Falling Back into New Habits

Daylight Savings Time is wreaking havoc on both my sleep and tummy growling schedules. I'm awake at 4 a.m. and hungry at 10 a.m.

Putting one of those things to work for me.

I'm not what you'd call a morning person. In fact, I never set an alarm clock unless I have to catch a flight or make a very important early meeting. I HATE HATE HATE being startled awake with that incessant blaring, whether it's the tone or the radio. It's intrusive, annoying and guarantees a bad start to the day. The last thing I need is to wake up already irritated.

I'd much prefer to ease into the day, and those who know me and love me understand that it's best for all I come in contact with to allow me to do so.

So, uncharacteristically, I'm using these new-found early morning hours to work out before the sun breaks.

I roll out of bed, pull on some workout clothes, let the dog out and head downstairs to begin the day in a new way.

My hair looks spectacular, by the way.

I stretch for a few minutes, as my 43-year-old body proves a little creaky-er and tighter in the wee hours of the day than it would be if I waited until evening. I do some arm circles, throw a few punches, touch my toes and just try to loosen up my hips and knees.

Then I hop on the treadmill and walk for 3 miles.

Before the knee injury, I'd run 3 miles. Now it's a walk and I'm happy to do it.

I find that I actually enjoy the alone time and use it to get my head around the day to come. It also cuts down my showers per day from two to one. (One before work, and one after an evening workout before bed.) Call me environmental.

And it also means I have time to actually cook dinner at night because I'm not rushing home from work at 6 p.m., then trying to shove some food in my face before working out, showering and falling into bed.

Here's what we had last night:

Hummus and Pita Chips
Make hummus: In food processor, mix one can of drained chickpeas (save liquid in case you need it to thin out mixture), 1 tsp of chopped garlic, 2 Tbsp of tahini paste (sold by the peanut butter at my grocery store), couple of sprigs worth or fresh oregano, salt, juice of 2 lemons. As it's mixing, drizzle in a little olive oil just to make it the right consistency (a little stiffer than refried beans). Or, use a mixture of olive oil and juice from the garbanzos if you want to cut the fat a little. Serve with pita chips and cucumber slices.

Make pita chips: Cut a whole wheat pita pockets into triangles. Spread out on cookie sheet and lightly spray both sides with veg oil. Bake 5-10 mintues in 350-degree oven, until crispy.

Greek Chicken (Sandwiches)
Gyro sauce: 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (light sour cream will do in a pinch), 1-2 tsp. cumin, 1/4 peeled/grated seedless cucumber, salt to taste, 1 tsp finely chopped garlic. Mix.

Marinated chicken: Marinate skinless boneless chicken tenders/pieces in mixture of 1 part olive oil, 1 part fresh lemon juice, a few sprigs of chopped fresh oregano and salt/pepper for 30-40 minutes. Bake in 350-degree oven, saute on stovetop or grill.

Assemble chicken and sauce in whole wheat pita if you want a sandwich or skip the pita and just dip chicken in sauce.