Julie, Julia and Carlene

There are some movies I just should not be allowed to watch, especially alone, with no one available to pull me back down from the clouds.  Included in the very long list of such films is Julie & Julia.  If you haven't seen it, it's a wonderful flick, full of humor, passion and lessons on when to give it your all and when to let go.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/julieandjulia/

The first time I watched this movie, I was still fat and had no fear of trying to cook the rich, heavy foods with all their sauces and reductions.  I learned that I love to be in the kitchen, it's a creative outlet for me.  

I identify with so many of the quirks that each of the main characters contributes to the plot.  Particularly, Julie Powell, the younger gal in the movie that finally "finishes something" for the first time in her life.

As I sat tonight, enjoying Julie & Julia tonight (for probably at least the 10th time) I realized that right now, I'm working toward something similar to Julie committing to tackle all the recipes in Julia's cookbook.  This something, is my figure competition.  And while the date may have been moved, I'm still going to "complete my project", one day at a time.

I got 5.34 miles in this morning, with Lily in the jogging stroller.  It felt great!  I walked at a brisk pace, no running yet, but I did have to push her thru some pretty crazy "terrain", the sidewalks here are CRAP!  Kept my heart rate between 65% and 70% to make sure I didn't burn any precious muscle.

I ate my normal stuff throughout the day but Julie & Julia motivated me to do something a little special for dinner.  I threw a little Safflower oil in a pan and tossed in some onions, grape tomatoes, diced avocado and Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash.  I sauteed all that together and then topped it with lemon juice and a dollop of greek yogurt .  I toasted one of my multi-grain "Sandwich Skinnys" buns and sprayed it with Earth Balance cooking spray and sprinkled it with garlic powder.  My protein was a few ounces of seitan.  It was delicious and energizing, below is a pic of the finished product.

Bon appe'tit!