A few tasty recipes for ya

I hate grocery shopping. Loathe it. But I LOVE opening my fridge and finding tons of fresh fruits and veggies just waiting to be gobbled up. I always get so excited and I don't know what to eat first. =)

I found this AMAZING recipe for a lentil brussel burger. We'll be making this for lunch tomorrow so I'll let you know how it turns out. It has lentils, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes all mashed into a patty and served with an avocado cream sauce. Some of my absolute favorite foods. My mouth is watering. I can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

I'm also working on a carrot sweet potato soup. Unfortunately, the parsnips and carrots looked less than stellar tonight at the store so I have to go looking somewhere else tomorrow. I really wish we had a decent farmer's market near me. Walmart produce just doesn't cut it.

I found a recipe for fudge last night. Oh. My. Goodness. So ridiculously easy and delicious. Which is really, really bad. Because now whenever I have a sweet tooth I'm only a few minutes away from this fudge. That's not good. I made it tonight and have already eaten 2 4 pieces. And it's everything I can do to stay in my seat and not wander through the kitchen.

Yesterday's run was brutal. Sometimes an 8 mile run just flies by and I feel energized and strong at the end. Sometimes - not so much. I went two miles and could barely make it back home. I couldn't find a rhythm. (The rhythm is gonna getcha...sorry! Now that's going to be in my head all night!) My feet were all over the place. I felt battered and bruised this morning. I took today off completely. Tomorrow morning my run is going to feel effortless and fast. Right? Right. =)

Insert witty title here :)

I realized something today. Actually, two different somethings. =) This morning on my run I kept passing the same few people over and over. The second time I passed an older couple they laughed and said, "You need to slow down. You're making us look old!"  I passed a younger guy running and he said, "Geesh girl, you're flying." On my 4th mile, a guy asked me how many I had done so far and I told him 4 today. He shook his head and said wow. I kinda got a chuckle out of that since this was my shorter run this week. As I was jogging my cool down mile I realized that when people see me running they see a runner. They no longer see a fat girl trying to run to lose weight! It really hit me because it's taken awhile for my brain to catch up and realize I'm not overweight anymore.

Then tonight while I was sitting in class I felt the old negative self-talk creeping into my head. The girl that sits next to me is a tall, thin, gorgeous girl. Each week she happily munches away at a bag of Doritos, slurps down a HUGE shake or one of those energy drinks - but she's still a size 0. If that. It's sickening. And she makes sure that her body is clearly visible even on nights like tonight - windy, raining, and 45 degrees. I hate sitting next to her because it makes me feel so fat and disgusting. I'm constantly criticizing myself. Why can't I look like that? Why can't I have her stomach? Why can't I be 5 ft.10 with mile-long legs? =)

I overheard her and a few other girls talking tonight and she was saying bragging about how she's just naturally thin and doesn't have to work out. Someone asked her how old she was and she said 19. Then all of a sudden it hit me. When I was 19 I ate like a cow and was a size 0 too. In a few years when age, time, and years of bad habits have caught up to her - I'll be the skinny one!!  And not only that, I may not be a size 0 but I am strong, healthy, and the only one in my class that doesn't ride the elevator to the 3rd floor.

And to top it all off, I took my measurements today and found out I lost 3 inches around my waist in one month!!! Whoo Hoo!!! Go me! =)