After being on the road this week for work it was nice to have a quiet night at home on Friday. Since I was doing a 10k the next morning I appreciated the quiet evening even more! Not that you really need to carb load for a 10k but I do like to eat pasta the night before a run because it sits well in my stomach. I did go out on a limb with this pumpkin alfredo because I wasn’t sure the creaminess would settle well. Lucky for me – it did and it was yummy!
My husband isn’t a fan of pumpkin but did like this. The pumpkin added more creaminess but since thyme is the only herb or spice used it doesn’t taste like pumpkin pie or the trendy pumpkin spice. The lighting in my kitchen is terrible for taking pictures – we have all Edison bulbs – but since this is pumpkin the yellowish hew doesn’t seem to harm it! The recipe is below but I added 8 ounces of sliced, sauteed baby bella mushrooms. They made the dish taste meaty even thought there is no meat in it!
The 10k I did was no joke. I guess I didn’t read the race description close enough to realize it was a 10k trail race. I’ve never run on trails and I’m so uncoordinated walking on hiking trails can be a challenge for me. I knew I was going to be slow because I was planning to walk part of the race since I’ve been going to PT for my back over the past month. I predicted I was going to finish 1.5 hours. This was before I knew it was a trail race…it was a tough race. Many hills and luckily some narrow paths that caused us to walk single file once in awhile. I finished in 1:29 which I’m super happy about! My ankles and legs not so thrilled with my performance though!
To treat myself after the run I had a nice lunch with my husband then we decided to visit a new brewery. We LOVE craft beer! We ended up going to Magnify and sampling a couple of their brews. This is their Search Saison. It was really good and almost wine-like. They are currently aging some on red-wine barrels so I’m excited to try that when it’s released.
The bonus to the trip to Magnify was the new (just opened 5 weeks ago) distillery next door. The laws in New Jersey have been changing and making it much easier for breweries and distilleries to operate in the state. Jersey State Distillery holds only the 7th distilling license in the state. They only had their Vodka and White Whisky when we visited and they are both really nice. Per New Jersey state law they’re only allowed to make/serve drinks made with their spirits so they had many infused with various flavors. My husband had the classic Moscow Mule and I had the Cucumber Gimlet. I can’t wait to go back!
We bought a bottle of Vodka for the house because it was that good and Vodka is awesome! If I’m going to drink I do prefer to drink craft beer, local wines and craft spirits. They tend to use better ingredients and are more concerned with quality over quantity. I also suffer from less of a hangover when I drink small batch and locally crafted beverages. So our post race excursion fits in well with my clean eating lifestyle 🙂
For the second Sunday in a row we hung out at home and relaxed. My body sure needed it! I didn’t feel like making anything complicated so Wildtree’s Organic Pot Pie Skillet Meal came to the rescue. I made the recipe as the package suggests and added fresh green beans. It’s so good, tastes like fall and comes with a total of 3 packs of seasoning so this is will become a regular go-to when I don’t want to fuss with dinner. www.mywildtree.com/eateasy
So that was my weekend! Looking forward to the week ahead – lots of fun and new recipes to try!
Pumpkin Alfredo
Serves 4
8 ounce whole wheat spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
¾ cup whole milk – I used 2%
½ cup Wildtree Alfredo Extraordinaire
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons thyme – I used fresh
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain, rinse, and set aside. Whisk together milk, Alfredo Extraordinaire, pumpkin puree, and thyme in a small pot over medium low heat until heated through. Toss with prepared pasta. Garnish with pine nuts.
I added sauteed mushrooms with the pumpkin.
Calories 350; Fat 12 g; Saturated Fat 3.5 g; Carbohydrates 52 g; Fiber 8 g; Protein 14 g; Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 210 mg
PotPie Skillet Meal – click here for recipe!
Submitted By: Wildtree from Warwick, RI
Number of Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil
1 pound chicken breasts (approx. 3 breasts), cubed
2 cups water 1 package Wildtree Pot Pie Skillet Meal
3/4 cup rice
Method of Preparation:
In a 10 or 12 inch skillet, heat the Grapeseed Oil until shimmering. Add the cubed chicken and brown lightly. Add the water and the Pot Pie Skillet Meal package and stir to combine. Add in the rice, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is tender.
I used brown rice so it took longer to cook and added the beans when I added the rice. Had I realized the rice would take so long to cook I’d have added the beans much later.
Nutritional Information: Calories: 260 Fat: 1.5g Saturated Fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 35g Fiber: 1g Protein: 24g
practicallyclean 