Tuesday Tangents, Bloggie Birthday, and Lo Mein

Guess what I missed?!?!?

Yesterday was Running Around Hungry’s one-month birthday!!!

...and I missed it!!   This whole time I’ve been thinking I started the blog on the 19^th of June…only to find out that it was the 16^th.  This month has been such a learning experience and yet so rewarding!  I will definitely be continuing.  I am really starting to get into this blogging stuff! J

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Here are some tangents for today:

1. Dr. Oz

Now that I am off during the day (perks of being a teacher), I get to watch Dr. Oz.  I love this show!  So much useful information!  I love his healthful tips, and the explanations about medical things that he provides.  A lot of the topics he covers are about things I might have never known about if not for his show.  I have started writing down all of his tips especially on supplements and things I should be eating/drinking.  The problem is that my list of teas-and-supplements-to-buy is growing way too long! 

2. Instagram

I am new to Instagram as I have only recently installed the app.  I’m loving it, though, and am slowly building my list of who-to-follow.  I need your suggestions on “must-follow-people”, and would love a few followers of my own!  Please follow me – my username is letiortdur.  Leave me your username in the comments and I’ll follow you too!

3. the Olympics are coming!

The countdown is officially at T-10 days…and I can’t wait!!!!  I have always loved watching Gymnastics, Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming and Track and Field.  However, this will be my first Olympics since I became a runner and am so excited to see our marathon teams (male and female) kick some long-distance butt!!!!  #London2012

4. President Obama was in Texas today!

President Obama attended some fund-raising events in San Antonio and Austin today.  Totally wish I could have been there!  Whatever your views on who should win the election in November, you have to admit knowing that the POTUS is in your state…in a city only 2 hrs away…is still pretty cool!  Or maybe I’m just #cheesylikethat!  By the way, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit this but, I just today figured out what the heck POTUS meant!  I’ve seen President Obama referred to as POTUS on Twitter before but until today did not put two and two together.  Embarrassing! #imalittleslowsometimes

5. I collect quotes

…and I have since I was in 6^th grade!  I started a binder when I was in 6^th grade and started putting poems and quotes that I liked in it…and I still have it to this day!  The binder and the habit of collecting quotes, that is.  I have always loved motivational phrases that inspire you to do better and be better, and even collect Spanish ones!  Honestly, this is part of what drew me to Pinterest.  I love all of the inspirational pictures, and find myself pinning the motivational quotes and fitness motivation all the time!  Anytime I hear (or see) a quote I like, I jot it down – on napkins, in my phone, in my notebooks…whatever I happen to have on hand!

6. "Letters to God"

Last night the fam and I watched “Letters to God.”  I had heard a lot about the movie when it first came out but we never got around to seeing it.  When I was at Dollar General last week I picked up the movie out of the $3.99 previously viewed bin.  We – all three – enjoyed the movie!!  I cried way too much a few times throughout the movie…and my daughter did too.  It really hit home for her, I guess because it was based on a little boy close to her age.  She was so into the movie and afterwards, we had a long talk about cancer, and her own health scare at the age of two.  It felt good to discuss these things.  In my opinion, sometimes the best thing you can do, instead of shielding your child from scary/disturbing things, is face them together because it gives you a chance to talk about it and clear up any confusions/misconceptions.  My mother was always very open and honest with me – some would even say too open and honest – but it always kept the lines of communication and truth open between us…and besides, I didn’t turn out so bad! ;-)  I highly recommend seeing this movie as a family.  It’s one of those feel-good, heart-warming tales that we just don’t get that often in Hollywood anymore!

7. Dinner success (again!)

For dinner tonight I tried my hand at making LoMein, one of our favorite Chinese dishes.  My version was loosely based on a Quick-and-easy Rachel Ray one, only hers was a Veggie LoMein recipe and I added meat.  Three kinds of meat, in fact!  I added thin beef steak (which I cut into strips and marinated in soy sauce and Sriracha), chicken, and shrimp. 

It was really good, and had excellent flavor from all of the fresh garlic, ginger root, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce.  It was a lot easier than I thought; the secret was having all of the ingredients ready to throw into the hot wok.  Here is a quick summary of how I made it. 

Leti’s Delectable Lo-Mein

1.         First I put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.  I used whole grain (of course), thin spaghetti and cooked it according to the package directions.

2.      Next, I got out my wok and heated it with some dark sesame seed oil.  Then I tossed in the freshly chopped garlic, ginger root, and green onion in to sautee. 

3.      Then I added in the beef and chicken, along with some Oyster sauce, Sriracha, and Low-Sodium Soy Sauce and cooked it a bit.

4.     The chopped cabbage was added next, and I cooked the mixture a bit more.

5.      Next I added the shrimp, which I added last so they wouldn’t over cook and get tough.

6.     Last, I added in the pasta, which I had drained after it finished cooking and set aside.  Along with the pasta, I added in a little bit more soy sauce and sautéed it all together a little bit more.  The LoMein is now ready to enjoy!!!

Although super delicious, it did not have that wonderful smoky flavoring that my favorite restaurant LoMein has.  Anyone know what that secret smoky seasoning is?  If you do know what it is, puh-leeeez leave me a comment and clue me in!  I definitely want to add it to future LoMeins that I make.  My family and I thank you in advance!! J

Those are my Tuesday Tangents.  I hope you enjoyed them!  What are some of your tangents today?

SERIOUSLY good!

Just wanted to write a short post because I have to tell you about our dinner tonight!

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But first, I want to send a big SHOUT OUT to the USA and Brazilian National Basketball teams for playing against each other tonight.  Because of you, I was able to stay on the treadmill and did 4.5 miles instead of the 2 miles I had planned to do. 

Does anyone know who won?!  When I stepped off the treadmill it was the end of the 1st quarter and the score was 27 (Brazil) - 17 (USA).  It was an exciting game!

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Okay, now on to what I REALLY wanted to talk about:

This dinner was "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!" delicious!

Omigoodness!  When we went grocery shopping yesterday the hubs got a wild hair and decided we needed to buy salmon steaks.  For the record, I LOOOOOOOVES me some salmon!  I could probably eat it everyday with spinach and be happy.  But I had never had salmon steaks.  Nor did I know how to cook one.


Nevertheless, I used my common sense and cooked it like I do any steak: lots of coarse Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (for some nice crusting action) and a hot, searing pan...and then into the oven to finish cooking. 

Searing the salmon steaks in a hot skillet.

Now I realize that this cut of meat is not the leanest, being that it has the skin still on.  But let me tell you, the few extra calories is totally worth the taste pay-off!!!  There really is something to be said for meat with a bone in it.  Normally I prefer no bones, but in this case I was completely sold!


To go along with the steaks, I made a baby-Penne pasta in a light alfredo sauce (out of a jar, nothing fancy!) with some steamed peas mixed in.  I had originally planned to have brown rice but I never got around to making it earlier today and needed something quick and easy.  I think this simple pasta was definitely the way to go!  I also had a tiny bit of spinach that I steamed just to give myself a second veggie, since I always try my best to have two.

Simple and easy pasta dish.

It was delish and we've decided to add this to our monthly menu!



What did you have for dinner tonight?  What are your favorite Salmon recipes?!  Please share, I need some more ideas!!

Positive feedback and a yummy recipe

I feel so loved!  Being featured as a “Real Fit Mom” on Skinnymom.com today goes on my LifeList as being one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me!  I am so incredibly humbled and honored by the all of the positive feedback!  I received so many words of encouragement from friends, family, and (even) people I have never even met through Facebook,Twitter, and even on Pinterest.  The best part about it is that I have had the chance to connect with so many others who have struggled through, or are still in the midst of, their own weight loss journey.  Thanks again, SkinnyMom, for the awe-inspiring opportunity!

I promised I would let you know how the pasta from last night turned out.   Let’s just say, it was so good, we ate it for dinner last night and breakfast and lunch today!  That whole concoction is definitely a keeper!  Since it did turn out so tasty, I’d like to share the recipe with you. 

Pesto-stuffed Tortellini with Italian Sausage and Spinach

Ingredients: Three-cheese Italian sausage, Trader Joe’s Pesto-stuffed Tortellini, spaghetti sauce, spinach, red pepper flakes, onion, garlic (no such thing as too much garlic!), parsley, oregano, and basil (I used dried but prefer using fresh herbs.)

These are the ingredients you will need.

Preparation:

1.    For pasta: fill a large pot full of water, drizzle of oil and large dash of salt, bring to a boil.

2.    Once water is boiling, add in pasta and boil for the required time.

3.    Meanwhile, dice the onion and mince garlic.  Add to another pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of dashes of red pepper flakes.  Sautee until translucent. Add in sliced sausage. 

4.    Once the sausage is nice and cooked (I like mine slightly crispy around the edges), add in a couple of large handfuls of spinach.  Move around the pan until the spinach has a chance to wilt.

5.    After the spinach wilts, pour in spaghetti sauce and your seasonings and herbs.  Turn heat on low and let simmer so that all the seasonings and flavors will meld.

6.    By now the pasta should be ready so you can drain it, saving about a ½ cup of the pasta water (this, when added to the sauce, will help it thicken).

7.    Once the mixture has simmered, pour it on top of the pasta and carefully mix it up, so as not to rip open the tortellini.

8.    Your finished product will look like this:

9.    Top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or whichever cheese tickles you fancy and enjoy! J

Sunday Funday

This is what I did for the majority of the day.

Not sure who enjoyed it more, Bella or me. LOL

That is my idea of a Sunday Funday.  Please don’t judge.  My how times have changed!  Before our daughter, our idea of Sunday Funday was brunch on a patio with bottomless Mimosas or Sangrias, surrounded by our friends.  I must admit, present-day Sunday Funday on the couch in my jammies, napping on-and-off all day, surrounded by the ones that I love is waaaayyy better! J

It was rainy and stormy for the most of the day so we took advantage of this and stayed in.  After a week full of travel, business, and fun, today’s laziness definitely hit the spot! 

I finally got up and moving around 6:30pm, and got dressed for my run.  Although I adopted a “by any means necessary” attitude yesterday when I went for my late-night run, I decided to run at a decent hour today, like most #normalwhatsnormal people do.  Running late at night by yourself, with only a sixteen-pound dog and pepper spray for protection?  Crazy, I know, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.  And while I’m glad I can scratch that off of my bucket list, I definitely will NOT be doing that again!  Can you say #dangerous?!

Now I’m about to cook up some Trader Joe’s pesto-stuffed tortellini with Italian sausage and spinach for dinner.  Then I’ll continue my Sunday Funday, on the couch, in front of the television.  I have plans to watch Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.  I’m sooo late in the game since it will be my first time watching it!

I’m off to get my cook on and watch the tube.  I’ll let you know how the pasta turns out!

Five questions for you:

How did you spend your Sunday Funday?

1. Have you ever run at night?  How did it go?
2. What kind of good grub did you enjoy today?
3. Have you ever seen Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition?
4. What are your must-watch television shows?