Finally! Some vegetables in our lives! I did a little too much “taste testing” yesterday while baking for co-workers so I was really in the mood for something healthy!

Broccoli Slaw (via Cooking Light)

Slaw:

• 6 cups thinly sliced napa (Chinese) cabbage  —> Or be lazy and use a prepackaged mix!
  
• 1 cup diagonally sliced celery
  
• 1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
  
• 1/2 cup grated carrot (1 medium)
  
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
  
• 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seed kernels  <—- skipped!
  
• 1 (5-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• Dressing:
• 1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper —-> OR MORE!
  
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/3 cup canola oil
  
• Remaining ingredients:
• 1 cup fresh orange sections
  
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 (3-ounce) package ramen noodles, crumbled and toasted (discard seasoning packet)

Preparation:

1.  To prepare slaw, combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well to combine.
2. To prepare dressing, combine soy sauce and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil to soy sauce mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over slaw, tossing gently to coat. Top slaw with oranges, almonds, and noodles.

Am I the only one who doesn’t like eating salad in the winter? I’m in so much more of a SOUP mood. But the salad was a winner anyways. Note: Duh, if you put the leftovers in the fridge, the noodles are going to get gross & soggy. I ended up throwing them away. Lame.

I had to take a picture of the treadmill screen so you could get a visual of my Pyramid Workout!

I found this little gem on the Running Times website.

Workout: The Pyramid

Set 1: steady pace 1 minute each @ 4, 5 and 6 percent incline
2-3 minutes recovery @ flat jog

Set 2: steady pace 1 minute each @ 5, 6 and 7 percent incline
2-3 minutes recovery @ flat jog

Set 3: steady pace 1 minute each @ 6, 7 and 8 percent incline
2-3 minutes recovery @ flat jog

Set 4: steady pace 1 minute each @ 7, 6 and 5 percent incline
2-3 minutes recovery @ flat jog

Set 5: steady pace 1 minute each @ 6, 5 and 4 percent incline
2-3 minutes recovery @ flat jog

I added a little 5 minute warm-up and about 10 minutes at the end to round out my workout. Those incline intervals were NO JOKE!!

5.61 miles in 45 minutes. That’s a lousy 8:01 pace. Had I KNOWN that was an 8:01 pace, I would’ve definitely run a few more minute to bring it down to 8 or below. Lol. I wouldn’t have cared if it was 8:15 or something, but since I was so stinking close!

While running, I was watching my fave - Jeopardy! And imagine my delight, there was a category on Exercise & Fitness.

None of the contestants could name this baby:

So easy. Little nerds!!! It pays to hit the gym once in a while. You would definitely know what a kettlebell is. Chenda & I are disappointed in you!!!

Hehehe. Look what I did to Boyd tonight!!!!! I was baking up the rest of the Skinny Gingerbread Cookie dough, and I couldn’t resist powdering Boyd’s nose. The best part? HE HAD NO CLUE!!! So sweet and innocent.

Still clueless. Poor thing. All he wanted was a little sample of cookie dough!!!

I’ve also been taunting him with his Christmas gift. It makes a noise so I squeeze it and he comes running. He can never figure out what it is. Now it’s all wrapped and under the tree. Wooohoo!! Tomorrow night is mini Kreisel family gift night!

Dinner was a little homemade mac ‘n’ cheese. So scrumptious for this carb lover. More specifically — hot carbs!!! After a gorgeous sunny afternoon yesterday, the weather today has been awful, snowy, and foggy!

Something serious…

Maybe you don’t all know it, but my older brother is a police officer (and I couldn’t be prouder of him). He lives and works back with alllll the rest of all our family in Minnesota. I guess that explains why this news story touches my heart so much. (Here’s an article from our local newspaper on the story).

Today there was a domestic incident in Lake City that ended with the responding police officer being shot in the head. I don’t believe the full story is out yet, but from what I’ve read, the woman in the domestic incident was able to run away prior to the shooting. The police officer is in the hospital in critical condition, but is responsive. This is the latest update I’ve seen on the story. The officer is 32, married with 3 school-aged kids. I don’t know him personally, but my brother is obviously very connected with all the police officers in our small Southeastern Minnesota area so it hits extremely close to home for us.

It’s just heavy on my heart, and I wanted to share and ask for prayer over the situation, especially for the officer and his family.

Good night, friends!