In the past few years, I’ve been in quite a few Triathletes’ apartments for parties, etc. Most of the time, they don’t even need to TELL me they’re a triathlete, because the second I step in the door, it’s blatantly obvious.

Triathletes are often so proud of their hobby that they’ll talk about it within seconds of meeting them, so chances are, you’ll already know before you step foot in their apartment, but just in case….

Signs you’re in a Triathlete’s apartment:

AT LEAST two bikes sit in the living room, taking up more space than the television:

The kitchen counters are covered in random powders or Gu’s…things non athletes would definitely NOT call food:

Somewhere else in the kitchen sits empty water bottles…lots of them…just waiting to be refilled:

Don’t get scared if you go into the bathroom. That dark human-shaped shadow that you see out of the corner of your eye before you turn on the light isn’t really a person lurking behind the shower curtain….it’s just a wet suit!

And of course, displayed prominently in the Triathlete’s apartment for all who enter to see (usually even more prominently than any family or friend photos..) is their Medals!

Race photos, clif bars, racing magazines, and heaping piles of laundry (all this sweaty training clothes) are usually somewhere there as well!

So if you aren’t sure if they are or not and see these things, I’m pretty sure you’re in a Triathletes apartment

I should be a detective, don’t you think?! (kidding)

–Do you agree with all these things?
–What else would you add?

Well, the camera ate most of my photos this weekend, unfortunately.

It was a great but exhausting weekend and here it is Monday morning and I feel like I need a whole other day to catch up on stuff and feel ready to start the new week. I didn’t tackle half the stuff on my to-do list and instead spent it doing things like laying in the sun in the park and sitting in the hot tub. Poor me

A few scenes (mostly of eats) from the weekend:

Saturday morning and afternoon eats were boring (green smoothie, egg and toast, cantaloupe) so I’ll spare you photos.

It’s still April, so we’re clearly cheating on the “don’t eat out” challenge this month. We went out to dinner at a fun Chinese fusion loungey place on Saturday night after my work event.

And then out for a margarita (early cinco de mayo!) at an outsidebar with a great band. No picture…this was one that was eaten.

Sunday morning, I woke up to a giant, delicious bowl of cereal topped with trail mix granola, strawberries, blueberries, and almond milk.

Excellent fuel for my swim. The pool was pretty empty and I got my own lane- love that!

Sunday afternoon was spent at Golden Gate park with my two guys (Jared and Charlie). It was pretty warm (for SF, not for another city!) and we had fun exploring, picnicking,and taking several let’s-sit-here-and-take-a-park-nap naps.

Where we picnicked (half a chicken sandwich on sourdough- sandwich photo eaten by camera):

Exploring: Charlie was very into chasing birds and squirrels

Napping/reading magazines on the grass:

I took a bunch of photos of Jared napping, but I don’t think he’d appreciate me posting them, so I’ll be nice..

Waiting for a squirrel- Charlie sat mesmerized for a good 15 minutes waiting for the squirrel to reappear

BBQ Dinner Feast: burgers, corn, asparagus, fries:

Yum!

Ice cream (photo also eaten)- so happy and full by then!

And then we went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick out new pillows. Jared really wanted me to take a photo of him testing them out….so if you insist…..here’s how we spent 8-9pm last night…

Mission successful! Came back with 4 new pillows to try.

And now back to Monday….

—Whens the last time you bought new pillows? (I can’t even remember for me! Must have been years)

—Does your dog chase squirrels, birds, etc?

It’s Friday!!! And it’s supposed to be nice weather this weekend- Yeah!

Here are four random Friday things:

1) I started taking Gummi Vitamins….suggested by my doc (she takes gummy kid ones too because she doesn’t like the pill ones either). Ummm, why didn’t I start this ages ago?! It’s like being able to eat gummi bears every single morning. They taste so good, I have a hard time restraining myself from eating just 2 (serving size).

Obviously, they carry much less nutrients than a regular adult multivitamin pill, but I can’t take the regular ones (they make me feel terrible), so taking the kid ones are better than taking nothing.

2) I drink a lot of water. Like a LOT of water every day. I generally carry a HUGE water bottle around all day.

But….Have you heard that they found out that metal water bottles (even the ones that SAY THEY’RE BPA FREE) carry MORE BPAs than regular plastic water bottles? The metal outside is BPA-free, but whatever they line it with inside to keep it clean….is supposedly FULL of BPAs. Sheesh, you really can’t win.

My "old" bottle on the right. My "newer" and smaller bottle on the left

I have no idea if my old metal water bottle was part of the BPA ones, but just in case, I got a new Camelback BPA free bottle. I don’t really think that can fix all the BPA exposure I’ve likely gotten over the last few years, but oh well.

3) Who else is loving the Real Housewives marathons on BRAVO? They are the best thing to watch on the treadmill or elliptical. Bethenny or that Milliondollar real estate show is a close second. Lately, I go to the gym, just as an excuse to indulge my Real Housewives vice. It’s so ridiculous, it glues me to the tv. I can’t believe they all agreed to do another season!

Here I am obviously too enthralled in Danielle and Jacqueline's NJ drama and whether or not "that is like that" to keep up with my workout!

My best friend just bought a house in Franklin Lakes. I’ve put her on Real Housewives sighting watch at the grocery store. She thinks I’m crazy. Haha.

4) I went to an office for a meeting this week, and they had THIS out all the time for their employees!

So awesome, right! I wanted to work there just for the cucumber water.

And besides, then I wouldn’t even have to worry about BPAs!

Happy Friday!

- What shows do you usually watch at the gym? (or would you rather listen to music?)
- What kind of bottle do you drink water in?
- Do they have any neat foodie things at your work? We have granola bars…but that’s about it….
– Do you take a multivitamin??

Sometimes life isn’t all sunshine and poppies…

Though Spring flowers are definitely in bloom these days….

But sometimes, there are more complicated things to think about and figure out….

I’m a terrible decision maker. I list every possible pro and con. I am never sure whether to go with my head or my heart. And I let all the options get so complicated, it becomes difficult to see what I really want.

And when that happens, the very best thing for me is to take a walk. No music, no distractions, just a long walk with my thoughts. It clears my head and helps me listen to my gut.

And it helps when there’s a beautiful scenery and sunset to walk towards….

And you can just sit on the beach and watch the waves.

The beach was especially nice last night.

And of course, my second “relax and clear my thoughts” go-to is a glass of wine. That is usually best enjoyed with friends, of course. And enjoyed with friends while sitting on the beach is not half bad either.

How about you? What do you do when you need to clear your head or have decisions to make?
Do you usually listen to your head or your heart?

It’s time for another What I Ate Wednesday! Visit Jenn at Peas and Crayons

This will actually be from what I ate on Saturday (which seems like ages ago by now!).

So far my weekday eats this week are pretty good too (aka finishing these muffins for breakfast, these enchiladas for dinners, almonds for snacks, and salads or sweet potatoes for lunches.

So back to Saturday…

Long walk with the dog, followed by breakfast-another fabulous green smoothie (spinach, pineapple, half of a banana and blueberries)

Plus two-ish cups of coffee with almond milk, of course.

The morning was spent at the park with a few friends, enjoying the ridiculously nice weather.

Lunch when I got home…a mishmash of whatever was in my fridge (Saturdays tend to be my “not much food in the fridge” days). My plate was full of a couple brussel sprouts, steamed kale, orange pepper, fennel (still working through my superfoods list!), tofu and avocado. It was a random mix, but it worked.

An apple for dessert (we all know what that looks like).

And then I went to the baseball game. Dinner was early (5pm) at a tailgate party. A garden burger patty, salad, and beans. Not great, but not terrible either.

And then, because it was the baseball game and all….a box of cracker jacks! So good!

And for full what-I-ate-journaling, I met up with a friend after the game and had a half glass of wine. yum. But no pic.

Soooo, your turn:

– What’s your favorite ballpark food?
–What day do you usually go grocery shopping?

Well, you know me– I’m ALL ABOUT the few ingredient, incredibly simple recipes. Honestly, the least amount of steps and the fewer ingredients the better….as long as it doesn’t cut down on taste, of course.

So, Jared has been bugging me for requesting enchiladas for weeks now. Actually, that’s not really true….a few weeks ago, I announced I was going to make enchiladas and then something came up and I never did….and then I promised them the next week….and something came up again and I never did….and that *might* have happened again twice more after that….so you get the point. I finally put an end to that though and I made enchiladas!

I looked through a bunch of different recipes, most of them I ended up dismissing because they either had too many ingredients (which I didn’t have in my cabinets and would be expensive to buy), used cream cheese (which I weirdly can’t stand) or they were too onion-y (which neither of us like much).

And eventually, I just sorta winged it and created a REALLY simple, few ingredient, extra cheesy enchilada bake. They came out good!

Easy, cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

6 Flour Tortillas
2 Cups shredded Chicken (I used a rotiserrie chicken…and then used the leftover chicken for lunches, etc).
1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 10-oz can red enchilada sauce
1/2 tomato, diced
3/4 cup frozen spinach
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
1 tbs lime juice
Extra lime wedges

This photo will always look upside down...whoops

Ready for the instructions? It’s super simple!

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9 or 9×11 pan (I used ceramic, glass pan works too).

– In a blender, mix the enchilada sauce, parsley, cilantro and lime juice for 45 seconds.

–In a small bowl, mix the shredded chicken, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, frozen spinach and diced tomato together.

–Lay tortillas out flat, put chicken/cheese mixture, and roll up. Line up in pan.

–Pour enchilada sauce on top.

–Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

–After you take them out of the over, sprinkle some additional cilantro on top and garnish with a line (which you can squeeze on top, if you’d like). Serve with rice and beans for an extra filling meal.

They are extra cheesy and a perfect, simple enchilada that takes such little time to make! Yes, there’s a lot of cheese on there, but they aren’t as greasy as those in a typical Mexican restaurant, so can be counted as pretty healthy (as far as enchiladas go). I used white flour tortillas, but you can use whole wheat if you’d like.

And there ya go! Leftovers for dinner tonight- yeah!

– What do you usually order at a Mexican restaurant? I normally get soft tacos, fajitas, or enchiladas.
– When’s the last time you made enchiladas?
– Tell me something about your day!!

Yesterday, while someone slept….

I made MUFFINS!

Dashing Dish’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana (gluten free!) Muffins to be exact.

I KNEW, as soon as I saw the recipe that I had to make them, like make them immediately.  I think her website is down, but I’ll post the proper link as soon as it’s back up.

And best part (which I’m guessing is true for you as well?) I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen (except for the yogurt, but that was so easy to pick up).

I’ve never baked with a blender before- have you?

It was sort of fun to mix everything with the blender (ingredients are oatmeal, sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, mashed banana, egg whites, greek yogurt, baking soda & powder, and hot water)

I added chocolate chips, cause that’s just what I do.  And modified it slightly, but not enough to call it my own, so just check out Dashing Dish.

They came out yummy! So moist (even the next day). And they’re pretty healthy.

I’ve already eaten four (two yesterday and two for breakfast today)…. And that’s four full size and not mini (oops).  And guess what, they’re awesome.

After swimming two miles this morning, here was my Ironman’s breakfast.  I think he could use some protein, don’t you? (and what is the spoon for? beats me…ha)

I see more muffins in my future!

–What’s your favorite type of muffin?

So far, this weekend has consisted of:

Hammock time

A baseball game

Pretty flowers (lucky me!)

Way too many cups off coffee (Charlie didn’t want any….)

And a baking experiment. Can you guess what I made?

Weekends always go by way too fast. Off to make the most of the rest of the afternoon!

What have you been up to?
What’s planned for Sunday night dinner?

This morning, I told Jared I would go on a run with him.

It started off great. It was sunny and there was hardly anyone out as we ran along the water and towards the Golden Gate Bridge. He’s a little faster than me, but I tried to keep up (though I think I ate too much salmon and brussel sprouts last night because my stomach hurt….blah)

In my running clothes. Look how long my legs look! If only they were like that in real life!

I stopped to walk for a min around the halfway point and then he met back up with me and we ran together again…..until I needed to walk again (I need to get into better running shape!) so he kept going.

I started running again….there was only about a mile and a half left anyways, but we were still separated and even though there weren’t many people on the trail, I still couldn’t see him.

I figured he would be waiting back at my apt for me without a key, so I cut up one street and took the short cut. When I got home, he wasn’t there.

So I waited. And waited.

And then, I ran back down the street, thinking maybe he was waiting for me. And he wasn’t there. You get the picture- back and forth of this not finding each other for another 20 minutes or so. I started picturing him being molested by psychos in the park bathroom- hahaha!

Anyway, we finally found each other after both running an extra 2 miles or so looking for the other person.

See that red dot coming up the street? That's him....looking upset....when we finally found each other

So, we were bad running buddies today for a few reasons:

1) We didn’t have a “what to do if we split up” plan

2) We didn’t follow the first rule of getting lost- STAY IN ONE PLACE

3) Neither of us had our phones

4) Stay on the predetermined path, don’t take short cuts

5) We both got all worried– he assumed I was hurt and asked the park ranger and other runners to find me!

Sweaty post run banana

So, moral of the story is: Lesson learned. Be a good running buddy. Communicate. Have an end spot. …….And for me, GET IN BETTER RUNNING SHAPE SO YOU CAN KEEP UP

TGIF everyone!

- Who’s your running buddy? (or workout partner)
– Do you guys always stay together or do you split up sometimes?
- What’s your weekend workout plans?

All the best days start with a Green Smoothie

And end with Salmon.  (Not together!! Eaten separately )

Green in the morning makes me feel awake and energetic and the Salmon does the same thing in a nice omega-3 kinda way.

My favorite way to cook salmon is to honey-glaze it and also to top it with cinnamon.
This is one of those “non-recipe” recipes that I love because it’s so simple and takes so few ingredients that I feel silly even posting them here. But honestly, when it works, it works! This is an easy, delicious way to cook salmon, especially on a busy work night.

For the salmon:

I alway buy wild, Alaskan salmon. It’s slightly more expensive, but it’s the best for you and I feel like it’s more than worth the extra few bucks.

– I rinse the salmon in water and put it on a broiler pan (skin side down).

– Squeeze fresh lemon on top.

– Then, just drizzle a thin layer of honey on top of the salmon. Spread it evenly (you should probably use a knife, but I usually just use my finger….I hope that’s not gross!)

–Sprinkle a very little bit of sea salt on top.

Then, just stick it into a 350 degree oven and bake! I usually bake mine for about 20 minutes, but cooking time varies depending on the thickness of your piece of salmon.

When it’s time to eat, I like to drizzle some more honey on top (sweet tooth!) too, but that’s optional.

And that’s it. Told you this was ridiculously easy!

My other favorite way (which I normally do with the other piece of salmon) is to squeeze lemon on top and then sprinkle generously with cinnamon. After the salmon is cooked, I add some sea salt.

Love salmon and this simple go-to is my fave. I cooked some this morning because I knew I wouldn’t be home until 8 tonight and am already excited for dinner!

Okay, next salmon-related topic……

What’s the deal with salmon skin? Do you eat it?

I’ll admit- I usually eat it or I give it to Charlie (dog). I know a lot of you are probably grossed out by that– seems like a lot of people throw it out? But regardless, I’m just curious what the deal is with it anyways and what you’re “supposed” to do.

I debated not posting this because it's really not very appetizing, but...

Here’s what I found out based on a slew of sites (thank you google)–

–  The skin includes healthy omega-3s (esp in that dark fleshy part between the skin and the pink part) and all the nutrients that make salmon good for you.

– However, some of the mercury and pollutants from the water are found in the skin (the skin protects the fish from getting the pollutants….) so by eating the skin, you’re getting more harmful chemicals.

Verdict? If you eat salmon all the time (aka, twice a week), it’s best to not eat the skin all the time so you don’t ingest as many pollutants. But if you are only eating salmon occasionally, go ahead and eat the skin. And dogs enjoy it as well (plus, it keeps their coat shiny), so feel free to share the goods.

Ok, so you tell ME

- Do you eat the skin?
- How do you normally cook salmon?
- How often do you eat fish?