It was 70° and sunny yesterday afternoon when our clinic secretary pulled me into her office to let me know I was over on my hours for the week. I’m salaried, so it’s not like it much mattered, but I appreciated the heads up. I was up and outta there by 2pm! 😀 On my drive home, I decided that I would take advantage of the Indian summer by taking Lily to the dog park and running outside. The treadmill has been seeing far too much action lately.
Not quite feeling the workout, I took Lily to the dog park first. She’s always excited to ride in the car, hanging her head out the back windows. I laugh looking in my side mirrors, watching her chubby cheeks flap in the wind.
We were at a stop light…photographing while driving is undoubtedly more dangerous than make-up application, reading, and whatever other bizarre multi-tasking people accomplish while behind the wheel
So the dog park was fun and done, and that left my run.
I didn’t wanna do it…
Enter: 10 minute rule.
I threw on my Asics and headed for the door, iPod in hand, Garmin on my wrist. If after 10 minutes you want to stop, fine. Weenie. I start my iPod and the first song started playing: I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas. Run, run…all 4 minutes and 7 seconds of the song. And then I really didn’t want to run any more. Sorry for ya, lazy. 5 minutes and 53 seconds to go!
🙁
Next song: Jai Ho from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack (<3). Sweet. Run, run…all 3 minutes and 46 seconds. Not quite to 10 minutes yet. Dang. Next up: Time of Your Life, Green Day. Not motivating…next song. Bad Romance, Lady Gaga. 4 minutes and 46 seconds. Finish this song and then you can stop, Nicole. I mean, weenie. WEENIE!!!!!!
I stopped.
…And then I felt guilty. I was going to give into the 10 minute rule for no reason other than it wasn’t an effortless run. I re-assessed the situation. Okay, self…jog during “fast” songs and walk during “slow” songs. The iPod shuffle will determine your workout, just do it….all 4 miles you had planned.
And so my workout was determined by my iPod’s song shuffle. Note to self: download some Beethoven and Vivaldi ASAP. Nice and sloowwww.
12:09/mile (the pace was ’cause I was standing in my kitchen 🙂 )
Unimpressive, but accomplished. (Barely.)
Luckily for me (and Mr. Prevention), dinner was successful.
Sage Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella and Prosciutto from Cooking Light
2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup finely chopped leek
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped fresh mozzarella cheese
2 ounces prosciutto, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sage sprigs (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray. Arrange prosciutto in a single layer and bake for 20-30 minutes or until crispy (some cuts are thicker than others, just be sure it doesn’t burn!)
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in chopped sage, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella. Spoon 1 cup risotto into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbled prosciutto. Sprinkle with black pepper. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.
Nutrition Information (for 1/4th of recipe, about ~1 1/4 cup): 443 calories; 12.3 g. fat (7 g. saturated, 3 g. polyunsaturated, 1 g. monounsaturated); 43 mg. cholesterol; 863 mg. sodium; 60 g. carbohydrate; 1.4 g. fiber; 18.8 g. protein
Result: Mr. Prevention was a huge fan of this risotto! We agreed, there is nothing “light” tasting about this recipe…the mozzarella melts to perfection creating those long, luscious strings of cheesy yumminess when you plate the risotto. The only change I made was crisping the prosciutto. The portion size is filling and very satisfying. You gotta love feeling like you’re cheating even when you’re on your best behavior 😉
Question: What multi-tasking are you guilty of while driving? And any great motivational tricks to get through the tough workouts?
If you don’t like me on Facebook, wouldja couldja? 😉
TGIF!
I really like your ten minute rule. Usually once I get out there, though, and run that first ten minutes, I’m already at the park. And then once I’m in the park, I just do it. Even if it hurts, even if I’m not in the mood. Plus by the time I’m halfway around, it just doesn’t pay to go back. I also like to bribe myself by thinking of the food I’ll eat when I get home.
This risotto looks fabulous! I have some risotto rice to review and I’m scouting out good recipes. This is going on my list!
Already am a fan of yours on fb! 🙂 and thanks for accepting my question for your Q and A! I’m so excited! 🙂
I love that picture of Lily….it was a wonderful day yesterday, and we have two more great days ahead before the bottom drops…actually, today is supposed to be nicer than yesterday, if that is even possible. I took my dog for a walk through the park yesterday as well.
The ipod, many days, determines my workout…lol I have two playlists that I use shuffle on…treadmill and workout. Treadmill is all fast stuff, workout has some slower stuff on it…. good for you for getting the job done!
Mulitasking in the car? Guilty for digging in my purse…but I never look, just “feel”…lol
I am so bad at checking emails on my phone when I drive. It’s horibble and soo dangerous. I really need to put my phone in my purse in the back of my car and not touch it until I am out of the car.
Your risotto looks great. I just made risotto the other night….love that stuff 🙂
Sometimes I wish I were hourly because I work WAY over the 7.5 hours per day I need to. Overtime would be nice at least!
Once again, your dinner looks great. I love risotto and cheese with prosciutto is so so good.
ahhhhhhh! Lily is so cute! I have an english too- his name is Frank. How old is Lily? Frank is 4- hes a little bit “forward”, so he doesn’t do so well at the dog park haha. Your risotto looks so good and creamy. Delicious!
I’ve gotten better with the whole “just drive” thing since they made phones illegal in the car. But I did see a guy shaving while driving once. That was pretty classic.
Hey, you got it done and that’s all that matters! Good job!
The risotto sounds wonderful. Great flavors. That picture of your doggy is fabulous. Lily is adorable.
This recipe looks delicious!
I have moments like that too at the gym. Once I get started I usually start to feel better so I could see how this 10 minute rule would be good to use because 10 min in and I ready to keep going. As for multitasking while driving, I find this the best time to get all my phone calls in, but I do use a blue tooth, and this was in the States, not so much now. It was really my only alone and quite time.
That sounds like a great way to motivate yourself for a workout! I like to motivate myself by telling myself how good I’ll feel afterwards…sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t, lol. That risotto looks amazing! I definitely <3 you on Facebook! 🙂
That’s a million dollar pic of Lily!
I am so proud of you for getting through the workout – those ones where you just want to quit, and feel like giving in the WHOLE way are so hard. Way to go Nicole! You won the battle. 🙂
Georgie Fear RD
http://www.AskGeorgie.com
I have TOTALLY done the run to the fast songs walk to the slow ones compromise with myself before. Hey, I give you kudos for getting out there!
I also try to follow the 10 minute rule when it comes to exercise! The risotto sounds great!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Awww Lily is too cute!
I like your 10 minute rule. We enjoyed some odd warm weather recently as well.