{meat}loafing around
Instead of my 4-miler, we had a bit of a fiasco. We were at Sabino Canyon and the Pilot twisted his ankle walking in from the parking lot. The poor guy has been hobbling around the house, and will probably have to make a doc visit soon :/ He offered to take Liv home and feed her lunch so I could finish my run, but I was worried about him and didn’t want him to worry about him chasing Livi with a hurt ankle.
Instead, I took a 45-minute spin class during Liv’s nap:
it was sweaty, the music was awesome, and it felt so good to do something different- whenever I take spin I realize how much I miss it (and miss teaching it).
After my race this weekend, trying to decide if I want to just enjoy running weekend 5, 10 and 15ks with Liv in the jogging stroller, or continue to build mileage for a half marathon. A few of my friends are running one in the winter, and while I always love running with friends, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to put in the time commitment. Guess we’ll see how it goes…
It’s actually going to be CHILLY on the east coast this weekend and it feels equally weird and awesome to be busting out jackets and hoodies. There’s even a pleasant chill in the air in Tucson, which is a lovely reminder that fall really is just around the corner.
A warm and cozy dinner:
I blitzed through Jenna’s book within a couple of days and am so excited to try some of the recipes. The recipes are worth the cost of the book alone, and include a beautiful variety of comfort foods, desserts, quick meals and pastas. When I saw the meatloaf, I knew it had to happen since it includes turkey and lentils- an awesome combo.
I usually avoid cooking meatloaf after the “sloppy loaf disaster of 2007”.. It was summer in North Carolina, and I wanted to impress Tom by cooking for him, but I was a total newbie in the kitchen. My mom is an incredible cook- but usually when I got home for dinner after dance, it was already made, so I didn’t help as much as I would have liked to- so I called her asking for her meatloaf recipe, as it’s one of Tom’s favorite meals. She gave me the recipe over the phone, and it was a real cook’s recipe (a little bit of this, a palmful of that), and after 2 hours of cooking, the outside was burnt to a crisp, but the inside was still watery. It still tasted amazing, so we ate it atop hamburger buns and dubbed it “sloppy loaf.” Since then, I haven’t made a ton of meatloaf (save for this lentil loaf).
I forgot to grab mushrooms at Trader Joe’s, so here are the adjustments I made to the recipe:
-Puree 1/2 the lentils
-Ground brown rice crispy cereal instead of panko
-almond milk
Instead of maple/ketchup glaze (we only have about 1 T of ketchup left in the bottle), I used TJs BBQ sauce.
(covered the ‘loaf with Cholula and the sweet potato with almond butter)
It was lovely meal, and I’m stoked for lunch leftovers. Meatloaf is one of those things that tastes even better the next day.
Hope your week is off to a great start! See ya in the morning <3
xoxo
Gina
Something to do: It’s “Make it happen” Monday! Take a few minutes to write down your goals for the week and your action plan to accomplish them <3
Something to talk about: What’s your dosha? When I was talking to a yoga teacher friend about the cooler weather, I told her I didn’t like the cold because I’m always cold anyway. She immediately said, “It’s your vata” and I knew she was talking about my dosha. I took this quiz quite a while ago when I became more interested in ayurvedic and holistic medicine, and couldn’t believe how spot-on most of the description was:
Except for the fact that I almost never miss a meal. Oh, and the shopping part. Rubbish.
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I took the dosha quiz and have to disagree with the same 2 items. I rarely miss a meal, let alone a snack! And the shopping thing..I plead the 5th!! 😉
I got the exact same results! Me? Love to talk?? Never! I am with you though…I don’t remember the last time I missed any sort of meal 🙂
that happens to the pilot a lot since he’s so busy at work. he’ll say, “i forgot to get lunch today”
“you forgot?! how do you forget to eat?”
i just don’t understand haha
Oh goodness, now I desperately want meatloaf and mashed potatoes!
Wow, how interesting! I took the quiz too but about half of them were a little off. Not terribly, there just would have been a better answer.
Oh no I hope the pilot feels better! And thanks so much for sharing, apparently I am a pitta!
I took the quiz and got TRI-DOSHIC! A little bit of everything!
whoa!!
You’re a fantastic cook now though. I always put almond or peanut butter on my sweet potatoes now!
I took the quiz – I’m a pitta.
I’m vata too. Ayurveda is very interesting. I took a third year paper called something like ‘non-western medical systems’ and it blew my mind. It dealt with Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and indigenous thoughts on healing. I struggled with it so bad, because, compared to the ‘biomedical’ approach, it’s so interdependent. Say, five people go to a western doctor and all have stomach ulcer. They all get the same treatment. An ayurvedic or chinese traditional doctor may or may not prescribe the same regime for each person. Even if the person walks in and says ‘I have a stomach ulcer’, from a traditional perspective, the causation may not be the same, therefore the treatment is not either. *mind*blown*
surprised that you got a ‘vata’ result. the above summary excludes the fact that vatas, when imbalanced, not only have insomnia and irregular digestion, but also mental disorders, illnesses and addictions, stemming from the anxious nature of vatas. (guess who’s a vata)
i was surprised because to me, you(r blog self) seem like a generally happy person.
i am generally happy, but prone to anxiety, so it made sense to me!
I still need to get Jenna’s book. I can’t wait to try her recipes!
I hope the Pilot’s ankle makes a full recovery.
And Ayurveda is always fascinating to me!
Deepak Chopra wants me to start a yoga practice… heh. I wish! No yoga out here on the island, unless they’re keeping something from me. Any recs for a good yoga DVD?
It also says to “favor mild pastel shades and earth tones in your environment.” Fortunately, the Navy took care of that 30 years ago before they closed and abandoned the base– our whole house is a putty pink. Argh!
Ohhh I love a good quiz link:):):) It was really mostly true and I liked some of the suggestions after the part two quiz!
I hope the Pilot’s ankle injury isn’t serious!!
I love spinning too! I took a break from it this summer, so that I could run outside and train for my half. Once that’s over I am definitely going to get back into spinning. Running in the cold is not as fun for me!!
that meatloaf sounds amazing! I can’t wait to pick up Jenna’s book! I’ve heard about Dosha before and find it really interesting! I’ve taken the quiz before but totally forget what I was! Hope the pilot feels better soon!
I keep seeing lentils pop up all over the place on blogs, never had them but they seem really versatile and I may have to check some of these recipes out!
I love a good spin class. One-two a week saves my sanity 😉
Ayurvedic medicine is fascinating! The book Perfect Health (Deepak C) was gifted to me a couple yrs ago, and even though I’ve been into holistic medicine for quite some time, it provided even more insight into the mind-body-spirit connection. I’m primarily Vata too, but Pitta is a close second! Have you heard of DavidsTea? They have a line of Ayurvedic teas to help balance the doshas. 😀
no, i’ll have to check those out!
Lentil loaf is one of those things I’ve never tackled….but my mom always made meat loaf growing up and I looooooved it. I bet those pre-cooked TJ’s lentil make it super easy, too!
Have you ever done a focus on spin? it is an intimidating class, setting up the bike and everything. Sorry to hear about the Pilot’s ankle!
yep! here ya go http://fitnessista.com/2011/08/focus-on-spinning/
Thank you!
I’m Tridoshic! I love Ayruvedic medicine, I took a couple classes about it when I was doing my yoga TTC, but would love to learn a bit more!
amazing!
I always hated meatloaf growing up, my mom baked the ketchup on top and I was not a fan. Recently I had some meatloaf with a mushroom gravy that was awesome… and another time I ate it with hot sauce and cheese… totally changed my opinion!
I took it and am “Pitta” which seems pretty accurate for me, especially the appetite part, i can eat anything, and always like to eat….like that meatloaf, i could eat that right now for breakfast 🙂
Pitta Characteristics
Mind: Sharp, intellectual, direct, precise, discerning
Body: Medium build, warm, muscular
Skin: Sensitive, flush, acne-prone
Hair: Tendency towards early graying or thinning
Appetite: Strong, can eat just about anything, anytime
Routine: Very precise and organized
Temperament: Passionate, driven, courageous, strong sex drive, good leader
Conversation Style: Speaks to convey a point
Shopping Style: Spends on luxury items
Stress Response: Irritable, tendency to blame others.
We love meatloaf! When I was a kid, Irmie used to make us meatloaf all the time and it was so so tasty. When I got older I realized that most people didn’t like one of my favorite dinner items. …I later realized it was because “meatloaf” meant ground meat, packed into a loaf pan and topped with ketchup before baking. I don’t pre-saute my veggies, but I do use grated onion (ala Giada DeL) and it’s juices, finely grated carrot, minced garlic and then whatever I feel like throwing in. I love adding thawed frozen spinach (squeezed of liquid), chipotle chiles in adobo, sun dried tomatoes, fresh chopped tomato (no juices) and herbs & spices – not all together, but you get the idea. I also like making them in a muffin tin in stead of a loaf pan and sink a square of goat cheddar in the center. I die. ;0)
Have you ever made Giada’s (via her Mom Veronica) vegetarian lentil loaf ?? It’s so so good! the checca (basically Italian salsa) sauce takes it over the top.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/veronicas-veggie-meatloaf-with-checca-sauce-recipe/index.html
Spin Class = :0) I go Wednesday afternoons. Always look forward to a good sweat sesh where I don’t have to think, just do.
thank you for the link- that looks incredible!
and the goat cheddar in the middle idea… brilliant
I’m PITTA … um, that was dead on 🙂 There are some times from part II that I will be putting in to play! Thanks for sharing!
Innnnneresting! I had never heard of dosha before!
It’s funny, I absolutely hated meatloaf as a kid. Whenever my mom made it I would force it down but never requested it. Now all of a sudden, I’ve been craving it like crazy! I’m gonna try my mom’s recipe, but I love the idea of using cereal instead of breadcrumbs to make it gluten free. I need to try that!
i’m the same way- i didn’t really love it growing up, but as soon as i got to high school, i LOVED it
I got Vatta too, though I definitely disagree with the conversation style, shopping style and appetite. I could never forget to eat, I love food too much.