More Chili

I was supposed to run intervals on Monday.  Well, technically, I could do whatever I wanted to, since I’m not exactly following a set training plan. But I have been doing intervals on Monday to hopefully help with my speed.

Intervals are tough, since I have to run as fast as I possibly can for 1/4 mile, four times.  Normally, I don’t look forward to them, but I do them anyway.  This week, though, I lacked any enthusiasm whatsoever.  I think part of it is that I was running out of time, and I really don’t like to be rushed when doing intervals, because it makes me panicky.  So, instead of doing my usual 3 or so miles with intervals, I decided to just run two miles as fast as I could. It was cold, and as usual, my runny nose drove me crazy, but I ran pretty darn fast!

I was really astonished that I was able to hold a nine-minute pace for two miles! I’m pretty proud of that.  That’s really fast for me!  🙂  My last “really fast” two mile run was back in early August, and I thought that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  I remember flopping down on the grass when it was done, because I was so tired.  And that pace was a 9:36!! So this 9:00 pace really makes me feel good.  Not that I felt good at the time, lol.  At the time, I was exhausted, and afterwards, I actually flopped down on the grass for only the second time in my short running career.

The view from the grass was actually kind of pretty, though.

Though I was a little disappointed in myself for not doing the intervals, I was really excited to have such a good run.

_____________________

And now for another food discussion. 😉

I’m trying to branch out now that I’m on maintenance and explore things I haven’t tried before.  While I was losing weight, I ate a lot of the same things. In general, that’s a pretty common theme in our house…we like what we like, and we eat it a lot.  I have eaten the same breakfast five days a week for probably close to four years.  And I’m perfectly okay with that!

But at the same time, I want to mix it up, because I don’t want boredom to translate into going “off the wagon” as far as healthy eating goes.  We have recently instituted a meal plan in our house.  (I’m too tired to go into it today, but I will probably delve more into the topic of our “meal plan” in great detail another day, because it has become quite an important facet of both our household and my weight management!)

But on Tuesday, I decided to shake things up and–gasp!–go off the meal plan! 😉 I wanted try something I had really been craving…a true white chicken chili.  I made a chicken chili last week that was quite good, but I really wanted to try one without tomatoes or kidney beans.  I bought white beans at the store last week, and Tuesday night I found this recipe.  I altered it slightly because I only had one can of chiles, and because I was too chicken to use more than one jalapeno (fresh from my garden, which is still trying to hang on, lol!).  I didn’t have two whole limes, so I used 1/4 cup bottled lime juice.  And let me tell you, it was the BEST CHILI EVER!!!

It was so flavorful!  It was about 6 points per serving, and that was without the sour cream on top (because I just forgot it!).  I could taste the lime juice and all the spices in every bite, and it was just sinfully delicious.  I won’t lie–I had more than one serving, and I did snack a bit from the pot after dinner was over. 😉

So that was my great discovery for the week.  Even DS#2, the world’s pickiest eater, enjoyed every bite!

Thanks for reading!