Mix It Up and Kick It Up Killer Cardio + WIAW

Today's meals, finally, feel worthy of a WIAW post. Much more so than recent WIAWs on here, anyway. I told you on Monday that I'm getting back on track after a few weeks of taking it easy (well, that's what I called it when I didn't feel like doing cardio for two weeks after our half marathon) and far too much comfort food. I'm still craving comfort foods, but there's no rule that says comfort food has to be unhealthy. Er, maybe there is, but I'm changing the rule!

For breakfast, we both woke up early because Terry had to drive all the way to San Diego for work today. Half asleep, I stumbled to the kitchen and somehow managed to find the leftover batter from last night's banana and macadamia nut pancakes. Cooking at 5:30 am isn't my strong suit, but you really can't mess up pancakes when the batter is already mixed and ready to go.

With some blueberries and tea on the side.

I feel super lucky that, as a teacher, I've always had third period for my conference period (an hour without students to prep/grade/plan/attend meetings). For me, it's the perfect time to sit down, reorganize, and have a snack. Today I enjoyed an apple while entering grades.

(I cut up the apple before I get to school; it never turns brown!)

For lunch, I had students in my classroom making up a quiz, so I didn't have time to microwave my meal. No problem! Turns out chilled stir fry is just as delicious as the hot version!

After work and a quick stop at the store, I treated myself to a banana with honey-cinnamon peanut butter (I microwaved about two tablespoons of peanut butter and one teaspoon of honey, then stirred in a sprinkle of cinnamon), plus a small glass of milk.

Plus about 5 of these

Then I got to work on making pizza dough and roasting vegetables for tonight's meal.

While the dough was rising and the veggie were cooling, I headed to the gym for a hardcore cardio workout. I told you I need to get my butt back in gear, and I know that pushing myself a bit works wonders for my motivation.

Notice I used fall colors? Someone's getting excited about leaves changing...

Here's how I looked after the workout:

A few notes...

• If I hadn't already made the graphic above that said "Repeat 3-4 times", I would have stopped after one round. Seriously. I completed three total, so you could argue that I still lied, but DAMN, this thing is HARD.
• I wanted to cry during the burpees.
• I was disgustingly sweaty afterward and worried a little that I would sweat into my pizza crust. TMI?
• I'm already sore. It hurts to get up.

For dinner, I tried out a new recipe that I saw on Courtney's blog a few weeks ago and have been SO excited to test for myself. I'm not so sure about the name "Garbage Bread"--but it looked delicious. The only difference? I opted for a pizza version of the meal!

Roasted veggies (eggplant, zucchini, squash, onion), marinara sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

All rolled up

Baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Phenomenal.

With some Chimay (not New Belgium - I realize it's confusing) 

And for dessert, an extra special treat: Trader Joe's Truffle Brownie mix (cut into 16 squares, one square each, plus a scoop of ice cream).

It's been a great day of eating delicious foods! 

Check out the other WIAWs! Of Possible Interest:

• Tina's post about whether to do cardio or weight training first
• Lisa's post: "Why are Americans so concerned about protein?"
• Sign up for Best Body Boot Camp!
• Another Tina post: "I have to stop for fast food"