Hey hey!  How’s your Wednesday been?  I feel like I’ve done a gazillion things since leaving work today!  Although I hate getting up early to be there by 7 AM each day, it’s nice to be able to leave shortly after 2 when I have a lot to do at home. 

As soon as I got home, I threw a load of laundry into the washer, and dashed right back out the door to the gym.  I really wanted to run today, but I wasn’t feeling too motivated to get out there.  When my motivation is lacking, I do 2 things:

• Change into workout clothes & get right back out the door (no hanging out!)
• Try a new workout

I find that if I let myself sit down when my motivation is low, it’s a lot harder to get back up!  A new workout always gives me a little something to look forward to, so that ups my motivation, too!  I consulted my trusty workout notebook for inspiration.

 

I keep this little notebook in my gym bag, and fill it with different workouts.  When I just need to get my butt moving, it’s there to tell me what to do!  I wasn’t feeling any particular workout in there today, so I mashed together a few different options to come up with this, which I’ve named, “The Schweaty Mess Maker,” since that’s exactly what it made me by the time I was done!

After warming up on the elliptical for about 10 minutes, I completed the following on the treadmill at a 0 incline.  Hills on the treadmill are just not my forte!

Minute	Pace
0-5	6.3
5-10	6.5
10-15	7.0
15-30	7.5
30-35	7.0
35-40	6.5
40-45	6.3
45-50 (cool down)	4.0
Total Distance	5.5 miles

For someone who didn’t want to run today, this workout totally hit the spot.  I credit warming up on the elliptical first to my success!  I’ve been reflecting a bit on why my race didn’t go so well on Saturday.  I realize now that I wasn’t properly warmed up and that I went out way too fast.  I like to ease into a run.  The first mile or so is always kinda iffy for me, but then by mile 2 or 3, I hit my stride and feel great!  I’m glad that I realized this because now I know how to better approach my next race!

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Run complete, I buzzed back home to throw in a second load of laundry and clean the kitchen and bathroom.  I’m doing multi-duty chores tonight since I was out to dinner last night and didn’t get the chance.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how this whole during the week chore thing would hold up, but I really like it!  I crave order and cleanliness and this routine feeds into that perfectly. 

As I was doing my chores, I started feeling a bit snacky.  I didn’t really want a whole meal, but I wanted something!  Enter grape tomatoes!

I always buy the biggest container they carry at the store, and it still isn’t enough!  They are just so perfectly poppable!  I could eat them all day!

For dinner, I decided to keep right on snacking, with a plate of pita chips and baba ghanoush for one!

Baba-huh? you say?  Baba Ghanoush, of course!  If you haven’t tried it before, it’s simply a grilled eggplant spread made with garlic, lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil.  You didn’t think I’d leave you with half an eggplant sitting in your fridge now, did you?

As promised, I’m using up all of the Party of One ingredients so nothing goes to waste!  Here you have it!

Baba Ghanoush

Serves one

1/2 small eggplant, sliced and grilled

1/2 T. tahini

1/2 T. minced garlic

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 lemon, juiced (~1/2 T.)

1 T. olive oil

1 T. fresh basil (optional)—I had some, so I threw it in

pita chips, for dipping

Apparently, I decided to use all of my appliances tonight.

Oh dear.  Do you ever find that sometimes the simplest things require a lot of equipment?  I mean, this is beyond easy to throw together, but judging by that countertop, it doesn’t look that way!  I promise it is, though!  Hang with me!

OK, so start by seasoning your eggplant with S&P and grilling it up for about 4 minutes on each side.  When it’s done, take it off the grill and let it cool a bit before chopping it up. 

Add the tahini, garlic, cumin, and lemon to the food processor.  If you’ve never tried tahini before, all it is is ground up sesame seeds made into a paste.  It has the consistency of a natural nut butter, but it’s not at all sweet.  Trust me, I tried it.  Not all that tasty on its own, but *key* here.  I found mine at the Fresh Market, but I think larger grocery store chains would probably have it.

Add in the chopped eggplant and basil (if using).

Be sure the food processor is plugged in.  Not that mine wasn’t or anything.  I totally didn’t spend 5 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with it and why it wouldn’t turn on!

So then, let ‘er rip until the eggplant is all ground up and the skin is in little bits.  Then stream the olive oil into the top of the food processor while it’s still running.

Process another minute or so and you’ve got yourself Baba Ghanoush! 

Served up with some of these bad boys:

I could legit eat an entire bag of these, so I portioned mine out, all pretty-like.

Ready for munchin’! 

I had never added basil to my Baba Ghanoush before, but I really liked the freshness it added!  Of course, I think I like fresh basil in anything so I’m not really surprised!

Perfect little munchy dinner!  I’ve also made this on a larger scale for a crowd, and it is a pleaser, so try it for your next get together!  Your guests will think it’s fancy! 

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Hate to cut this short, friends, but I still have quite a few things on tonight’s to-do list!  They include painting my toenails (to disguise the fact that I am in desperate need of a pedicure!), and packing!

 

I’m headed out of town right after work tomorrow for a long weekend, so I’ve got to get everything ready to go tonight! 

Wish me luck.  I am not a huge fan of packing.  But I’m even less of a fan of un-packing, so I would rather be doing this!  Plus, I get to see this lady tomorrow!

Hi, Mama!  See you soon!

 

Which do you hate more—packing or unpacking???