Healthy Twists

Hey! It’s April 30, or as it’s known around here “t minus 7 days until my birthday.” Does anyone have any suggestions on crazy things I should do while I’m still young? I don’t know why but 26 just sounds so much older than 25. It’s like, 25 is carefree and reckless living while 26 is adulthood and responsibilities.

Tonight was going to be a “can of soup” night (I splurged on TWO Amy’s low-sodium soups, big spender I know) but I realized I wanted something with more protein since I was exercising after work and I’d want a substantial refueling meal. Nothing too fancy, but what I came up with got the job done after a 3-mile run (32:35 yeah!) and 35 minute weight session at the gym.

Dinner was actually a joint effort. Earlier today Mitch browned up a package of ground turkey.

So, one reason to go vegetarian (or read veggie blogs) might be that it’s very difficult to make meat look good, Pioneer Woman notwithstanding.

Anyway, Trader Joe’s helped out with dinner by way of their curry simmer sauce. I bought this jar awhile ago, just for a time like tonight when I knew I’d want dinner on the table quick.

I chopped up some veggies I thought would go well with curry (cauliflower, zucchini, and shallots) and threw them in my fancy All-Clad “pan with lid” (I don’t remember what it’s really called).

P.S. My pan was clean when I started cooking, those black spots on the bottom are from the cooking (I typed cookies…Freudian slip much?) and that’s what they call flavor on the Food Network.

I added the sauce and a boatload of red pepper flakes, cooked the mixture for 10 minutes, added the turkey and let the whole thing simmer for another five. I stirred in some chopped cilantro and dinner was served!

Now, while I liked the ease of this meal and the pretty color of the curry, I wasn’t that happy with the taste as I was the first time we had this sauce. Last time, I had it with chicken, so maybe that was part of it? I don’t know, it just didn’t taste that flavorful. Or maybe my tastes are becoming more refined…ok, that’s probably not it.

I added a serving of vegetables to my meal by having it over some oven-roasted kale. Maybe it would have been better if I cooked the kale with everything else on the stove, but Mitch doesn’t like greens and I didn’t want to waste my lovely kale on someone who would not appreciate it.

So, not a total winner, but it was pretty healthy and definitely easy. I might have to visit the Indian market this weekend to pick up ingredients to make something like this without relying on a jarred sauce.

I had something a little more “deep” that I wanted to talk about tonight, but rambling about a simmer sauce ended up taking more space than I anticipated. So methinks I’ll save it for my weekly training recap this weekend, because it’s sort of related.

I’m picking a friend up at the airport later tonight, so the question is, do I take a nap for two hours, or read, or watch tv, or tinker online…or all of the above? I suppose I could clean, but really, that’s not going to happen. That’s boy work (this girl knows what I mean!).

Q: What did you do for your last birthday, or what was the most fun birthday celebration you’ve attended recently? I need some ideas…maybe. I’m leaning towards a super low-key birthday, partly because the thought of planning something right now stresses me out. I’ve been so busy that all I want to do to celebrate my getting older is SLEEP!

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