Brown rice, black bean, and vegetable mix

Hello!

Today’s workout was far from what I had originally planned!  Here’s what I planned…

And here’s what happened…

I ran at a track and my aim was to run each mile in eight minutes.  I broke it down to 100m increments-each 100m needed to be around thirty seconds in order for me to reach my eight minute mile goal.  However, I noticed after my first lap I was ahead of pace, and rather than slow down to match my goal pace, I sped up!  I think I had a little bit of a competition with myself going on.  Here was my first mile:

A little faster than eight minutes, right?  Also, apparently four laps around the track in lane one isn’t a full mile…? My second mile was the same story as the first…only a little slower.

Again, faster than my goal pace.  When I went to run my third mile, to say I sputtered out would definitely be an understatement!  I ended up jogging two laps and calling it a day.  So, rather than beat myself for not completing the workout, I decided to celebrate the fact that my first two miles were faster than my goal pace! 🙂

Anyways, I’m always looking for new ideas for lunches I can bring to work.  After so many sandwiches and salads, I need to switch it up.  Here’s a little creation I made for this week’s lunches.

Brown rice, black bean, and vegetable mix

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 can of black beans (drain and rinsed)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes-low sodium (drained)
• Vegetables of choice (I use zucchini and broccoli)
• Green onions
• Black pepper
• Olive oil

I like to boil the vegetables in water for about five minutes before baking them in the oven.  Once brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with pepper, I bake the vegetables for about 10-15 minutes (depending on the type of vegetable) in the oven at 350 degrees.

LeRoy wishes everyone a happy Tuesday! 🙂

Black Bean Quesadillas

As promised, below is the recipe for black bean quesadillas.  I found a recipe for these quesadillas a while ago on Pinterest (I’d love to share the original recipe but can no longer find it on Pinterest), and since then they’ve sort of taken on a life of their own.  This is one of Rob’s favorites, and I probably make it at least every other week.  They’re super easy to change in order to fit your own tastes, so feel free to add or take out any of the ingredients!

Ingredients:

• Wheat or corn tortillas (I’ve used both, and both are tasty!)
• 1/4 cup of pepper jack cheese
• 1/4 cup of 2% milk Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup black beans (drained and rinsed)
• Jalapeno (seeded and diced)
• Green onions
• Cilantro
• Green bell pepper (optional)
• Olive oil

The cheese and black bean amount is for one quesadilla.

Directions:

1. Spray griddle or pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Heat griddle to 300 degrees. (medium heat on a stove)
2. Drain and rinse black beans.
3. Lightly brush outside of tortilla(s) with olive oil.  I use two corn tortillas or one wheat tortilla for one quesadilla.
4. Place one tortilla on griddle/pan.  Sprinkle Mexican cheese blend, black beans, jalapeno, green onions, cilantro, bell pepper, and pepper jack cheese on tortilla.  (I do it in that order.  If using wheat tortillas, only place ingredients on half of tortilla.)
5. Place second tortilla on top of ingredients. (If using wheat tortillas, fold tortilla over.)
6. After three minutes, flip quesadilla.  Let cook for four more minutes.
7. Serve with your favorite condiments.  We really like guacamole, light sour cream, and tapatio sauce.
8. ENJOY! 🙂

As a bit of a side note…someone really did not want to go for a walk today! Look how made his face looks!