First Foodie Post

   It's freezing today... lame. Will summer ever come??? I'm dyin' here Mother Nature!! 46 degrees my friends, welcome to the tundra. So, since life has handed me lemons I am pretending I am in Cancun and made some shrimp tacos for dinner! Exciting, I know.
   I did really well today, ate healthy all day, worked out after work, it only seemed appropriate to have a nice light dinner. Besides the tacos I made grilled avocados stuffed with pico de gallo. They were amazing, but could have been better. Let's be honest folks, I am no professional at cooking, a lot of what I do is trial and error. Tonight my error came in the form of picking avocados that weren't perfectly ripe.

I don't think I have ever had an avocado pit just split right in half on me. However, these things were still AUH-MAZING. I can't even begin to fathom what they would be like had I used fully ripened avocados. The mellow creaminess mixed with the crunchy spicy pico de gallo. YUM!

Grilled Stuffed Avocados:

•  2 Ripe Avocados
• 4 Tbsp Pico de Gallo (I made a big bowl of homemade Pico for tonight and another meal later this week)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, for brushing
• Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat Grill.  Slice avocados in half and remove pit. Brush avocados with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to desired taste. Once avocados are prepared place them guts side down on grill, cook approximately 5-8 minutes, basically until you get some nice dark grill marks on there.
2. Remove the avocados from the grill and place a table spoon of pico de gallo in the crater of each of the halves.

Serves 4; Calories per seriving 119.8, Fat 10.6g, Carbs 7.5g, Sugars 0g, Protein 1.8g, Sodium 116.8mg

*My calculations for nutrition facts are not rocket science or exact, they are thanks to the Myfitnesspal app on my iPhone. I do enjoy having a rough estimate though.

    Moving on to the main event, these shrimp tacos were a great pair with the avocados. Light, fresh, delicious.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos:

• 1 lb Shrimp, deveined and tails removed
• Juice from 1 lime
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
• 1 Pinch ground tumeric
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 8 Corn Tortillas

Optional Toppings:

• Reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese
• Fat free sour cream
• Lettuce
• Pico de gallo or salsa

1. Combine the shrimp with the lime juice, cumin, chili powder, minced onion, garlic, cilantro,  tumeric, and salt and pepper in a plastic bag or shallow bowl. Marinade the shrimp for a half hour to an hour.
2. Preheat grill. Add shrimp to grill, smaller shrimp may need to be skewered for easy cooking. Cook for 3-5 minutes total, turning once, until the fish is no longer translucent. Be careful not to over cook.
3. Divide the shrimp amongst all the tortillas and top with desired toppings.

Serves 4; Calories per serving 266.5, Fat 3.4g, Total Carbs 1.5g, Sugars 0.2g, Protein 58.7g, 619.4mg
*Nutritional facts do not include tortillas or toppings.

Hope you enjoy this light and delicious summer meal!

I Have No Idea What I Am Doing.

   I have no idea what I am doing, that seems to be the theme of my post. I have had this blogger profile for about six months now and have had intentions to begin a blog for about ten months, and yet here I sit telling you: I have no idea what I am doing. 
   I have uttered these words aloud several times tonight. My boyfriend has been hounding me, asking me what I am writing about and then I look at the screen feeling a pang of shame over my Facebook or Pinterest page appearing. C'est la vie. When I asked my boyfriend if he thought it would be difficult to write a blog he replied, "No, I write about nothing all the time" (I guess that's the writer in him... grrr). 
   So enough, I will not say I can't anymore, this is it: My first official blog post. I am a little scared, a little excited. Why these emotions? I don't know because I have done many more daring things than this but whatever emotions are silly.
   Let's start this B off right with a proper introduction. I am Molly, 26 years old, Minnesota born and raised. I live in Duluth in northern Minnesota, don't know where it is you say? Well....

I live with my boyfriend of three years. He's a student and an excellent writer himself.

I love enjoying myself and figured a blog is a great way to share my experiences running, eating, drinking, living life in general! 
   All through high school I had been a pretty big athlete, as an adult not so much. Over the last year I have made some pretty big changes. Almost a year ago exactly I completed my first half marathon here in Duluth, the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, without having trained AT. ALL. my goal was just to complete the race, I ended up completing the race without walking at all! This started my obsession, that knowing what my body can do. A little over a month ago I completed my second half (woot woot!) in Washington, D.C. at the Nike Women's Half Marathon. This time coming in a 2:13:15 and killing my previous race by over a half hour. My next race will be in a little less than 3 weeks when I run the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon again. I've got the itch and it feels amazing having a hobby again.
   Along with my fitness goals I have been trying to adjust my diet. Unfortunately all the beer and late-night bar food of my early 20's has caught up with me and my damn metabolism. On the bright side, cooking is an all new joy for me. I have gone from that teenage girl that used to tell her mother "I am just going to marry a guy who cooks" to meticulously meal planning for the week. Healthy food, check! Fuel for my OCD, check! But lets face it this gal loves a good burger and beer. After all I did devour this the night before my last marathon (I wouldn't recommend doing this, but I was clearly starving):

   Beyond running and cooking I love to be outdoors. Duluth is known for it residents' love of the outdoors. I live for summer when I can kayak, sail, ride my bike, or sail in Lake Superior. When I have a chance to get away from Duluth though I take it. The travel-bug has been in my blood for as long as I can remember, and only got worse after my first trip abroad in high school.     I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to share my experiences through this blog, even if it makes me feel exposed. I am excited to see where it goes and hopefully use it as motivation, especially on that exercise and healthy eating front. So there it all is I guess, cheers and enjoy!