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Delicious (and healthy) Potato Skins

August 28th, 2010 · Food, Recipes

A few years ago I went to a restaurant with my husband and some friends and for some reason I was craving potato skins.  The weird thing is, I had NEVER had a potato skin in my life.  To me it was gross and just never sounded good.  I don’t know what it was but that night they just sounded delicious.  So, I ordered them.  And they were delicious.  But they were VERY greasy.  A little while after that, I decided to attempt to make my own, healthier version of potato skins.

Here’s what I came up with:

These are really easy to make – so I didn’t take step-by-step pictures.

First, bake 4-6 potatoes - I just use the normal russet potatoes, and cook them in the microwave.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook turkey baccon on the stove top.  I use 2 slices of bacon for each potato.  If I make them for Geoff, I use hamburger with some seasoning (usually Lawry’s).  You could also use ground turkey instead of hamburger.

Cut the bacon into little pieces once it is done.  *I’ve found it’s easiest to use my kitchen sheers to cut up the bacon – it’s a lot less time consuming.*

Once the potatoes are done, cut them in half the long way and scoop most of the middle out of each side.  Leave just a thin layer in the skin.  Then, cut the halves in half again.  You’ll have 4 skins per potato.

Line the skins on a cookie sheet, and fill with bacon or hamburger. 

Sprinkle the skins with seasoning of your choice – salt, paprika, Lawry’s, etc.

Top with a little cheese (or, if you’re Geoff, a LOT of cheese) and stick in the over at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

These are great as a side, appetizer, or finger food for game day.  Geoff and I often do have these for a whole dinner.  You can also save the insides of the potatoes and make homemade mashed potatoes for dinner the next night.

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The Best Running Partner You’ll Ever Have

August 10th, 2010 · Running, exercise

So, Lynn is off at the vet having her tumor removed.  Poor thing is going to wake up in a few hours and not have any idea why half her ear is missing or why she is in so much pain.  Oh, and don’t worry, I did cry after I left.  I can’t look at her sad little eyes and not feel so BAD!

In honor of Lynn, I’ve decided to post about the in’s and out’s of running with your dog.  Here’s a few things you should know before heading out the door:

  • Make sure your dog is fit to run.  Just like humans need to go to the doctor for a physical, dogs need to the vet to get checked out.  Don’t start them out too young.  Their paws need time to toughen up so they don’t injure the pads.  Also, when a dog is too young, it can damage the joints and bones.  Small and medium breeds should wait until they are 9 – 10 months old while larger breeds should wait for close to 15 months.
  • Warm up & cool off with your dog.  Again, just like humans need a good warm up, dogs do too.  Start off walking and then go to a slow jog.  When you’re done, give your dog a chance to cool down.  They can’t cool down as efficiently as humans so give them a little bit longer than what you need.
  • Keeps your eyes open.  Watch for signs of pain or discomfort.  Dogs love to please their owners.  A lot of time they ignore, or don’t even notice the pain or thirst.  If your dog is limping, tiring, panting excessively, or slowing down, walk and give your dog a chance to rest.
  • Stay out of the heat.  Like I said, dogs aren’t as efficient as humans at cooling down.  This puts them at a greater risk for heat stroke and dehydraiton.  Jog or run early in the morning or later in the evening.  Also, bring enough water for you and your dog.  I use this bowl made by Outward Hound. 
  • Be aware of your surroundings.  Your dog doesn’t have expensive, high tech shoes to protect their feet.  Black asphalt can get VERY hot in the summer, rocks and dirt can tear up their feet, and grass may have stickers in it.  Watch for signs of distress from your dog.  If you do want shoes for your dog, I recommend these ones made by Ruff Wear.
  • Keep a leash on ‘em.  Not only is it the law in most places, but it can protect your dog from other not-so-nice dogs.  I  know it’s tempting to take them off – especially when they are well trained.  The leash is also a good tool to use to teach your dog to run and walk next to you.  Your dog should learn to run no more than 4 feet in front of you and to one side.  It may take some time but soon your dog will also learn when they can stop and sniff and when to keep running.
  • Not everyone is a dog lover.  Keep in mind when your running that not everyone wants to stop and pet your dog.  When you see someone coming towards you, wind up the leash and hold your dog at your side until your fellow runner passes.

The biggest thing is to remember that your dog will probably not let you  know they are in distress.  That’s why it’s super important to pay close attention during the run.

Now go run with your dog!

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August 9th, 2010 · Uncategorized

That past week has been a little crazy – thus the lack of posting. 

First of all, I had my MRI of my hip done.  The needle wasn’t as bad as I was planning on, but it still wasn’t a fun experience.  Long story short, my doctor said I do have a tear, but he isn’t sure if it’s big enough to operate yet.  There are only a few doctors in the country who do this surgery, and mine isn’t one of them.  He referred me to a couple OK doctors in Utah, or a good one in Colorado.  I decided to go with the good one in Colorado.  I’ve sent my scans to him and I’m still waiting to hear back if he thinks I’m a candidate or not for the surgery. 

Next, I’ll explain that wonderful pic of Lynn.  A little over a week ago, I noticed - without getting too disgusting – one of her little glands on her back side was swollen – you know, one of those gland that only animals have.  It was HUGE and rock hard.  Don’t ask me how I know that :-) .  So, the next day I called the vet and took her in.  Before we went to the vet it started bleeding, which made me panic even more.  Turns out, they aren’t sure what it was.  The vet drained it as much as she could and gave her antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory.  Both of which smelled like chocolate.  I only human meds tasted like chocolate…And she got one of those awesome cone – collars.  Which, surprisingly didn’t really bother her, except she kept running into EVERYTHING.

I took her back today for her follow up.  It was looking better, but then started bleeding this morning again.  The vet thinks everything is fine and got most of the infection out.  But while I was sitting there, I noticed a bump on her ear that I hadn’t ever seen before.  I had the vet check it out, and she thinks it’s a mast cell tumor.  She said where it came on almost over night, she would be worried about it. 

So, Lynn is going in tomorrow morning to have the tumor removed.  Along with the tumor, they are going to have to remove almost an inch on each side of the tumor – so she’ll be losing a pretty big chunk of her ear.  It’s so hard because the procedure is pretty expensive…ok it’s very expensive. Plus, it might come back that it wasn’t a tumor at all.  But I can’t not do it.  I mean, it’s my dog, I can’t not do something that might save her life.

Oh, on the bright side, I passed the bio-organic chemistry class!  YAY!!

Hopefully everything with Lynn will slow down so I can get back to posting…

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Teaser…

August 2nd, 2010 · Uncategorized

Due to a stressful weekend and a chemistry final coming up (that I would rather not fail) I will not be blogging for a few more days. 

But here’s a little preview of what I did Sunday & Monday.

Don’t mind her glowing eyes…as you can imagine it’s hard to get her to hold still with “the cone” on.

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Just a Quickie…

July 29th, 2010 · Uncategorized

The past few days have been, well, kinda a bummer.  It’s not really anything I want to discuss publically – no offense of anything – but it’s kinda kept me from even thinking about blog posts.

But I did want to say thanks for all the comments and e-mails about my hip.  It’s always nice to hear things like that when I’m starting to lose all hope of running like I used to.

I go in for my MRI tomorrow morning.  I’m pretty nervous about it.  I don’t mind needles if I’m having my blood taken or getting an IV.  But when they have to stick it hard into my skin it makes me a little squeamish. 

I went and ran tonight for two reasons:  1. I won’t be able to run until Saturday night after the MRI and 2.  I wanted my hip/groin to hurt so I would remember why I’m letting them stick a 4 inch needle into my hip joint.  The upside – I ran almost a full mile longer than I normally do – and faster, too.  Down side – It didn’t hurt NEARLY as bad as it usually does.  I know this should be the good news, but I would rather be in horrible pain so I know exactly what to do.  I hate the hurting sometimes and not others.  When it doesn’t hurt too bad I think I can handle it and won’t need the surgery.  But then other times it’s surgery – no doubt.

I guess we’ll see exactly what my doc sees on the MRI and go from there.

Have a good night!

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Good News & Bad News

July 26th, 2010 · Running

What do you want first?  Well, to be honest, it’s mostly bad news…actually all bad news.  So, lets start with the bad news!

I went to my orthopedic doctor today.  After 1 1/2 years of hip/groin pain, I actually went in.  No offense to my doc, but he is a LAST resort.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s awesome!  In fact, if anyone in SLC needs a good ortho guy, let me know.  But from past experience, once I start going to doctors for joint pain, it usually ends in surgery.  So I do everything possible before heading in.

The visit started out with x-rays.  Which, were pretty normal. I guess I have a little extra bone on part of the femoral head that may be causing some of the discomfort.  But other than then, I’m normal – bone wise.  So, we discussed options.  First option – try steroids – oral and injections.  This was kind of a shot in the dark.  At this point, the oral steroids wouldn’t do much, and the injection would be hard because there is no way to know where to inject it without getting and MRI.  Second, I could get an MRI arthrogram which would look at everything that’s not bone in the joint space.

So, I’m going with the MRI.  It will let my doc know where to inject steroids.  But here’s the bad news.  My doctor is pretty sure I have a labral tear.  He just wants the MRI to make sure.  Which, SUCKS – bad…really really BAD.  What it really means is that I’ll probably be getting steroid injections for the pain until after the Las Vegas Ragnar in October, and then I’ll be having surgery very soon after.  Hopefully I can make it that far.  I guess I’m going to have to forget about running the half in August.  And most likely I won’t get a whole lot faster before October. 

I guess the good news is I should be able to run Ragnar – as long as I can take the pain.

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The 15 Commandments of Running

July 23rd, 2010 · Running

1.  Thou shalt look behind you before randomly stopping in the middle of the road.

2.  Thou shalt not blow snot rockets if anyone is within 100 feet of you.  And you will learn to do it right.

3. Thou shalt stand still at a red light.  You are not a shark and will not die of if you stop moving – unless you have to pee – then keep moving!

4.  Thou shalt show off your black toenails – be proud, they’re runner’s nails.

5.   Thou shalt smell a pair of new shoes before wearing them.

6.   Thou shalt not poop your shorts unless you’re in contention to win a major marathon with a huge, huge prize.  Wait, not just any major marathon…it has to be Boston.

7.  Thou shalt say encouraging things to runners around you…even if it’s a lie.

8.  Thou shalt use any port-a-potty you pass that doesn’t have a line – even if you don’t think you need to.

9.  Thou shalt skip the short shorts.  When in doubt if they are too short, leave them at home.

10.  Thou shalt keep at least 5 races worth of safety pins in your car, gym bag, or running bag.

11.  Thou shalt not give into the critics – running is not as bad for your joints as you would think and a marathon will not kill you.

12.  Thou shalt not brag about a PR that is more than 2 years old.

13.  Thou shalt thank the race volunteers.

14.  Thou shalt run in the rain – at least once.  It makes you a hard core runner.

15.  Thou shalt not buy my shoes from anywhere that ends in -Mart or -Less.

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LOST: Motivation

July 20th, 2010 · exercise

IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN — IMMEDIATELY.

We all get into slumps where even the thought of working out makes us cringe.  Don’t get me wrong, a few days like this, every once in a while, are ok to have.  But how to you get back into the routine of working out when it seems almost impossible to even put on your shoes?

Here’s a few ideas to help you get going again:

1.  Set a goal – but just one -  Setting too many goals can be overwhelming.  Pick one goal you want to work toward and go with it.

2.  Find some inspiration -  Look in magazines, websites, or tv and find someone who has done, or is doing what you want to achieve.  If possible, hang pictures up to look at.  I know, we’ve all heard this and it sounds silly, but it’s tough to skip a workout when there’s

3.  Commit – to anyone who will listen.  Tell neighbors, co-workers or friends about your goals.  You can even start a blog dedicated to posting your workouts.  Give the link to anyone you can think of.  You’ll be less likely to skip a workout if everyone you know will see it.

4.  Start small – If you start small, you can’t be disappointed.  You’ll have more achievements which will make you want to keep working for bigger and better goals.

5.  Find support – It’s a lot easier to get to the gym if you know you don’t have to get home to watch the kids, make dinner, or do laundry.  Talk to those around you and ask for help to make it easier for you to get and stay healthy.

6.  Accept the bad days along with the good - Be willing to have a bad day.  If you do, push through as best you can and look forward to tomorrows workout.  It’s going to be better.

7.  Think positively – There’s nothing you can’t do.  Sounds cheesy, right?  I know.  But really working out is 90% mental.  If you think you’re too tired to have a good sweat session, it’s probably not going to go that great.  Be positive and excited to push your body.

8.  Focus on the achievement – Don’t focus on what you can’t do, or haven’t done.  Don’t look at the doughnut you just ate, or the pint of ice cream you ate last night.  Look at the achievements you’ve had – the improvement you’ve made.  Remember the good days and the good workouts you’ve had.

9.  Reward yourself – Buy yourself a new running top, new workout pants, a new helmet, or take a spa day.  Decide something you really want and make it a reward for reaching your goal.

10.  Invest – Put money into classes, a gym membership, new workout clothes, etc.  Once you have money invested in something it will be harder to skip the class or let the membership go to waste.

11.  Do it for yourself – It’s harder to stay motivated if you’re not working out and eating healthy for you.  It shouldn’t be for anyone but you.  If you’re putting in all this work and making changes for someone else, it probably won’t last.

12.  Log your success – It’s a lot easier to want to workout if you can see the improvement you are making.  Write every workout down.  Then, on days where you need a little extra push, look back and see how far you’ve come.

13.  Visualize – Picture your goals, and you reaching them.  If that doesn’t work, just visualize you being done with the workout and good and refreshed you feel after.

14.  Put it off – no, not your workout!  Use your workout as an excuse to put off doing the dishes, the laundry, or cleaning the bathroom until after your done.  The key though, you do actually have to go workout.

15.  Remember – You almost always feels better after a workout than before it.

16.  Be realistic - Don’t expect an amazing workout every time you set foot in the gym.  Accept a less than stellar workout and look forward to tomorrow.

17.  Take a break – Give yourself a day off every once in a while.  Working out and eating healthy shouldn’t be a chore or something you feel like have to do 24 hours a day.  It’s ok to not workout one day or, heaven forbid, eat ice cream.

18.  Sign up – Register for a race or competition.  You’ll be more likely to train if you have something to work towards.  If you don’t feel comfortable signing up for a competitive race, find one to benefit a cause – like Komen Race for the Cure.  Or, check with your local hospital – many hospitals will do benefit runs for their research departments.

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What is a Runner?

July 16th, 2010 · Running, exercise

A few years ago when I was running 40 miles a week and racing every other weekend, I was proud to say I was a runner.  There was no doubt in my mind.  I knew my 5K, 10K, and half marathon PR like it was my phone number.  I could easily keep up with anyone who wanted to run with me.

Currently, I’m not so sure I’m a runner.  I’m running half as much as I was -  and that’s on a good week.  I’m almost 3 minutes per mile slower than I was.  I haven’t run a 5K, 10K, or half in who knows how long.  I try to rationalize that by the great luck I’ve had with injury after injury over the last year.  First my knee, now my hip.  But with all the rationalization that’s going on, I still don’t feel like a runner. 

At this point if someone asked me “Are you a runner?”  I don’t know how I would answer.  I want to say I’m a runner.  A part of me still thinks I’m a runner.  But then there is the other part that sees where I used to be and where I am now and says there’s no way I’m a runner.

There’s just something about being able to say “Yeah, I run” that makes you part of an exclusive group.  It’s a group of people that do something that most people hate doing, something that most people find too hard…and they do it for fun.  I mean, how many people can say that they ran 10 miles this morning – and can still walk.

So, all this being said, what is a runner?  Is it someone who runs a 30+ miles a week?  Or Someone who can run a sub 7:00 min/mile?  Is it someone who races?  Can you be a runner and train on the treadmill?  Or do you have to run outside?  Do you have to do specialized workouts?  Or can you just run? 

Or, is being a real runner just having the love to go out and run?  Not necessarily to compete, or get faster, but just because you love to run.

I’ve come to the conclusion that whether or not your “technically” a runner, just doesn’t matter.  If you want to be a runner, fine, be a runner.  Call yourself a runner - do it proudly.  And don’t let anyone tell you your not.

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Money Well Spent

July 15th, 2010 · Running, exercise

Two days ago I made one of the best purchases ever.  Well, maybe not ever, but it is the most entertaining purchase in a while.  More on that later.

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday.  I don’t know if I could handle one more day of work this week.  Especially since today was a rough day.  You know, I haven’t worked a 5 day week since last August.  Granted, my days off have been filled with class and labs for school, but it’s still not work.  I dont’ know what I’m going to do when I’m done with school and have to work 5 days again.  Good thing that wont be for years…and years…and years.

My run today was a good one.  I’ve had to slow things down a little bit, but I’m not taking breaks as often.  I’m back to running in the gym since Ragnar is over and Geoff won’t start training for the Las Vegas Ragnar until a few weeks before the race – so early October.  Sometimes, though, it seems like it would be cooler to run outside than in the gym.  Most days the gym is close to 85°.  NOT FUN.

Anyone have any experience with hip/groin pain?  Mine has been hurting for almost 2 years.  Not always as bad as it is now.  I used to be able to tolerate it really well.  It’s been getting worse and worse over the last month.  I’ve gone from thinking it’s a stress fracture, to a tear in the hip lining, to a sports hernia.  I’m too afraid to go to the doctor.  Usually when I go it ends in surgery – and I’m in no hurry for that.

Now back to my best purchase in a long time. 

Lynn got boots.  They’re awesome!

Doesn’t she just look so excited?  I wanted the black, but I couldn’t  find her size.  Red works too though.  (Oh and don’t mind the tortilla chips in the background.  That was Geoff’s dinner last night.)

Aren’t they just the coolest things ever?  They even have vibram soles.  That grey line at the top of the boot, yeah, that’s a sock.  I went all out on these babies!

We got them for Lynn so she can go boating and camping with us the rest of the summer.  She even has a red life jacket too.  I’ll get pictures this weekend at the lake of that.

But the best part of the boots are they way she walks in them.  I’m trying to get a video of her walking in them, but she hasn’t been cooperating very well.  When she walks she picks up her feet really really high and totally exaggerates her stride.  It’s H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.  Totally worth the money!  Lynn isn’t the most coordinated dog to begin with but these just put it over the top.

Hopefully I can get a video this weekend to post.

Well, I’m off to try to find something for dinner.  What can you make with baking soda, milk, and ketchup?  I guess we’ll find out.

Good night!

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