Hi all. Hope you’re week is zooming by and that life is treating you well 
I’m feeling a certain déjà vu today…I’m off to Derbyshire again this afternoon exactly like last week. And again, I won’t be back until Friday. But it’s a good project and I’m really stretching my skill capabilities so I’m a happy bunny (a happy terrified bunny I must add, being outside my comfort level – no gain without pain I guess).
And then Saturday Ben and I fly to Bulgaria to go skiing for a week! I might have mentioned this a few times already so please forgive me, but I am SO excited. I have images of myself gliding effortlessly down huge vertical mountains with the wind in my hair. I’m guessing that reality is going to be a leeeeetle different. More like me looking like Bambi on ice. Hey, a girl can set her expectations high can’t she!?
So it’s What I Ate Wednesday. As always thank you Jenn for hosting the party!
This is what I ate Monday. It’s a fairly typical day of what I eat at work, with a rather adventurous (for me) meal in the evening.
Breakfast: no changes here I’m afraid. Oatmeal cooked with almond milk. It. Never. Gets. Old.
I have about 2/3 cup (60g) mixed with water and almond milk (more almond milk than water). I am comfortably full after this. I always think that I’m a greedy beast with this portion as other bloggers seem to always go for 1/2 cup…but it’s not about comparison!
Though last week at the hotel I did shake things up a bit and enjoyed a bit of a fry-up (bacon, mushrooms, scrambled egg, tomatoes and a black pudding). And I imagine I’ll be eating the same Thursday and Friday this week as it’s the same hotel we’re going to.
Lunch: this is my usual go-to lunch for work. Tuna salad (leaves, beet, tinned tuna, tomatoes, cucumber, steamed random veg).
It’s a monster of a salad and I love eating it at work while reading blogs. It’s like my down-time of chilling. I hate it when people interrupt me during this time. I give them the ANNA STARE. Or at least I mentally give them the STARE while I pleasantly smile at them and hope they’ll hurry up their interruption 
This is following by a goat’s cheese Babybell – best flavour EVER. Sorry no picture. Imagine a little circular wedge of deliciousness.
And then fruit with plain yogurt.
This time it was two kiwis. And thanks to a post from Jemma from Celery and Cupcakes ages ago I know I can eat the skin! Lovely.
And then mid-afternoon I snacked on these:
A re-used photo, but basically exactly the same; carrots!
Then an apple and a banana about 4 o’clock to tide me over until dinner (apple and banana o’clock I fondly call this time as it’s always the same at this time).
Dinner: I was torn between making meatloaf and making burgers with some beef mince that I had. In the end I based it on THIS recipe and instead of making meatloaf (as frankly I was HUNGRY and didn’t want to wait 45 mins) I batched up little balls of the mince mixture and put them in a muffin baking tin.
Beef Chunky Meat Balls (serves 2)
- 500g extra lean beef mince
- Half bell pepper, diced
- Small zucchini, grated
- Small white onion, diced
- 2 egg whites
- 2 beef stock cubes, crumbled
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- 2 tbs. Worcestshire sauce
- 2 tsp. dried rosemary
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- Pepper (don’t need salt due to stock cube)
– Preheat oven to about 180C.
– Then combine it all in a large bowl, and then make individual little balls to pop into a muffin tin.
– Cook for at least 20 minutes, or until browned all over.
Mince never really photos well…but basically you can sort of see the little meatballs. Ben and me are not usually big beef eaters, we prefer chicken or turkey. We never eat steak just because we don’t like how chewy it is. These though were AMAZING, really nice flavour.
I had cauliflower mash (with a bit of Philadelphia mixed in) and steamed veg with this. Really good filling, hearty meal. Ben loved them as well. Though he had his with ketchup. I just had mine on their own and they were a flavour sensation
Fitness: So I was really proud of myself last week because I had a great week of running. And, to bore you all to hell and back, with my Garmin on the laptop now I can really analyse my runs. Apologies now if this is too much info!!
Monday: 6 miles tempo run. I kept it slow on the first mile, then tried to keep around 8 mins/mile for the three middle miles but slowed down again at the end.
Tuesday: 4 miles interval running, with my intervals aiming at 6mins/mile.
Wednesday: rest day.
Thursday: 3 miles interval running (no details as I was a total treadmill dunce).
Friday: I had intended to just do an easy run or some rowing but I got into it and did another 3 mile interval run (and figured out how to view the summary of my run!)
Saturday: my first 10 miler. This run was one of those amazing runs when you enjoy the whole damn thing. I started off running with Ben to ensure I kept my pace down at the beginning. Then I naturally found myself speeding up after we parted (2 miles in) and I was comfortably running between 8.30mins and 8mins a mile. I didn’t feel that I was even pushing myself, it was just perfect. So I’m fairly pleased with my overall time:
My legs ached a lot after this. I went to Pilates afterwards which was really nice as it stretched my muscles out soo well. I also recently purchased a foam roller…
This was SO PAINFUL. Like good pain, but PAINFUL pain, you know. Ben thought it was hilarious but I made him have a go and that stopped his laughter. Ha. Definitely going to try and use this more as it really felt like it helped my muscles.
Though I’m enjoying my little business trips and having a change of scenery I just want the next few days to speed up so I can go on holiday!
Have you used a foam roller before? Love or hate?
Which do you prefer, meatloaf or burgers?
Do you over-analyse your work out stats?
Well done on your running, you seem to be doing really well. The sun is shining and all of the work traffic should have died down now so I’m going to get out and run too. 🙂
Thanks. Apart from the wind, the weather is so much nicer than previously. And the sun is rising earlier! Woohoo!
oooh you’re making me crave meatballs now
Sorry hehe 😉 They were so good though. I need to make them on a regular basis I think!
I didn’t know you could get goats cheese babybell, but I’ll be looking out for them! I’ve recently bought a foam roller to: it hurts so good!
They are the best flavour by far. They’re the green ones. I’ve tried the other flavours but goat’s cheese is the best 🙂
Oatmeal is my go to breakfast! Those mini meatballs would be great for those days you don’t want to wait around. I am happy when I can run an 9.5 – 10 min mile, I wish I could do a sub 9 min mile!
Exactly, the meatballs could easily be frozen and then it’s just a case of shoving them in the oven!
Honestly, I’ve been there too. I haven’t always run like I do at the moment. it just takes perseverance. You’ll get there!
Ah, just when I thought I could get away without exercise for the past few days I came across your blog. So THANK YOU! You have motivated me to get out and go for a run after work today. Great blog!
Aww I’m really chuffed I helped, Kate 🙂 Good work!
Excellent work on the running 🙂
All in the name of team work 😉
Congrats on completing that first 10-miler! You’re officially a long-distance runner! 😀
You won’t believe this, but I’ve never made meatballs. I absolutely love them, but Whole Foods offers so many wonderful varieties, I have a hard time justifying doing the labor myself. That said, nothing ever replaces homemade versions of foods, so I may be giving this recipe a try!
Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask, what is black pudding? We ignorant Americans hear the word “pudding” and think of those chocolate or vanilla-flavored Jello cups! I know that the word means so much more than that in the UK, though!
Happy Wednesday, Anna! Have a wonderful time up north!
Thanks :))
Well I wouldn’t bother making them then if Wholefoods do them so well! I’m like that with my fajita sauce. I adore this one that comes out of a bottle with added seasoning as a packet alongisde and I just won’t make my own version because this one tastes so darn good!
You’re not an igorant American! Right, black pudding sounds disgusting but it tastes so good. It’s pig’s blood that congeals and then is fried….I know it sounds horrific! But it doesn’t taste like it sounds if that makes sense.
It is not an actual pudding 😉 I’m not sure why it’s called pudding though!! Silly Brits 😉
I just totally dorked out reading all of your running stats. 6 min/mile! Damnnn girl! haha…great job getting some awesome runs in. I actually ordered a Garmin (the cheapo one that just gives mileage and pace) but it hasn’t come in yet. I can’t wait to use it!
I love reading other people’s running stats. I either feel really good, or really rubbish haha.
I love my Garmin – it’s so handy. The cheaper ones are still really good so don’t worry! I think it’s more about the design of them that changes and smoother functionality. It’s essentially exactly the same. And you can still use the Garmin app on the computer to ‘dork out’ on your runs hehe.
Anna, you have me cravinggg meatballs now, and it’s only 7:15 in the morning, Ha Ha!
Hahaha! Well in Germany they do eat a lot of meat in the morning so it’s normal somewhere in the world hehe.
Haha I love how you said you give them the Anna stare! Blog reading is definitely down time for me:) And agreed- oatmeal never gets old!
I love my foam roller but need to get back into the habit of using it! It was awesome for when I was running 🙂 I’ve never had meat loaf and despite the meaty kick I’m on at the moment it’s never appealed to me in the same way as veggie loaf does!
I just need to make time to use it otherwise I just won’t bother. But it felt soo good.
I really need to try making veggie loaf as there are some great recipes out there. Especially ones with lentils in mmmm.
OMG I totally know what you mean about your lunch time. I eat my lunch and read blogs and it is by FAR my favorite time of the day. If someone comes over to my desk while I’m eating and reading blogs I get so cranky!! Good to know I’m not the only one who does that lol. Also I’ve been really interested in foam rolling…can you do a post explaining why you use it, how much it was, how you picked that one, etc?
Haha I’m so glad I’m not alone in getting annoyed if I’m interrupted at lunch!! 🙂
Ooh yeah that’s a good idea for a post. That will push me to use it frequently as well hehe.
Goat cheese babybell? I need to keep my eyes peeled for those. I love to foamroll, it hurts so good!
Best flavour Babybels ever. Definitely reccommend them! 🙂