Productive Friday

I did it.  I actually got up this morning and took the dogs to the park near my house.  It was later than I planned and therefore a little hotter - about 82F at 9am.  Learned a couple lessons though.  Gotta take water for the pups - they're so used to the A/C that they immediately start panting when we walk out the door.  Gotta take water for me too, especially in this heat.  We had to stop at a convenience store and grab some water for humans and canine alike.  But we did it!  Three miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes.  That includes poop and pee stops for the pups, the water break and even geocache!  Fun was had by all.

After a short break to recoup from the heat, I grabbed a shower, made the menu for next week then grabbed the daughter for a shopping trip.  Stopped by Chic-Fil-A for lunch and probably should have had the grilled chicken instead of the original and probably should have had water instead of sweet tea, but the side salad was a good substitute for the fries, right?  Besides, I skipped breakfast this morning.  I didn't eat before the walk and completely forgot about it afterwards.  It all works out in the end, doesn't it?

This afternoon, after putting away all the groceries, I was entering my food for the day on MyFitnessPal when I noticed a recipe link for a Chicken & Black Bean Burrito Bowl.  Doesn't that just sound good?  So I clicked the link and I liked 98.9% of the ingredients.  SCORE!  It was from another blog called 24 Carrot Life.  Here it is…

Chicken & Black Bean Burrito Bowls

Author: 24 Carrot Life

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican, Salad

Serves: 4 (as a main dish)

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 8 cups lettuce
• 2 cups shredded chicken breast
• 1 and 1/3 cups cooked black beans
• 1 and 1/3 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced or chopped
• 1 cup chopped jicama
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 ripe avocado, cored and sliced
• large handful fresh cilantro

Dressing (makes about 2/3 cup)

• 4 tablespoons unsweetened natural almond butter
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce (can use regular or low sodium, adjust salt accordingly)
• 2-4 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons water to thin out
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all salad ingredients to a large salad bowl and pour dressing over right before serving. Toss to coat completely and serve immediately.
2. Alternately, you can prepare the salads ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge and toss in the dressing right before eating.

The only ingredient that I don't know is "jicama."  Apparently it's know as a yam bean or Mexican turnip.  To me, it looks like a cross between a potato and a turnip.  Anyone ever tried one?  I don't even know if I've ever seen one.  I probably could've found it in Colorado, but I'm wondering if I'll find it here.  We'll see.  I'm putting this on the menu soon.  It'll be my own little salad kit.  

I'll post the menu Monday.  It's using a lot of "go to" meals since I made it in a pinch.  Next week, I plan to prep during the week so that all I do on Friday is go to the store.  

We're heading to the beach tomorrow morning.  Oh and I'll weigh in too.  I'll fill you in Monday on how that goes.  But, the beach, what a way to get the exercise, right?  Here's a pic from last weekend.  I'm not sure why the water looks green - but there are some rocks on this particular beach, so maybe the surf is kicking up some seaweed?

The waves were breaking right on the sand!