2014 Goals Update -- January Cure, Hiking, Recipe Roundup and Books!

*My full list of 2014 goals can be found below. 

January Cure: Got to admit, I'm not taking this year's cure quite as seriously. As in, if I already "sort of" did the daily assignment, I'm counting it as done. Not completely failing but definitely not my usual overachieving self. I'm still committed to getting this done, don't get me wrong, I may just be cramming here and there, as opposed to doing it on the daily. More updates on this goal, coming soon!

January Hike: Saturday, January 4 -- 11.16 miles with my honey and our good friend. 1,524 feet of elevation although my guess was a BILLION. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, mid-60s with a nice breeze once we got climbing.

Power Poses. Approximately halfway through our hike.

Beautifulness.

Personal Training Sessions: Step 1: Purchase personal training sessions. DONE! My plan is to schedule my first session in late February, when the new year's gym rush has hopefully died down, and schedule sessions every other Friday. (My regular day off.)

Other Activity: It has been a good week so far! Sunday was a much needed post-hike rest day but I did hop on the elliptical (love having one at home) for a bit to get in some extra steps. On Monday I did back-to-back Couch-to-5K trainings and an additional walk to get over 12,000 steps. My goal has always been 10,000 steps/day but I upped it this week for a FitBit challenge. Yesterday I got up early and did an hour walk before work and today I did a run/walk after work. Tomorrow is a long walk before a delicious sushi dinner.  (Notice the run/walk trend?) 

New Recipe Roundup! January 3-8, 2013:

• Lighter Fettuccini Alfredo (Cook's Illustrated) and a Rainbow Chard and Radicchio Sauté recipe from Bon Appetit. The pasta is five stars, for sure. (Not surprising from Cook's Illustrated, right??) I think I enjoyed it more than the full fat version. As for the chard&radicchio, I think I used too little chard and/or too much radicchio, which is on the more bitter side. I think the ratio should be 2/3 to 1/3 or even 3/4 to 1/4.
• Zucchini and Basil Lasagna (Cooking Light) -- I made a half batch for lunch and we enjoyed leftovers for lunch on Monday. 
• Chicken and Bok Choy in Miso Ginger Broth -- The premise of this recipe is an old favorite, one that I have always made based on a Martha Stewart recipe. This time I decided to try a short cut with Trader Joe's miso ginger broth...and it is definitely a keeper! How I know that it is a keeper, aside from my own palate, is that my honey went back for thirds. THIRDS. Oh, and it is super simple to throw together on a weeknight and perfect for chilly weather. Recipe post coming soon!
  
  

Ingredients for Chicken & Bok Choy in Ginger Miso Broth. YUM.

Books! I am currently reading A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole) and thoroughly enjoying it. It is set in New Orleans and we also just started watching Season 1 of Treme...so I feel like I've got a good theme going. I have also been working my way through We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver). 

Months ago, a friend started a private Facebook group for some of our lady friends called the Ladies' Book Referral Service. The sole purpose of the group is to find out what everyone is reading and provide a communal focus for recommendations. I have gotten so many great ideas from the group and one member had the brilliant idea (and follow through) to plan an in-person get together. This Saturday, we are gathering to drink wine, talk about books and start a rotation of excellent reads. I plan to bring Little Bee (Chris Cleave) to share. 

2014 Goals
Home: 

• Complete January Cure. 
• Blog January Cure and goal progress minimum 1x/week.

Fitness/Health - Reach Goal Weight & Maintain:

• Hot Chocolate 5K (January); Fight for Air Climb (March); Great Strides 5K (April); Stars & Stripes 5K (July); Fall 5 or 10K TBD.
• Hikes 1x/month minimum. 
• Schedule and track all fitness. 
• Complete five personal training sessions.
• Group gym classes 2x/month minimum.

Cooking/Health:

• Track all food and pay attention to portion sizes.
• New recipes 8x/month.
• Meatless lunches/dinners 4x/week minimum.

Fun: 

• Read 12+ books. 
• Dates with friends 2x/month minimum. (May be combined with fitness fun.)
• Daily Challenge by me you health. (Overall well being.)