Category Archives: photos

red bean salad with feta and peppers

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So, Dianne and I were out running about a month ago (she’s the one who lit the running fire under my butt) and we were talking about food (yes, while running) and she mentioned how fun it might be to get a little salad group going at work. Get five of us and we would each have one day a week when we would be responsible for feeding the group. Well, she was off at the time (oh, to be on a ten month contract), so we didn’t get it started until this week.

Dianne started it off with a bang. She made this amazing Black Bean and Corn Salad. She even calculated the points out (a few of us at work, including Dianne, are on or have been on Weight Watcher’s) so that we wouldn’t have to do any math. I only wish that I had my camera with me on Monday because it was as pretty as it was delicious. Seriously!

Well, Wednesday is my day, so on Monday I got online to find some recipes (I love the internet) and found a couple of great websites with Weight Watcher’s recipes. But one particular recipe stood out to me…and I now know that it is delicious!

Red Bean Salad with Feta and Peppers

  • 1 can (19 oz) kidney beans
  • 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
  • 2 c. cabbage, finely chopped (red or green…but I like the color with the green)
  • 2 green onions, chopped (I used the entire onion…white to green)
  • 4 oz feta cheese, cubed (roughly 1 cup)
  • 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped (I cut this in half and I used flat leaf or Italian parsley)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)


Drain kidney beans and rinse under cold water. In salad bowl, combine beans, red pepper, cabbage, onions, cheese, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and oil; toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate up to three days.

Yield: 6 servings (about 1 cup each). 3 points per serving.

Calories: 165
Fat: 7 grams
Fiber: 7 grams

Happy 4th of July! (spt – yankee doodle dandy)

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Rather than boring you with the play by play of my day (which was pretty fabulous!), I think I’ll just list a few things I love about our country. I don’t think our country is perfect, and my feelings are based on my experience in this country (which experience has been relatively privileged), but having lived in a couple of other countries, I definitely have an appreciation for some of the freedoms we enjoy.

  • I am grateful for the freedom of religion. And while, it isn’t perfect and people are still judged by/for their beliefs, I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in fear because of my beliefs.
  • I am grateful for the freedom of speech. While I don’t think people always use it wisely and sometimes I’d like to take it away from others, I am grateful for it.
  • I am grateful to live in a country that tries to help other countries. While the process and the efforts may be far from perfect, at least they exist.
  • I am grateful that public education is an expectation for all. I know it doesn’t happen for everyone, but I’m grateful that it is the goal.
  • I am grateful to live in a country where women are not treated as less than men. There are still chauvinists out there (just like there are, in my opinion, over-the-top feminists), but I can vote, I can own property, I will never be someone’s “property”, I can get the same education as a man, and the same jobs. But even better, I can choose to stay home and be a mom someday. Whatever I decide, it’s my choice. What an amazing blessing in a world where so many women don’t have those freedoms.
  • I am grateful that there are laws against the exploitation of children and that a government agency exists specifically to protect them.
  • I am grateful that, as I type this and can hear fireworks still going, I don’t worry that the sounds are anything but fireworks (and I realize this is not a “freedom” all people of this country enjoy).
  • I am grateful for all of the men and women who have sacrificed so much to protect the wonderful freedoms I enjoy.
    * This is my SPT for the week. I decided to go with the “What does Indepence Day mean to you?” option.

new friends…

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I ran in the Freedom Run this morning. I finally did a 10k (funny that I’m running a marathon in October). I was just going to do it on my own, but then I was reading Cropstar’s blog and saw that she was planning on coming up from Vegas to run the same race. I have done races on my own before, but it’s so much more fun when there’s someone there with you at the end. Someone who understands how tired you are, who knows what you mean when you say, “Wow, that hill was a killer.” So, an idea was born…and those of you who know me know that once I decide to do something, that’s it. So, I emailed Cropstar to see if she would mind if I tagged along with her.

I’m so glad I did. She was running it with her friend, Stacy, so I met up with both of them this morning just before the run. For whatever reason I was really nervous about this 10k. It’s not that I can’t or haven’t ever run 6.2 miles, but it was new for me and I had this idea in my mind that most people who do 10k’s are serious runners. While I run, I would never put myself in that category. So, because of the nerves, it was especially nice to have some people there to talk to before the race and people to run with during the race and people to whine to after the race. I loved it!

The best part, other than finishing the darn thing just a bit shy of my goal…which really was the best part, is that I can move Cropstar’s blog from the “blogs I stalk” list to the “people I know” list and that is super fun. Yes…I’m a big dork and I’m totally fine with that.