Fall is Here!

Things continue to be quite hectic in The House of Hockey (lol), but I’m trying to stay a step ahead (rarely succeeding, but trying!).

I continue to run.  In fact, I actually ran four times this week—a first for me!  The extra run came on Tuesday, when DS#1 was slated to do his regular run.  I could have ridden my bike alongside, but I decided that even though I’d run three miles of intervals the day before, I might as well run with him.  I mean, it was only a mile and a half. (Which is so funny for me to even say, since I still very clearly remember my first-ever run, which was 1.5 miles, and I also still very clearly remember feeling like I was going to die afterwards. 😉 )  He had a good run, though he got tired at the end, but he was able to push through.

We ran again last night (Thursday).  I have a standard two mile run on Thursdays, and I knew DS#1 would want to go, too, but I would only let him do one mile.  He has a hockey tournament this weekend starting Friday night, where he is guaranteed to play four games (could be five if they do well).  I definitely didn’t want to tire him out, but at the same time, I want to help him keep up with his training since he is very serious about it, so I figured an easy one-mile run was a good compromise.

We started out well, but within about 30 steps, DS#1 noticed that his shoe was untied.  Oops!  He stopped to tie it and told me he’d catch up, and of course, I slowed waaaaaaay down to make it a little easier on him. 😉  Once he caught up, we had a good one mile run (half a mile out and back), and he finished strong.  I then ran another mile (half a mile out and back in a different direction), and managed to end up with a sub-10 pace, despite all the obstacles.

You can see where I slowed down at the beginning so my son could catch up after tying his shoe. 🙂

When we finished, I saw someone in my neighbor’s yard, and although I didn’t actually know him, I knew he was a friend of my neighbors.  Being the shy person I am ;), I asked him if he’d take a picture of DS#1 and I.  I don’t have a lot of pictures of us running together, and I thought it would be nice to have a current one. The man was very obliging, and seemed to enjoy trying to figure out how to work my fancy camera. (Unlike most people, who tend to be afraid of it!)  He was a very “down home” kind of guy, but figured out the camera pretty quickly!

Although I have barely had time to think (or sleep) this week, one thing I have actually had time to notice is that fall really is here.  Besides the cooler weather (it’s actually been pretty nippy on a few of my early morning runs!), it’s the leaves changing that I’ve really noticed this week.

All of a sudden, it seems, the leaves are really starting to show their reds, yellows, and oranges.  I do miss summer, with all i’s laziness and warmth, but I am a child of the fall (literally), and I can’t deny that I adore this season.  I would love it more if I actually had time to curl up in front of the TV on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon with a warm mug of cider to watch my beloved football (college or pro, I love it all), but even the idea of it makes me smile.

One thing I’ve decided to do this fall is allow myself to eat food that is appropriate for the season, but do it in a smart, healthy way.  Fall is a time when I have notoriously failed in my dieting/good eating habits in the past.  I cannot resist the rich, creamy soups, the big mugs of warm (or cold) cider, the cider mill donuts, and of course, my all-time favorite: apple pie.  There was a time about 5 years ago that I made an apple pie every week for 8 weeks! (I live around the corner from an orchard, which is like putting a crack addict down the road from…well, I don’t know, wherever they make crack. :-P)

I am determined not to deny myself these things that I love, because the point of healthy eating isn’t to deprive yourself…it’s to do everything in moderation.  So, that’s what I’m trying to do.  Here was my first attempt:

This is an “almost” white chicken chili.  I was quite proud of myself for making this—it’s the first thing I ever made from Pinterest! (I think I only have 10 things pinned there anyway, but I was excited to at least make one of them.)  I’m trying to use my crockpot more, since hockey season is in full swing, and it can be really hard to get a meal on the table when you’re getting home from the rink at 8 or even sometimes 9pm.  I’m not very good at finding good crockpot recipes, but I’m trying!

I had a craving for white chicken chili, but I never have white beans on hand.  I found this version on Pinterest, which uses only a small amount of diced tomatoes, and black beans instead of white, and since I had all the ingredients on hand (even reduced fat cream cheese—unheard of in my house normally!), I gave it a shot.  DS#1 and I were really happy with how it turned out, and I will definitely make it again. (DS#2 is very picky, so we discount his opinion most of the time.)

The other thing I decided to do this fall was allow myself to eat at a “fast food” restaurant.  I used to be a big fast food eater (that is one way I got to be over 200 pounds), but since I started eating healthier, I won’t eat it, nor do I let my kids eat it.  Subway is as much as I’ll allow.  However, as mentioned above, it can be hard to find the time to cook during hockey season, and sometimes, fast food is a necessity.  I’m getting really sick of Subway (though the kids aren’t—they love it!), and I had two gift cards to Tim Horton’s, so tonight after the first game of DS#1’s hockey tournament, we went there to eat.  I was surprised to see that they do have some good stuff on the menu.  Not necessarily healthy, but better than a greasy burger or deep-fried chicken.  I ended up getting a Tuscan chicken Panini and a bowl of clam chowder.

It was actually pretty good.  I even left on all the sauce and cheese and just ate it as it is normally made.  It was 15 points for the sandwich and 7 for the soup (egads!), but I just limited myself to ¾ of each and then dipped into my activity points.  I also allowed myself a chocolate glazed Timbit. (I ate it too fast to get a picture, lol!)  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I’ve been losing weight these last few weeks, so I figured it was time to start using up those APs!  It was all quite tasty, and it was nice to go out with the family and eat like a “normal” person, so as not to feel deprived.  🙂

We’ll see what other ideas I can come up with in the coming weeks.  If anyone has any good crockpot recipes (preferably chicken, as that’s what I enjoy most), please share!

We have an early morning game tomorrow, and then another one in the afternoon, and another one on Sunday.  And somewhere in all that, I need to get a 5 mile run in.  Guess it’s time for bed!  Thanks for reading!