New Running Milestones

As the weeks pass, I keep adding more mileage to my routine.

2 weeks ago, I ran 10 miles. This last weekend, I did 11.8. More importantly I held a 9.1 minute mile on the latest run. I really feel myself growing as a runner each time I "race" myself.

This weekend, I am running in the Susan G. Komen 10k in Lombard. I am really excited and have set a goal to finish in 54 minutes or less.

More to come!

Marking my milestones

In this past week, a few exciting things have happened.

1. I ran my first race, a 5K. Although I was running with a slight injury, I managed to finish in 29 minutes.

2. I ran my longest distance ever, 8 miles. I now can say that I feel completely capable of running the 1/2 marathon in October.

3. I am at my lowest weight since probably 8th grade. I am down another 2.5 pounds this week so far.


I feel invigorated, motivated, super-charged, and indestructible. I feel very loved by my family and my close friends. I feel like I can do anything.


Alexia.

Healthy Macaroni and Cheese

You asked for it! And I set out to find an amazing recipe that would replace the original comfort food and become a regular in your household. I know that I will be making this quite a bit!

I started my search by googling and found a recipe from Ellie Kreiger which I altered a bit.

Here is what you will need:

1 lb of whole wheat elbow macaroni
Cooking spray
1 butternut squash, cooked and cubed
2 cups skim milk
1 cup of grated 2% sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of grated 2% colby jack cheese
1/2 cup skim milk ricotta
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 slices of Ezekiel Bread toasted, then use to make bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 325.

Cook elbow mac (about 6 minutes)to tender but firm. Noodles will continue to cook while they are baking so be sure to remove them from the water when they are still somewhat firm.

In a saucepan, I heated the butternut squash and milk until it was very creamy (about 20-25 min). Add the cheeses, mustard, and cayenne to the mixture.

Use cooking spray to coat a baking dish. Put elbow mac in the baking dish and mix in the cheese sauce. Top the entire dish with the Ezekiel crumbs. I also added in ground flax to this mixture.

Bake this dish for 20 minutes. I finished it under the broiler for about 3 minutes to make the top coat nice and crispy.


Because I used no salt in this at all, it was a little bland. Topping your dish with some sea salt to taste makes this dish PERFECT! I loved it and the kids loved it. Donald, my picky 12 year old, didn't know (and still doesn't know) that the cheese sauce was mostly butternut squash!