No thanks

I recently bought this tea

It is not good.  It has a really fake almond flavor.  I’m having trouble finding a caffeine free tea that I like.  I generally don’t like herbal teas, so that makes it very difficult.  Any suggestions?

I just got back from the gym.  I’m watching the Newshour and I am about to start grading all the final exams I gave today.  That is not going to be fun….  I ran 5 miles of hills on the treadmill which I am A-M-A-Z-E-D by since my legs were sooo tired and heavy all day today.  Sometimes I feel like I get a spurt of energy once I start exercising and I can just keep going.  I really wanted to do 5 miles today so I could stick to my training schedule for the marathon.  Today was the first day I’ve ever been shooed off a treadmill by a gym staffer.  I guess the resolution rush isn’t over quite yet.  I did some abs after my run (yay for planks!) and left the gym.  I can’t stand being there when it’s crowded, it makes me feel almost claustrophobic and just icky.  So many people sweating in such a small confined space slightly disgusts the anal retentive part of me.

Last night I made some impromptu turkey lentil soup, which I will be eating again tonight for dinner.  I made up the recipe but I’m really happy with the outcome.  I will try to write it out, but I eyeballed most of the ingredients so excuse the vagueness of the measurements:

Turkey-Lentil Soup a la Erin

Cook 1 cup of lentils in about 4 cups of broth (although I used bouillon cubes b/c I’m ghetto like that). Liberally spice the lentils with cracked pepper, garlic (fresh or powder), and any sort of soup base veggies you have lying around (celery, carrot, onion, etc.). Cook until the lentils are al dente and there’s a small amount of liquid left – don’t drain!

Next, sauté a small red onion, garlic (if you have it), and half a pound of ground turkey. Season with cracked pepper, garlic, and cumin. Cumin is the ultimate base for a great chili, NOT chili powder, and it adds great flavor to this soup. When this is all cooked, add it to the pot with the lentils. Also add a can of diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glenn Fire Roasted, which are delicious) and however much of any sort of greens you like (I used frozen collard greens).

You will likely need to add more liquid at the end. If you messed up like I did and salted the lentils even though you cooked them in salty bouillon, you will need to add water to lesson the saltiness. If you didn’t make that mistake, you can add more broth or water. Also, feel free to add more pepper, cumin, garlic powder, etc at this point.

This recipe is great because it’s really just a starting off point to make any sort of soup you like. It made a ton so I froze about half of it and will be enjoying that over the next couple of weeks.  I will try to post a picture of it later.

This recipe also explains why I don’t really like to bake.  You actually have to follow a recipe and can’t just make it up!  I’m terrible at that.