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Tag: Salmon salad

A Repurposed Foot Wash, Tiny Peppers, and A Run Through Dutton Island Preserve

Day 18 of 28 Day Refocus

A Crystal Clear Morning, 7th Street
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021

We had a great walk through the neighborhood to the beach this morning and Codee was super excited about pretty much all of it, especially whatever he found in the sand under the pier.

7th Street Public Beach Shower
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021
Under The Pier, The Cloisters
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021
Neighborhood Love, 10th Street
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021

Parks and Recreation:

Dutton Island Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021

I took a run out to Dutton Island in the early evening. It’s one of my favorite routes, but for whatever reason, Codee doesn’t ever want to walk the trail, so I thought it would be ideal to head out there solo. It was the perfect time of day for it, too. Of course, the mosquitoes agreed, so I was definitely motivated to keep the snapshots short and move along.

Dutton Island Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021
Dutton Island Preserve
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 19, 2021

Sweating It Out:

A little warm, but I loved it. I stopped a bunch to take photos and then to water the plants at the garden on the way back home. I almost always wear my Camelback vest and today I was especially grateful for it.
I broke the resistance moves into two teeny tiny circuits today, one in the morning and one before bed.

Podcast of The Day:

Okay, obviously this podcast is a little heavy, but I can get into that every so often. This episode, in particular, was really personal for me for a lot of reasons. I love the conversation about the different faces of quitting…some things you quit because they are simply hard and some things you quit because they don’t serve you, yet we use the same word for both regardless if the outcome is positive or negative.

On The Plates:

After the standard brunch green drink, the meals accidentally resembled each other in palette and palate and a lot of that can be blamed on how deliciously ripe the pint of sun gold cherry tomatoes that I bought are. I can’t believe that I was able to restrain myself from eating the entire pint today, but I actually had to eat these ones because they likely won’t make it to tomorrow. I don’t put my tomatoes in the fridge, so when they are super ripe, there really isn’t any time to waste. These are like candy, so I didn’t want to wait. Okay, moving on.
For supper, I had the sun golds along with salmon salad, Mary’s Gone Crackers Classic Seed Crackers, sugar snap peas, and arugula. Dinner was with baked chicken breast, Chickapea Linguine (it’s a brand, not a typo), cauliflower, green beans, and extra virgin olive oil.

Cronometer:

That’s what I call right on the razor’s edge of not meeting the goal…I am trying to stay under 1500 calories five days of the week and 1700 for the other two days. I squeaked in right under the wire, but it was a super yummy day. Those tomatoes….

Garmin Says:

Bumping my pace really kicked that calorie number up. Plus, it was really fun to run in the woods. 🙂

Salmon Salad with Beet, Cucumber, and Balcony Greens

I did it!!! I finally found the right combination of recipe, gear, and ingredients to successfully make mayonnaise. I know that I should have gone to Martha from the beginning, but I blundered through whisks and bowls, blenders and lots of wasted oil…which splattered EVERYWHERE, mind you…before I remembered to check her website for a recipe and, voila. I am very excited and, to be honest, a little bit nervous. Mayonnaise is a condiment that I gave up back when I lost my first large amount of weight. It was one of those mind games, though, where I told myself that I didn’t like it knowing all the while that it was untrue, but it made me not miss it. Then, came my real food guidelines and that kept it away for the most recent past. Well, my inability to make it keep it away, but it’s a product that can have a lot of additives.

I don’t miss it often, obviously, but I am trying to eat more fish and I definitely miss it when it comes to canned salmon and tuna. I didn’t use much and also added Dijon mustard and caper brine, along with celery and sea salt, but it makes a big difference. As if I didn’t have enough beets earlier in the week…I served it along with some roasted beets tossed with champagne vinegar, salted English cucumber slices, and Balcony Garden Greens. Perfect on a hot summer day.

Eat the rainbow, y’all!

Summer Flowers, Unexpected Creatures, and Martha’s Mayo Saves Lunch

Day 7 of 28 Day Refocus

Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 8, 2021

It was a beautiful day to round out Week 1 of my challenge…one of those days where there is not much to report in the garden, though. August is like that around here. After checking on things there and then heading to my favorite grocery store (they have 10% off produce on Sundays), we headed back to the condo for a chill day. I did a bit of my strength training while getting extra vitamin D and composting a couple of plants on the balcony while Codee napped. It was a warm and sunny day, so we took a lot of short walks. After my coaching call, we headed to the park…again. It’s not uncommon for us to hit at least three of the parks in Atlantic Beach on any given day and today was no exception. It’s a really difficult place for boredom to set in and that is only one of the reasons I love my tiny town so much.
And now for some photos from the next town over…Neptune Beach….

Simple Beauty, First Street
Neptune Beach, FL – August 8, 2021
Bumper Sticker Wisdom
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 8, 2021
Creatures by Scotie Cousins
Neptune Beach, FL, August 8, 2021
I’m a sucker for a penny farthing…, First Street
Neptune Beach, FL – August 8, 2021

Sweating It Out:

I had a fun walk/run combo into Neptune Beach this evening. I walked the first 2.5 miles, jogged 2 miles, and then walked the last half mile home. Straight out and mostly straight back. There isn’t a ton of shade on First Street in Neptune, so I haven’t gone far in that direction in a long time. The bummer is that I noticed my phone was going to die, so I skipped a podcast/music and didn’t take a lot of photos, but I was reminded how nice the route is with a good breeze, creative neighbors, and the occasional view of the ocean. No turns and very little traffic means you can just get in the zone and the fellow fitness seekers provide just the right amount of motivation when you need it.

I also had a double dose of arm resistance training. It seems like such a small daily amount, but I will be honest that I am feeling it after a day off tomorrow. I’m not sore, but I’m glad I am easing back in.

On The Plates:

7 for 7 on the brunch consistency this week. This photo is from yesterday, but my Green Drink is exactly the same, so…

Have a mentioned recently that it is an acquired taste?…

I had a HUGE kitchen win today and finally found the right combo of recipe and technique to make my own mayonnaise. Why didn’t I go to Martha months ago??? I am very excited about this development. Mostly because I failed so many times prior to this success, it seemed like I was not ever going to get it right…blender, whisk, food processor…nothing had produced anything but an oily mess. Mayonnaise is a condiment that I gave up back when I lost my first large amount of weight and I don’t miss it often, but I am trying to eat more fish and I definitely miss it when it comes to canned salmon and tuna. I didn’t use much and also added Dijon mustard and caper brine, along with celery and sea salt, but it makes a big difference. I like to let it chill in the fridge for a few hours before eating, if I think to plan it out that way. I’m really excited to have this in a sandwich, but I am keeping gluten out of my diet for a month, so as if I didn’t have enough beets earlier in the week…I served it along with some roasted beets tossed with champagne vinegar, salted English cucumber slices, and greens from my balcony garden. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Cronometer:

Around 9PM, I got a little snacky…some carrots, an apple, and coconut peanut spread were a perfect, if strange, solution. It was kind of a weird day with a touch of an over indulgence at the end. As a side note, I have not had the exact same weight three days in a row in any other time in my memory…so strange, but holding steady through day 7 of my challenge and day 1 of my cycle.

Garmin Says:

It was a beautiful day… which was exactly what I needed to close out the week hitting all my goals!

112 Days Until Load In…Stay safe and moving, y’all!