Hello, Darkness

Happy Monday Hopefully nobody woke up earlier than necessary from the time change.

I only enjoy fall daylight savings for the first day because of the extra hour gained. It makes me feel like I have a lot more time to get stuff done despite it being only an additional hour. Walking Mochi in the mornings is also less sketchy because it’s not pitch black outside.

That said, I think I’m less thrilled with it this year because I’ve started running. I don’t enjoy taking my runs to the treadmill because I get so bored and tend to not run straight lol. Because it’s dark when I get home and take Mochi out again, I have to run indoors. I know I can still run outside, but I’m just not that comfortable with running alone in the dark.

Eats

My breakfast for today was my usual work standard of oatmeal with almond butter and chia seeds and lunch was leftovers from last night. I made a big crock pot of salsa chicken last night because I was craving something warm and savory As promised, here is the recipe that I use.

Salsa Chicken (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

•  2-3 chicken breasts (more will just yield more servings)
• 1 can fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can no salt added black beans
• 1 cup salsa of choice (I usually add more)
• Seasonings: garlic powder, black pepper, chili powder, onion powder, sea salt
• Optional: 1 cup low fat sour cream, cilantro, diced onions, and cheese

Directions

1. Make sure the chicken breasts are completely thawed. You can make this with frozen breasts, but it doesn’t turn out as tender in my experience.

2. Season the chicken breasts as desired with seasonings listed and place them at the bottom of your crock pot.

If you have more breasts, it's okay if they are layered a bit.

3. Drain the can of black beans and pour evenly over the chicken.

I also added an onion to get rid of one in my fridge.

4. Add the salsa on top of the beans.

5. Add the cream of mushroom soup and give the toppings a nice stir.

6. Put on the lid and cook for 3 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
7. If desired, stir in sour cream, top with cheese, onions, and cilantro over rice.
8. Enjoy!

I  chose not to top mine with cheese and stuff this time, but it adds a nice touch You can also eat this with brown rice or tortillas instead. Most recipes don’t add black beans, but it adds some extra flavor and a nice touch of fiber.

Exercise

Because of craziness at work and more running, I didn’t go to BodyPump for two full weeks. After dragging myself through the cold to the gym, I was ready to rock a workout. I started off with a medium intensity workout on the elliptical for 15 minutes before jumping in line for BP.

Luckily, my friend Mandy was already there, so I chatted it up with her while we waited. I was SO glad that our instructor didn’t use the most recent release (79) because I was starting to get bored with it despite how intense it is. I happened to forget that I haven’t gone in two weeks and loaded up my weights like I normally do.

Oh. Man. I’m going to be feeling this in full force tomorrow. It also brought to my attention how sore my legs were from my run yesterday…whoops! At least I got a good sweat session in.

Be Thankful Challenge

Today I am thankful for learning about ice baths. I know that I would be a hell of a lot more sore today if I didn’t endure the chilly dunk yesterday after the 8 miler