Joy Comes In The Morning: Life is Good!! (Bok choy skillet dinner)

This morning I decided to run before my coffee or breakfast. I am so pumped because at 7:00 a.m. it was 59 degrees and 5 mph winds. BEAUTIFUL! Friends, I accomplished a new record for myself in the running department. Hold that thought!!

I have signed up for three more races:

1: June 26th Tough Enough Twilight 5k at 9:00 p.m.
2: July 4th Independence Day 10k Trail Run at 7:00 a.m.

3: October 22nd Xterra Maui Trail Run at 8:00 a.m.

As soon as I had sent my registration in, I became anxious and thought to myself, "What in the world have I done???!!!!"

What have I done? I've set about challenging myself to become healthier and stronger, and to not set out of range goals, but do-able goals. Last week I was consistent with running 4 days straight, took two days off and ran again and in those 7 days, I ran all 5 days at 3 miles solid. This week I knew that I had to kick it up a notch if I was going to have any kind of stamina for more than 3 miles on July 4th. Yesterday I ran 3.25 miles, today 3.52 solid and still had gas in my tank! That was my new personal record and I am pumped!!!

This picture was taken just as I came in this morning, and yes I am left handed so my 3.5 is backwards, sorry! :0)

One evening last week I decided to clean out the refrigerator and make a casserole of sorts. It was yummy and here is what I did:

Bok Choy Skillet Dinner

2-3 tsp of olive oil or grapeseed oil

1/2 large onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 of a colored bell pepper, diced

1 cup of cooked grains** (I used bulgur)

1/4 c of water or broth

1 large bok choy, cleaned and sliced or 4 small

fresh herb, diced/chopped (I used basil)

1/2 tsp of curry powder

1/2 tsp of garam masala

1/2 tsp of ground coriander seed

salt and pepper to taste

**This would be great to omit the grains and serve over prepared pad thai noodles or whole wheat noodles*

In a large saute pan or dutch oven place oil with onion and garlic over medium heat and saute until transparent. Add bell pepper and continue cooking another 5 minutes or so. Then add grains with water/broth, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. If you haven't cooked your grains yet, you can do so now at this time in the same pot, but follow grains instructions.

Add bok choy, cover and simmer another 5 minutes. Add herbs and a healthy drizzle of olive oil. Cover and remove from heat for 10 minutes. **If you didn't add grains, then serve over cooked noodles/pasta of your choice. The next time I make this, I would like to use a flavor infused oil and try a different herb, but the basil was amazing!