding Page set up.

And by *think* I mean it’s not 100% what I had in mind, but it works for now.

Now all wedding themed posts will skip the main page and head straight to the wedding page. They should still appear in Google Reader and all other RSS feeds. If they don’t – let me know.

Thanks to a few Facebook and Twitter friends, the process of setting it up was rather simple. Any Google searches of ‘How do I set up a separate tab of dedicated blogs posts’ resulted in very complicated explanations that involved messing with CSS code and FTP stuff.

It was Gretchen who shared that I first had to download the Ultimate Category Excluder plugin to set the page up.

The plugin allows you to select a category that will be excluded from the front page.

In my case, that category is Wedding.

Next, a wedding tab had to be created to feed all the posts categorized as ‘Wedding’

Which got me here.

Almost, but not quite. The posts were showing up as titles, not as full posts. A little googling and tweeting later, Britney told me (in thesis) to go to Design Options > Display Options > Archives and select Same as your homepage.

This allows the ‘archived’ posts to show in full length as they appear on the homepage.

Done. As long as I categorize posts as ‘wedding’ before I hit publish they will be posted directly to the ‘Wedding’ page of the blog and not on the homepage.

Wedding page is done.

Here is what I’m not 100% about.

• The posts will still appear in Google Reader as regular posts, which I’m fine with (there’s an option to block the posts from going to RSS feeds at all, but I wouldn’t want that). However, what I would LOVE to have is an option for readers to choose whether they want to subscribe to that particular feed or not.
• It’s a ‘category tab’ and not a regular page, so I can’t add sub-pages to it, such as a wedding post index. The index would really be for my benefit that others, since it’s a quick reference when finding posts. I already created one here and just filed it under ‘My Favorite Posts’   
• I’m just being picky here, but I would prefer the url be http://mealsandmiles.com/wedding instead of http://mealsandmiles.com/category/wedding Again, that’s being nit picky.

So there you go. A separate page where I can blog my little heart out on all things wedding related and try to lessen the load of wedding mania from the main page. At least that’s the plan. We’ll see how it goes.

I have a confession to make. Over the course of the year I went from coffee hater to coffee drinker. I survived high school, college, my first job, and even several 4:30am wake-up calls for long runs without drinking a drop, but as soon as I became self employed – and began working from coffee shops – the coffee love took over.

It started innocently enough with a BBC Caramello from Buddy Brew Coffee that led to a non-fat iced coffee from Starbucks to a latte from Sophie’s to a string of various other espresso and brewed coffee drinks from all over.

Oh yes. Now I look at these fancy coffee drinks with a look of longing. Hello, beautiful latte – why must you taste so good?

The problem is, this new-found addiction comes with a hefty price tag for both my wallet and my waistline. I can justify the price of the coffee because I’m technically ‘renting’ the coffee shop space and the ‘free’ wifi with my purchase, but the empty calories? Those were starting to take their toll.

When I noticed I was gaining weight this fall, one of the things I looked to cut back on was my new coffee intake. A cup of black coffee isn’t bad, but if you throw in the yummy steamed milk, froth, and various other fun elements – it begins to add up.

Here’s a few of my low(er) calorie ‘fun’ coffee faves

(calorie counts via Starbucks.com)

Grande Non-Fat Latte

Calories: 130

Description: espresso in steam milk with foam.

Tip: Top with cinnamon for a little spice. Do NOT top with nutmeg – it kills the foam.

Grande Non-Fat Cappuccino

Calories: 80

Description: espresso in steam milk with foam

Tip: Pick the cappuccino over the latte. There’s more espresso, less steamed milk, and more froth which is why the calorie count is a bit lower. Plus it tastes the same to me.

Tall Non-Fat Misto with Dark Roast

Calories: 60

Description: Brewed coffee with steamed milk

Tip: The darker roast is a bit richer in flavor and semi-resembles the espresso for a fake out latte or cappuccino at a lower price tag.

Grande Non-Fat Unsweetened Iced Coffee

Calories: Unknown. The calculator only spits out for sweetened version on Starbucks.

Description: coffee over ice

Tip: If you want it sweetened, ask for a single pump of sweetener instead of the traditional three or four. You still get the sweetened taste you desire, but you’re not being hit with as many calories. Also, request the coffee black and add your own milk so you can control how much goes in.

All of these drinks are sweetener free. I’m actually not a huge fan of sweetened tea or coffee and usually make a face when I try a sip of Derek’s coffee concoctions (he does two creamers and two splendas in a regular cup). To be fair, he makes a face when he tries my drinks too.

What are your favorite light(er) coffee options? Are you a sweet coffee drinker? Just milk? Straight up black?

From coffee to lunch.

Random salad for the win.

• mixed greens
• stir-fry mix of brussels sprouts, carrots, and turkey
• goat cheese
• avocado
• salsa

Lightly toasted tortilla.

Brides Against Breast Cancer

My good friend Rachel introduced me to the Bride Against Breast Cancer organization a couple of weeks ago and I immediately emailed them regarding upcoming volunteer opportunities. Unfortunately their Tampa event falls on the same weekend as my brother’s wedding, so I won’t be able to volunteer in person, but I’m more than happy to help get the word out.

If you are a Tampa Bay area bride-to-be looking for a dress, I urge you to check the Brides Against Breast Cancer Wedding Gown Sale next weekend. All the donated dresses are marked at a reduced price and proceeds help ensure that people impacted by cancer have the resources and information they need in their battle with cancer.

And if you’re not a bride in the Tampa area, check out the list of upcoming shows for opportunities to donate your own dress, volunteer, or attend a show in your area.

This is a great cause and I look forward to working with this organization more in the future!

Good Morning!

The St. Petersburg Half Marathon is just a few days away and I’m winding down my training this week with a few final workouts. Yesterday was my final NROLFW workout before the big day and this morning was my final speed session. I wanted to get a few miles in sub-my goal pace (technically my rainbows and unicorns goal pace) of 8:00 min/mi just to give my body a little bit of a speed shock before Sunday.

My goal: mile repeats – 3×1600 @ 7:45 w/ 2:00 rests

I didn’t have access to the track this morning so I just took off from my house and relied on my Garmin to tell me when a mile was up. My first mile was a little slower than I would like due to the lack of warm-up I gave myself.

Yes, I used to be one of those people who thought the runners doing laps at the start line of races were crazy. We’re about to run XX amount of miles – why tire ourselves out before we have too? Then I realized how important a warm-up is to not only loosening up your muscles to prevent injury, but also to get your legs to a place where they’re ready to take off as soon as the race starts.

My warm-up this morning consisted of walking to the end of the street. If I were really smart – and wanted to make the most out of my work-out – I would have jogged a quarter of a mile or so instead of just going for it. My legs took a while to realize what was going on and my first mile came in at 7:55 after struggling a bit to get my pace where I wanted it in the beginning.

The second mile was better. I overcompensated for my first mile and clocked in at 7:39.

The third mile was even better. At this point I threw my 7:45 ‘goal pace’ out the window and decided it would be fun to just push it. I finished in 7:35.

Negative splits and I finished feeling strong. I’ll take it.

I finished my workout with the Tone It Up Valentine’s Day Circuit.

This was great to do while watching Monday night’s premiere of Smash via the DVR. Did anyone else catch it? What did you think? I’ve been a big fan of Katherine McPhee since her American Idol days and thought she did a great job in the role. I’m interested in how they’ll turn the show’s premise into an entire series though. We’ll see.

Breakfast wasn’t quite as amazing as yesterday’s Key Lime Oats, but it worked.

One whole wheat english muffin slathered with honey peanut butter, pumpkin butter, raisins, and walnuts.

Yep, still on my walnut kick. I bought a new container last week and I’m already half way through it. I may have a walnut addiction on my hands – they’re just so good with everything!

1/2 of a fuji apple on the side.

Yes, that’s half. This apple was HUGE.

Time to get this day started.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

I discovered something amazingly delicious this afternoon.

Did you know key lime pie is a fabulous dip for apple slices? It is and it may be my new favorite snack.

Yum.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes today! Too old to celebrate or not, it was good day. It was especially nice to have a chance to talk to some friends and family I haven’t spoken to in a while. Gotta love birthdays for bringing people together (and reminding us we need to pick up the phone and call one another more often!).

Derek and I celebrated quietly this evening with my new favorite restaurant in Tampa – The Refinery.

After eating at The Refinery a few weeks ago with the girls, I knew I had to bring back Derek for dinner. I loved everything from the atmosphere, to the food, to the emphasis they place on preparing locally produced organic meals with a menu that rotates weekly to ensure seasonal freshness and I knew he would too.

I also knew he would appreciate the extensive craft beer menu as much as I did. Derek ordered a Highland Thunderstruck (a coffee porter) that I stole a few sips from through the evening. ‘Twas some good beer. I’ve had a soft spot for Highland beers since I toured the brewery a couple of summers ago.

We started with the Studyin’ on Potatoes: potato croquette, fried skins, skordalia, chervil crème fraiche, Mote Marine Siberian caviar

When the dish was placed in front of us Derek looked at the plate and goes “So basically it’s a giant mozzarella stick.” I told him yes, but filled with potato instead of cheese. Yum.

For my entree I went back and forth between the two vegetarian options (Grits ‘n’ Greens: cannellini beans, roasted heirloom tomatoes, chard, roasted mushroom, jalapeno or Farmer’s Pie: strawberry-serrano glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, brie, cauliflower-potato mash). Both sounded delicious, but ultimately our server sold me on the Farmer’s Pie when he declared it his favorite dish on this week’s menu.

He wasn’t kidding – the dish was amazing. The melted brie brought the cauliflower-potato mash to new levels of rich and decadent sinfulness that you usually don’t taste when the term ‘cauliflower mash’ is involved.

Derek ordered the burger and declared it the best $11 burger he had ever had.

I think it was the mix of sweet pepper jam and fresh watercress that put it over the edge. Also – the fries? Slightly burnt to perfection.  

On our way home we stopped at a local cupcake shop that I drive by all the time, but have never had the excuse to check out. Tonight was the perfect excuse.

One chocolate brownie rose for Derek and one peanut butter cupcake for me.

I had half of the peanut butter one when we got home and I have to give the local cupcake shop major props for putting out a great product. The cupcake was super moist and the peanut butter flavor was very evident and on the verge of being slightly overpowering – just the way I like it.

I tried a piece of Derek’s chocolate brownie rose as well. The owner told us they add brownie batter to the chocolate cupcake mix for an extra dense and rich brownie cupcake.

The chocolate cupcake was good, but I think the peanut butter wins for best cupcake of the two.

Now we’re watching tv and enjoying our last bit of time before bed. A quiet evening to end a quiet birthday.

Good Night!

I’m no stranger to negative comments. Trust me I’ve seen them all come through. I’ve been picked and pulled apart on everything from my grammar to my weight to my hair to my relationships to everything under the sun. I’ve read them and I’ve moved on. If I took each of them personally then they would have beat me down a long time ago. Want to be a blogger? Get a thick skin. Trust me.

Young House Love actually has a GREAT post on negative comments you should check it out HERE.

Anyways, negative comments aren’t really what I’m here to write about. What I want to talk about is this one comment in particular I received on this morning’s post.

The self-centered comments are always the most amusing because this is essentially an online diary of my life told by me. It’s my life through food and running and that includes whatever shape that life might take. I’m a girl who has a blog – that’s it.

Ok. Again – not the point. What got me was the part about essentially being too old to celebrate my birthday or the idea that once we are out of childhood that birthdays no longer matter. That is the part I completely disagree with.

Why is it that once we reach a certain age we are required to give up any trace of childhood happiness we have left? Why can’t we celebrate the one day of the year that is special to us because that’s the day we entered the world? Why can’t we act like a kid every once in a while and just be happy? Why can’t we have an excuse to indulge in things like cake for breakfast?

I love birthdays and I always have. I get it from my mom – her and my dad still take annual birthday trips every year (it helps that her birthday falls on a long holiday weekend). It’s their excuse to get away, act like kids and be romantic. That birthday anticipation countdown? My mom does that too. She’s not afraid of getting older, she actually embraces it and is always excited to celebrate a new year. I am my mother’s daughter and I couldn’t be more thankful to her for that. She instilled that sense of joy and youthfulness that I never want to lose.

Birthdays don’t stop happening once you stop being a child and I believe you shouldn’t stop celebrating them either. It should be a happy day where using the excuse ‘but, it’s my birthday! should be completely acceptable, especially when getting out of doing the dishes. Or a day where knowing it’s your birthday is all it takes to put a smile on your face. You’ve made it another year – good for you!

It’s not just our own birthday either – it’s even better when we go all out for others. Making birthday dinners, desserts, or even buying presents for the people we love on their birthdays (young or old) never gets old. My future brother-in-law’s birthday is on Sunday and last night I was asking Derek in the car what his favorite cookie was so I could make a batch for him. He’ll be 22 and I think a big batch of his favorite cookies with a side of birthday balloons, candles, and any other throwback we can think of to birthdays of his youth will be just what he needs to put a smile on his face. Yes, he has a beautiful 8 month old daughter, but he can still act like a kid too.

Birthdays are an excuse to have fun – no matter the age or circumstances. Enjoy it while you and make the most of it.

These are just my opinions. Obviously the commenter above has hers too. What are yours? Is there a time where we start being too old to celebrate our birthdays? Please share.

I’m not the only one celebrating a birthday today either.

Happy Birthday to my twin brother Josh!

You’ll never guess how old he’s turning!?!?

Three things never to ask to a set of Boy/Girl Twins:

1. Are you guys identical?! (Think on that one and get back to me)
2. Is it his/her birthday too? (unless there was a funky labor involved – then yes)
3. How old is your twin turning?! (no comment)

You’d be surprised how often we’re asked those. Especially the first one. And if you’re still thinking about the answer to that one, then I’m just going to sit here and shake my head with a big goofy grin on my face until you figure it out.

And we’re not alone celebrating this week either.

This morning Maddie received an invitation to one of her doggie friend’s birthday celebrations.

Yes, Maddie was invited to a dog’s birthday party. But, like I said above, birthdays are worth celebrating no matter the age or animal.

Maddie is actually confused for Ginger a lot by neighbors. I can see the resemblance from when Ginger was a bit younger.

But at almost 14? Eh.

I hope Maddie’s getting a good glimpse into her future whenever she sees Ginger. That’ll be you in 11 years, my young Maddie.

Speaking of Maddie – she’s still at my parents house and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get her and bring her home. I miss her. Even Derek confessed to missing her today. The house isn’t the same without her.

Lunch today was a set of pretty tasty lunch meat tacos.

Each tortilla was filled with:

• mixed greens
• turkey
• carrot
• avocado
• cheese
• salsa
• walnuts

They were really, really good. I think it was the salsa. Everything is better with salsa.

I have a few errands to run before the day is over. Happy hump day everyone!

(oops… blurry self portrait.)

So that’s what 27 looks like? Hmm… could have fooled me.

Today I am 27, but I swear I look in the mirror and still see that 17 year old girl pictured above. And even though I’ve been 21 for over 6 years now *gulp* I still get nervous when someone IDs me, like they’re going to catch me pretending to be an age I’m not. I really can’t be that old. Can I?

But I am.

Old enough to have been out of high school for 9 years, old enough to be out of college for 5, old enough to pay my own bills, old enough to be planning my future wedding, and old enough for my baby brother to be planning his too. Darn it. I’m old.

But in my heart of hearts, I know I’m really not that old. I still have too many dreams to pursue and too much life to live to sell myself short. So yes I’m one year older, but I’ll just attribute that to one year wiser. At 27 I know I can run faster, longer, and harder than that 17 year old, I can cook better than that 20 year old, hold my liquor better than that 21 year old, and am more open to love and forgiveness than that 24 year old.

I’m 27 and – darn it! – I’m proud of it. Happy Birthday to me. Here’s to many, many, many more years of happy memories through this crazy journey that is my life. This is still only the beginning and it’s just going to keep getting better.

I kicked off my birthday with a morning gym session. 20 minutes on the treadmill followed by the last workout of NROLFW 6A. I didn’t even realize I was on the last workout until I got there, stage 6 has really flown by.

I was really tempted to have a repeat of the amazing birthday cake pancakes from last year.

Sooooooo good.

But all we had in the pantry was brownie mix.

Fail. I’m sure the brownie mix would have been just as delicious in the cake batter pancakes recipe, but the more I thought about it, the more I really just wanted to make the pancakes because I knew they would look cool on the blog. What I really wanted was leftover Key Lime Pie. On top of oats. With sprinkles.

Not nearly as pretty as the pancakes would have been, but this was exactly what my birthday mouth was craving. Key Lime Pie for breakfast? Still sounds like an excellent birthday meal to me.

What’s your ideal birthday breakfast? Birthday cake? Oats? Steak and eggs?

Happy Birthday!

Birthdays are starting to sneak up on me. Didn’t I just turn 26 yesterday? Sheesh.

My actual birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but Derek’s parents were kind enough to invite us over for an early birthday dinner tonight. I was flattered they even thought of me, I guess this means I’m really part of the family now – official birthday dinners and all.

We all sat around and drank wine and nibbled on shrimp and cocktail sauce while Derek and I filled them in on our New York and Vermont adventures. For four people, those little shrimpies went incredibly fast.   

Dinner was delicious. Derek’s Dad grilled salmon on a cedar plank while his mom prepared a lovely salad, wild rice, and veggies. It was the perfect birthday meal.

However, the real treat was the dessert.

When we were in Key West last month, Derek’s Dad told me he could make a mean homemade key lime pie. Of course, I told him he had to make it for me the minute he had the chance. So he did. Last night he squeezed 24 fresh-from-the-farmer’s-stand key limes and made a birthday key lime pie just for me. I had a slice with a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie that Derek’s mom made.   

The pie was tart, sweet, and the best homemade key lime pie I’ve ever had. He did an excellent job and I can’t wait to dive into the leftovers he sent me home with. There may be breakfast dessert in my future.

Present time!

My future in-laws know me well. I was gifted with a travel pillow (I sooo need this), a sport towel (also need this), and….

a new lunch box!

How cute is that? It’s the perfect size to hold decent sized tupperware, there’s a side pockets for napkins, and my name is on it. I may just pack my lunch tomorrow and take it to park just because I can.

Thank you Hilda and Steve! Dinner was wonderful.

Now I’m stuffed and ready for bed. Here’s to my last night as a 26 year old – it’s been fun!

Good Night!

Ouch. They burn! They burn! My abs burn!

Have you been participating in the Tone It Up Toned in ’12 challenge? I haven’t, but I saw their Toned in ’12 Abs Circuit floating around Pinterest and after hearing Britney rave about the workout I decided to give it a shot.

Ideally you’re suppose to repeat the circuit 6 times and follow up with your ‘fastest mile ever.’ One set in, I was already feeling the burn. Three sets in, I had to call uncle and take an extended break. Five minutes later I went back for part II and was cursing the Tone It Up girls for deciding 6 was the magic number of sets. Man, that burned.

I tried the ab circuit after my 5 mile run, so I didn’t take off for a mile after the circuit, but I can see how that could have added to the challenge. I need to find a way to build this circuit (and variations of this circuit) into my weekly routine. Hurt. So. Good.

My run before the ab circuit was just ok. I’m currently in the ‘I’m so not ready for this race on Sunday’ panic mode, but I’m trying not to let it get the best of me. What happens, will happen and I’ll just have to re-evaluate and move on from there.

Breakfast was the return to an old classic.

Why, hello cereal. Long time no see.

In the mix:

1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crisp

1/2 cup Cinnamon Life Cereal

Plain Chobani

Strawberries

Blueberries

Walnuts

Nothing out of the ordinary, but that didn’t stop it from being delicious. My walnut kick and still going steady and holding strong.

What’s the best circuit workout you’ve discovered lately via the web? Please share!

Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day!

Clearly a day that needs to be celebrated, especially when the promise of free yogurt is being thrown my way.

I discovered Yogurtland’s National Frozen Yogurt Day freebie happy hour via Facebook (thanks Callie!) and couldn’t pass up a chance to score some free frozen yogurt on my way home from the gym.

Surprisingly the place wasn’t packed. There were a few families and about as many workers on hand to usher everyone in and out. I asked if there was anything special that needed to be done for the free fro-yo, but was simply instructed to fill my cup up with yogurt as normal, add the toppings, and grab a spoon.

The cups were about half the size as normal ones, which meant they were the perfect size. Why don’t self-serve yogurt places carry the smaller size year around? I would be a fan.

I filled my cup with a mix of yogurts that looked good then topped it all with strawberries, blackberried, chocolate candy pieces and a frosted animal cracker.

The fro-yo made for an excellent snack, and you really can’t beat the prize. Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day to me, indeed.

Lunch was a fun combo this afternoon of what we randomly had on hand when we returned from our trip.

I heated up a steam-in-the-bag bag of mixed vegetables that I added to a bed of mixed greens with some canned chickpeas, walnuts, and a homemade dressing. It was a 5 minute lunch that was actually served pretty hot thanks to the steam-in-a-bag veggies.   

I did some work at home before heading to the gym in the later portion of the afternoon. It was packed, but I was still able to grab one of the ‘good’ treadmills to get a run in. I started at 6.5 before moving up to 7.0 and 7.5 for 5-ish minutes at a time. I ended up completing 3 miles ins 26 minutes.

After my run it was time for NROLFW 6B. Today was 4 sets of 4 at a slightly higher weight. I think I’ve just about maxed out on weight for this stage. I was really struggling pushing and pressing 25lb weights over my head. Burn, baby, burn.

Dinner was one of my favorite post-trip meals: roasted vegetables with pasta sauce.

I roasted sweet potato, parsnip, and brussels sprouts at 415 for 30 minutes then topped the mix with marinara sauce, roasted chicken, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

When ever Derek and I are are in our ‘What should we have for dinner? I don’t know – what do you want’ funks, this meal is always his first suggestion. It’s definitely an easy favorite of ours that please both parties.

Good Night!

Hello from high in the sky!

Derek and I caught a super early flight this morning and are currently on our way home to Tampa from NYC. Waking up at 5:00am and catching a cab by 5:45am was a pain in the butt, but landing before lunch time and having the whole day to play catch up will be worth it.

I had just enough time before we boarded to grab a Mango Peach Topper from Jamba Juice with an added scoop of peanut butter.

Jamba Juice has a great granola. It’s really nutty and full of flax and sunflower seeds, it’s the perfect airport breakfast on the go. The added peanut butter also gives the smoothie a little more lasting powering through the flight.

A hot tea was added to wake and warm me up.

We’re back on JetBlue and I’m learning to appreciate that they don’t have WiFI on board. It’s great to disconnect, but still have access to my computer to work on a few projects. I feel more focused with less distractions and have been cranking things out. Maybe I need to turn the internet off when I’m working on deadline projects in the future more often?

Inflight snacks.

Inflight sleeping fiance.

[insert photo that was mysteriously deleted from my camera]

My legs are antsy to run.

Are we there yet?