Tomatoes and peppers oh my!

I started with this....

and finished with this...
and those are only the peppers I froze. More pictures to come on the winter stock up of tomatoes. They are ripening in a paper bag and a cardboard box.

Hot mess!

Since about late June my body has been going through some ups and downs. Every day I daydream through assumptions about what is going on inside my body. The list below is the range of symptoms and conditions I have self-diagnosed with. Recently my physical therapist has confirmed that I have an anatomical leg length discrepancy of ¼ inch to 1 cm. By the look on her face when she told me this, I realized I was outside her normal zone.

Medial gastrocnemii tear or strain on right and left leg (calf strain)
Posterior compartment syndrome
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Anterior pelvic tilt
Anterior pelvic rotation right side
Anatomical leg length discrepancy right leg
Functional leg length discrepancy right leg
Rib subluxation left side (1-2)
Pes planus right foot
Twisted sacrum

Our assumption is that everything else is related to this little birth defect; that and trying to do too much to quick. Really need to fix that!

Main hindering thing right now is when I go for a run my calves, more so my right, locks up and hits me with extricating pain, enough to not be able to put any pressure on during or afterward. At least it was because I haven’t ran for a little over a week. I have been doing physical therapy with a new therapist and am going to get some deep tissues massages over the next month. Apparently my muscles are on lockdown and don’t want to loosen up. After my functional (muscular) discrepancy goes away I will be fitted for a heel lift in my right show. I am aiming to get ease back into running on Friday. Fingers crossed. My plans to for a successful recovery include strengthening my butt and lower extremities with tedious exercises, resetting the muscle memory part of my brain, and get back into running slowly.

If anyone has any wisdom or suggestions on these symptoms and injuries I would be gracious for your thoughts. I always feel like I am a hot mess when I am not completely back into shape. Once I get to the level of fit and strength I would have these minor hiccups. Getting there is key.

Get inspired!

This last weekend we were doing some major construction on the house, tearing down ceilings and replacing joists. Some dirty dirty work. Despite being exhausted from the weekend and continuing to wrap up some of the odds and ends from the project I have been making some good tasting meals. I am in no way a baker. My sister has got those skills, follow her blog here and get excited for some up and coming posts from England. I am a cooker. I love tossing things together, merging recipes, and not measuring.

Including the last post of chicken noodle soup, I made some butternut squash muffins (fat-free and they were good! Trust me I am all about the fat), butternut squash stew, and apples over pork. It worked out that we had enough miscellaneous items in the house to whip up some great quick dinners. Thank goodness for my back-stock of homemade chicken stock which I used in the soup and stew.

One of my training goals going forward is to eat better. Two ways I intend to execute this is by signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the spring in addition to my home garden. Having more vegetables around will definitely make me cook with them more and I feel like my diet can never have too many vegetables. The other execution will be making small quick meals on the fly. I know once the training increases my time will decrease but it is just as important to make sure I am putting the goods into the tank. I think having the right backup of ingredients and spices is key to making some delicious and healthy meals. Recipe recommendations are always welcome.

Chicken Noodle Soup & Cornbread

An example out what you can make in 30 mins with already cooked and cut chicken and some frozen chicken stock. Turned out great and was perfect for a chilly evening.

Mmm mmm chicken!

Sometime in the last year in browsing cooking recipes I picked up the idea of roasting a whole chicken. Every time I do I realize simple, efficient, healthy, cheap, and yummy it is. All I do is buy a whole chicken from the grocery which is usually $4, but can be found cheaper when on sale. If I freeze it, I take it out the day before I am going to make it to defrost. Rinse it, pat it dry with paper towel, remove the stuff (neck, heart, livers, etc.) inside (save), lay it on a baking sheet (with tinfoil over it), butter and season it (salt, pepper, garlic salt, celery salt, thyme, onion powder, etc.), and bake it in the oven. Last night I put it in and went downstairs to ride the trainer. Usually takes about 1-1.5 hours to fully cook. I came upstairs to a warm house and great smells. I let it sit for a while to prevent it from drying out and then comes the tricky part.

I watch this video every time if I am serving the chicken for others, otherwise I will just pick all the chicken off the bone if I know I am going to use it for a casserole or lunch meat.

I set aside the chicken I am going to use for dinner that night and put the rest in a tupperware to use throughout the week for sandwiches, soups, casseroles, or just chicken. Anything that is left including the uncooked insides I saved, spare bones, fat, skin, and the chicken love juice left on the tinfoil I put in a separate container, cool, and freeze. I use this later to make chicken stock which I will post up once I make my next batch.

You will notice all my cooking will circle around simplicity, efficiency, healthy, cheap, and deliciousness. I tend to look up a couple recipes take what I like from each and wing it, but there are tons of recipes out there for roasted chicken. I forgot to get a picture of my delicious creation from last night, but I am sure your mouth is already watering.

Back at it!

I love wiping the slate clean and starting fresh. That's what I am doing with my training and with my blog. At the same time! Today I only have one person following my blog and I am hoping to spread the love and make it grow over the next year.

To start I inserted a picture of what 2012 will look like in regards to my training goals. So if I seem to have fallen off the face of the earth just look back to this original post and you will know where to find me.

I will be signing up next month for Ironman Arizona which will be the race I am looking to lay the hammer down. After seasons of sickness, injury, and balancing life and monie$ with triathlon I think I have learned enjoy to tackle this season head on and kill it. Let's hope we can keep the excitement up through those peaks.