Pooch to 5K + Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I'm in a weird mood:  Kind of blah, kind of numb, kind of unmotivated.  Not sure why.  Nothing came to mind to write about tonight - and worse than that, nothing sounded good for dinner.  I stared into the fridge, to no avail.  Then I stared into the pantry, to no avail.  Then the freezer... nothing.   So I just didn't eat.  That is very unusual for me.  

I got home from work, Babycakes yelling "Outside" "OUTSIDE" in the backseat.  I pulled her in the wagon to the park and we played for almost 45 minutes.  She is so adventurous!  I love it.  She is 19 months old, but wanted to climb on, conquer, and do stuff that all the older kids were doing.   She had no fear... and what a look of glee and satisfaction when she went down the giant slide all by herself, saying "again" before her feet had even touched the ground.

I had to peel her off the play equipment to get her back into the wagon for our trek home. 

As soon as we walked in the door, she literally said:  "Ready to eat, momma!"  That is definitely the longest string of words she's put together yet.  I made her (ie. heated up) parmesean encrusted tilapia with sweet potato fries.  She devoured every bite, as I sat there wondering what I should feed myself.  What would taste good?  What would be worth photographing and blogging about?  What would help my goals?  All of it sounded like too much effort.

Hubby came home and wanted cereal for dinner (ok, also unusual).   Still wasn't doing anything for me.

Then her bedtime routine commenced, and before I knew it... it was almost 9.  At that point, it just wasn't worth eating anything (in my opinion).  So now I will think about breakfast :)  I am going to make a mean omlette with roasted red peppers, spinach, and maybe even a little cream cheese.  Now, that's worth waking up for!

Recipe I'm excited about: (!)

I haven't had the chance to make this YET, but soooooooo want to.  Maybe this weekend.  My hubby LOVES pizza... like really loves... like if there was only one food left on the planet, he'd want it to be pizza.  So, I have high hopes of possibly making "pizza" a tiny bit healthier (and not just by calling tomato paste a vegetable!)  I found the recipe on the Meals & Move blog here.    (UPDATE:  click here to see pics/instructions when I made this recipe!)

ingredients

• 1/2 head of cauliflower (yield 2 cups after grated/food processed)
• 1 egg
• 2 oz finely shredded cheese of choice (use a medium-softness cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, colby jack, pepper jack, etc)
• 3 TB nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp minced garlic (from the jar or fresh)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp ranch seasoning
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground sea salt
• toppings of choice (see directions)

directions

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. grate raw cauliflower using a food processor or by hand with a grater. i am lazy and so i used my food processor–i pulsed until it reached a finely grated consistency.
3. microwave cauliflower for eight minutes and then let cool.
4. while cauliflower is cooling, prep your toppings of choice. choose a sauce (like marinara, pesto, barbecue, or alfredo), a cheese or two (feta, mozzarella, asiago, goat cheese) and your favorite toppings (sausage, chicken, pepperoni, bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, artichokes, onions.. okay, i will stop now!)
5. once cauliflower has cooled to almost room temperature, combine it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients (aside from the toppings, of course.)
6. spray a nonstick baking sheet or line with a silicone mat. (if you don’t own a silicone mat, you really need to get with it and buy one. they are the BEST.) spread mixture evenly on the pan so it forms a 9″ x 16″ rectangle.. give or take.
7. bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are slightly browned.
8. layer sauce and toppings on baked crust.
9. place pizza back in oven until all the cheese is melted (if using cheese) and toppings are warmed through; about five minutes.
10. slice & eat immediately. enjoy!

The only thing I'm nervous about is that I'm soooo not a cook.  For example, where does one buy "yeast"?  No, seriously, I haven't the faintest clue.  I will definitely have to ask some grocery store attendant (unless one of you comments to me first!).

Exercise I'm excited about: (!)

It seems all most people who've lost a lot of weight somehow morph into runners.  I am not yet one of them.  Today, Corrie Anne recommended to me a program called "Couch to 5k" - intriguing!  But what I found to be even more enticing is that there is a doggie variety:  POOCH TO 5K!  Bella has been packing on those pounds! Ha!  Truth is we could both use the exercise.  Here's my favorite doggie pic of Bella & Chloe (the Chase!):

Do you "run" (ie. as a consistent form of exercise)? What's the farthest you've ever run?