Fit, Fun and on the Run

Paris, je t'aime

2009-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! So, I am restarting my blog! I am living in Paris for the year doing the first part of my masters program...so...I thought this would be a great way to share a little bit of Paris with everyone.

I'm not just going to focus on food but living here as well!! I already have some funny stories lol

To start off with, eating has been really easy here! It's just like New York, you can get anything, anywhere at anytime. The only thing I have noticed is that I haven't had too many veggies, a lot of fruit but I have to increase the veggies.

Funny story 1: I got a Falafel in St.Michel the other day, which is super touristy and right by my apartment. Anyway, I THOUGHT the lady asked me if I wanted carrots. Apparently, when I proceeded to say "oui" and she stared at me for 5 min, she said "quatre quarante" which means 4,40 euros. HA. oops.

Funny story but not so funny at the same time: I went a runnin' in the Jardin de Luxembourg, which is also about 2 min from the apt. I was feeling pretty great so I tried to hop over a 100lb chain, only, it caught my shin, I fell, was bleeding and hobbled home. This is prolly why french people don't run.

But really, you don't need to run here. I have walked more in the past week than ever in my life.

Good Eats:

1. Crepe Nutella..always delicious

2. Grilled Salmon

3. Delicious salads with their standard yet amazing dressing

I also went grocery shopping which is an experience. First, their eggs aren't refrigerated..um weird but whatever. Also, they literally sell like 3 salad dressings. I swear every person in france uses the same dressing. Which I love, but still. Ain't no ranch to be found lol. I'm scared of their milk. Just puttin' it out there.

More updates to come, you know you love me

xoxo

Paris Girl

Food Blues

2009-08-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

Hi friends! Lately, I have been so uninspired about food! I absolutely love food and everything lately hasn't really satisfied me. As a result, I have been eating granola cereal, cookies and chocolate ALL WEEK! I'm so sick of being uninspired. I am going home this weekend so hopefully I'll get re-inspired there!

Here are some great food highlights:

I made a feta chicken and shrimp over couscous in the slow cooker. This was extremely easy, you set it and go. The main ingredients were tomatoes, broth, chicken, garlic, onions, shrimp, feta and couscous. Slow cookers are great for people with little time. You can make dessert, dinner, breakfast, appetizers...

Next, I made peanut chicken soba noodles. The sauce was so-so. Basically, it was peanut butter, skim milk, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes.

Bison Bugers! These were the best things I made all week. Delicious bison burger with cheese, onion, pickles, spinach and a sweet potato. YUMM

Banana Fro-yo. Saw this in the blog world, had to try it!! Very good. I love ice cream so it isn't quite the same, but a nice alternative. I threw some chocolate chips on it. YUMMM.

I've been OBSESSED with Cascadian Farms Chocolate Almond Granola. I had one serving with bfast, and TWO for a snack after dinner (oopssss). I absolutely love it. Pretty good stats as well. For 3/4c it is 200 cals, which is great for granola. And I have been LOVING Stonyfield Organic Skim Milk. I think organic milk can have a strange taste but Stonyfield (I also love their Oikos yogurt in vanilla) is superb!

I've also noticed that I have been eating a ridiculous amount of meat products. What's up with that?!? Need to focus this up coming week!!

Hopefully I'll get out of this eating funk. I am soo sick of not being satisfied!! I have eaten so much more than normal lately due to this! Madness!

Cat woman

2009-07-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hi blog world! Today was an interesting day! There was pretty much a hurricane and then the weather was beautiful. So strange.

I started off the morning with a slice of ezekial raisin toast and a little earth balance. I then ran. It was way too hot, however, I love being sweaty so I didn't mind. I took it nice and slow.

Distance: 4 sweaty miles

I then rehydrated with Gatorade. Usually, I drink coconut water, however I only had the plain kind left and I really hate it. I LOVE the passion fruit and mango, but can't stomach the plain. So I opted for electric blue gatorade. So healthy. I only drink electrolyte replacement drinks when I'm super sweaty or if I am sweating out salt. Usually water is fine for me during things like spinning or a short run.

In addition, I made the best juice ever!

1.5 large carrots
1 medium kiwi
1 small apple
3 handful of spinach

Lunch was a spinach salad with tomato, avocado and roasted turkey. And since I was frigid, I added 1/2c of Pacific Tomato Roasted Red Pepper soup, which happens to be my favorite :)

Snack was a banana and fresh ground almond butter...dreamy...

Dinner! My sister made my stuffed peppers ( she was practicing for when I move out lol). SO delicious! This time we added Fire Roasted Tomatos to the mix. Plus a side of corn.

I have noticed that I have been eating more animal protein lately. It hasn't been a conscious decision, however, I have been craving turkey for lunch almost everyday! Wonder why?

Dessert was 1/2c of Breyer's 1/2 the fat ALL NATURAL creamy Chocolate Chocolate Chip...YUMMMM. I love Breyer's all nautral as much as I love Stoneyfield Yogurt! Great ingredient list and even better taste.

Kitty was eating the flowers my parents sent my sister for her birthday..such a silly cat...even if I end up being a cat lady, I don't mind because my kitty is precious.

I was on the WW message boards and I saw a post about what you would like to say to certain people. Ever since Operation Beautiful, I have been making a real effort to end fat talk. It's nothing but harmful and often, untrue. I think sometimes we like to say, "Oh, I am so fat" or "I need to diet" because we want others to tell us that isn't true. I'm so sick of saying, "Im so fat" or "I need to loose weight" as well as hearing it. I don't think I am fat. In fact, I know I'm not, so I need to stop saying it. It's almost as though saying it it normal. I am making a vow now to end fat talk! And if someone really does think they need to loose weight, then do it! But don't just say it to say it. It brings people down!! Be confident in yourself. Workout to feel great and eat healthfully to feel great and you will!

2009-07-28T16:44:00.001-07:00

Hii everyone! Sorry I was missing, it was my sister's birthday so we were celebrating. Highlights include a Harry Potter cake from Publix (yummmm) and delicious sushi.

Yesterday we had another dinner party and it was just as delicious as the first! I made pesto chicken sandwiches. For all you vegans/vegetarians, this recipe is SUPER SIMPLE and you could easily re-create it with tofu, temphe, any grilled vegetable ect.

whole wheat bread of anytime (or lettuce wrap/pita/wrap)
homemade pesto (1 tsp olive oil, 1c basil, 1/4c vegetable broth, garlic, parmesan if you wish)
chicken breast
roasted red pepper
spinach
any other additives, I added Mozzarella cheese for only 80 cals and 6g of fat
press it until its gooey

Plus fresh organic corn on the cob, which is incredible right now.

Jenn made a peanut butter pie (which was like a thick peanut butter cheese cake). TO.DIE.FOR.

and pretty reasonable, one slice was 10 weight watcher points. The basic ingredients were:

fat free and reduced fat creamed cheese
reduced fat peanut butter
graham crackers
condensed milk
dark chocolate chips
real butter (no fake scary stuff)
brown sugar and regular sugar

I highly suggest people try and play around with this stuff and make it. I try not to eat "fake" things, like fake cream cheese, but every once in a while, I think it's fine. Also, note how there is NO SPLENDA or other weird sweetners, just natural things.

For dinner tonight, I used some homemade pasta that my parents bought at the farmer's market. It was garlic/basil flavored and I paired it with a homemade sage butter sauce with some grilled shrimp and steamed broccoli. Holy Yum. The sage added a nice subtle flavor to the already seasoned pasta. This stuff was AMAZING. Best pasta I have had yet.

I also made a vegan friendly pizza the other day! We bought a whole wheat crust from the farmer's market and topped it with delicious red sauce plus roasted veggies (broccoli, red pepper, onions, zucchini). Simple and delicious.

For the first time ever today, I got a shaken green iced tea from Starbizzle...so. good! Usually I get it unsweet, however, I was feeling sassy today and got the simple syrup (which only makes the whole thing 80 cals. not bad AT ALL. so don't freak out girls). It was such a nice refreshing summer drink! Plus anti-oxidants from the tea.

Sorry for the lack of pics..I promise i'll be better about taking them this week!!

On an off topic note, I am soo sad for Reid. I love him and will be his wife. The end.

Yogaaa

2009-07-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have been doing a ton of yoga lately. I think it is helping me stay strong because I finally feel like I'm not struggling to run everytime I head out the door. I LOVE Polly's online videos. Especially: Yoga for runners, Hip Opener 1, Yoga for Arms and Yoga for Abs. YUM. They are more like streatches then yoga flow but I still love them.

Speaking of running, I fell yesterday. Like fell down. On the ground. Scrapped knee and all. But I was only 1.15 miles into my 4 mile run SOOO I washed off my knee with my water bottle and kept running. I'm so hardcore.

I did spinning today. Pretty good. Nice and sweaty. I wish my instructor would play better music though..Uptown Girls just wasn't cutting it today. But I was a sweaty monster so I guess it was ALL GOOD.

Eats:

Juice (carrots, apple, romaine, lemon)
egg whites (3)
turkey sand on ezekial with spinach, avocado, tomato, with watermelon
1/2 Gogi Bar...SOOOOO GOOODDD!!! Loved this bar by Dr. Weil
8 oz G2 during spin (not good. reg gatorade is much better, or coco water passion fruit or mango)
homemade roasted veggie lasagna with fresh multigrain bread
Stoneyfield After Dark ice cream

See, these are the days I love. When I'm totally satisfied with every single thing I eat.

Here are some delicious pics:

Kitty loves yoga. Modified cobra pose heheh

Whole wheat lasagna noodles, cheese, sauce, roasted veggies, seasoning ( you could add ricotta and ground turkey too or a cream sauce..whateves you like so easy)

What is this?! Dinner from last night. I saw it in Runner's World. Basically it's dijonnaise, lump crab, avocado, apple, tomato and green beans. Over spinach. Hello deliciousness. I have done it with both canned crab (not bumbleebee but any other brand) and with crab from the seafood section of the grocery store. Either work well.

Green Lemonade

2009-07-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

After my morning run (which was about 90000 degrees), I made Natalie Rose's Green lemonade. WOW! So. Good. Really tangy, but not sour. I heart my juicer :)

Here it is..so green and beautiful...

I wasn't going to document lunch because it didn't seem terribly exciting..until i started eating eat. AMAZING. I got Honey Roasted Turkey from Fresh Market. I don't eat a lot of deli meat, however, this was quite delicious. Sorry for the half eaten pic. I just had to document.

2 slices of ezekial bread
1/2 small avocado (about 1.5 oz)
spinach
tomato
2 slice of honey roasted turkey
guiltless gourmet blue corn chips with salsa (needed some crunch and salt)

I had a massage today at Cloud 9. I really love Cloud 9 because they go out of their way to make you feel like you are having a luscious treatment. I especially like their facials. I was so relaxed and my masseuse really worked on my shoulders and neck, which get un-godly tight.

So, I guess I'm obsessed with Natalie Rose because I also made her Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup. While she is a raw foodie, she includes cooked meals in her cook book as good transitions into raw eating. I give this soup an A+++++++++. It was sweet but not dessert like and had a wonderful sweet potato flavor with a nice hint of carrot. While I can't give you the entire recipe, here are the ingredients:

carrots
sweet potato
vegetable broth
cumin
garlic
ginger

With that I made crab cakes. So tasty.

My lulumon leggings came today!!! I did some impromptu yoga to test them out (in love with them). Can't wait to wear them to spinning on Thurs!!

Dinner Party

2009-07-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

I. am. stuffed!! What an amazing dinner party!

We had such a delicious dinner (and dessert), plus there was a Bachelorette surprise...Reid! I highly doubt she picks him, but I absolutely adore him/have the biggest crush on him/screamed like a crazy person when I saw his darling face and I am happy to see him man up and share his feelings!!!!

Today was a rather strange eating day because I woke up with intense upper stomach pains...sorta of like stabbing pains!?!?! WHY?!?! So I had some nice oatmeal with a banana and then went back to sleep.

I did some gentle hatha yoga and some core work and felt much better.

Then I feasted on these beauties:

Whole wheat pasta with fresh pesto, tomatoes, asparagus
Roasted veggies with thyme, salt and pepper
Kelli's famous (and deadly) Key Lime Pie.
Organic soft red wine (aka Grape Juice)

The pie was def the scene stealer. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and saltiness to the crust (her secret is using macadamia nuts and graham crackers). It was amazing..I had 3 pieces :) Needless to say i'll be working out big time all this week...

We watched Jillian and the sexy men (ie. Jesse, Kiptyn, REIDDDDD) and then watched the new show about dating in the dark. We all agreed it was too mean of a show to keep watching. These people have real connections in the dark and then they see each other in the light and the reaction is sad :(

Juicer

2009-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I played with the new juicer and made the best juice ever!! Sorry the color isn't that great. It made about 12oz of juice which my sister and I split, but I was definitely craving more!!

2 apples
4 carrots
4 handfuls of spinach
1 orange
1/2 lemon
The lemon and orange added a nice tang..so amazing.

I plan on trying Natalie Rose's Raw Lemonade Later this week...

For dinner we had a wild salmon salad (serves 2):

8 oz wild salmon (raw, salt and pepper, olive oil, in the oven for 15min 425)
2/3 cup corn (fresh corn on the cob would be better, we used frozen)
red bell pepper
2 oz avocado
red onion
1 oz herbed goat cheese

This is one salad..quite a beast right?

Workout: 12pm run in Florida..what was I thinking you may ask? who knows.

Miles: 4.6

Time: 47 min (um yeah...just kinda trudged along but I didn't even care. I felt good and focused even though I was seriously going so slowly..for me atleast). Drank about 12 oz of water on my run

Pre Run Fuel: Ezekial Bread with 1tbsp all natural PB

Post Run: 4 oz soy chocolate milk (MUAHAHAHAH love this stuff) and a couple sips of passion fruit cocowater.

Tomorrow, we are holding a little dinner party! Should be quite fun..we are going to veg out with organic wine and the Bachelorette (Team Reid..oh wait she dumped him..wtf Jillian..Team Kiypton I suppose..). My sister and I are making the pesto pasta from Fat Free Vegan's site and bringing the organic wine. My friend Jen is making roasted veggies and Kelli is making homemade key lime pie (I am dreaming about this..I can taste it now...)

I finally finished Harry Potter and let me just tell you, I was a mess! I get so emotionally involved in books, that I come to see these as real people (ie Snape...I couldn't stop crying..I'm so strange). I think this is why I enjoy reading so much. It takes me into another world that the TV just can't do. Here are some of my favorite books, ever:

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Kite Runner
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Harry Potter
My Sister's Keeper, Handle with Care
Good in Bed
The Red Tent

If it doesn't make me cry (in a good or even sad way) I don't like it. lol. Happy Reading everyone.

Breville Juicer

2009-07-19T13:05:00.001-07:00

I got one! I am soo pumped! Now I can make fresh juice every morning. I am actually going to make one tonight with dinner because I am dying to use it lol..I plan on making a:

apple
carrot
spinach
lemon

Stay tuned for pics!

Birthday Fun!

2009-07-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

My 23rd birthday was yesterday and I want to thank ALL my friends for their calls, texts and those of you who were in town, for coming to dinner!

I got some great bday presents:

scented lotions, lip gloss, eye shadow kit
DVF Rain Coat (in love...xoxo steph)
a cookbook holder (obsessed so I can read recipes WHILE I cook)
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
Vegetarian Living in Paris Book..so useful for France

I had a lovely day all around and some delicious eats.

For lunch, I went to Bistro 1245 which has an awesome menu. I got the sauteed shrimp salad which had pear, goat cheese and a light balsamic vinaigrette. It was light and delicious.

For dinner, We went to Tapas and Tinis ( I'm sure you can deduce the menu from the name haha). We started with a lovely Mozzarella Caprese Salad and Smoke Gouda fondue for the table. I wanted to really enjoy my meal, so I had one piece of the mozzarella and two slices of tomato and one little square of bread dipped into the fondue. Hello YUM. Amazing fondue!

For dinner, I split the petite filet mignon with julienned veggies and the ahi tuna with my sister. I don't eat much red meat, maybe once every few months, but this steak was to die for. Well cooked and seasoned and the perfect portion (we split a 6 oz).

I sampled everyone's martinins (I had a glass of red wine)..my favorite was the oatmeal raisin martini!

Here are some fun pics from the night:

Me trying the Oatmeal Raisin Martini...hello yum

and DESSERT!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Publix cake and cupcakes so I got cupcakes! Vanilla on vanilla for me :) It was a lovely birthday.

I started off today clean and fresh with a juice from Genesis, a new juice bar (and cafe) in town. I got:

carrot
apple
spinach
lime

love the lime. adds a nice sour hint.

Then for lunch, I made these little wrap that have been inspired by all the raw foodies out there!

romaine lettuce
onions
tomato
avocado
carrots
red pepper
hummus (not raw but thats ok :)

Plus a side of very special macaroni salad that I adore. I actually only ended up eating 1/4 cup the mac salad. I realized that I just wanted a taste about half way through, so, I toasted up some ezekial and 1/2tbsp almond butter to go with my lettuce wraps.

Apple for a snack while doing Shreds AND Self Magazine's 8min workout (which is very similar to the Shred moves)

And shrimp scampi over whole wheat linguini for dinner!

Check out The Fitnessista's page! She is giving away an AWESOME RAW cookbook that I am dying to win!! She has a great blog as is and I read it daily!! Enter to win the cookbook yay!

Tomorrow I am meeting my parent's in Tampa to go to Lime, a Mexican restaurant in South Tampa..can't wait! :)

Gourmet Sandwhiches

2009-07-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Good evening blog world! Today was a busy and productive day :)

I went to the gym this morning for my 3mile run. I actually hate running on a treadmill, however, unless you get up at 5am in Florida (which I AM NOT willing to do..) it is wayy too hott out there to run. So, the gym it is. I wanted to work a bit on speed and endurance all in one so I did this little workout:

Warm up-

2 min walking

1/2 mile 5.7 speed incline .5

1/2 mile 6.0 speed incline .5

1/2 mile 6.3 speed incline 1.0

1/4 mile 6.5 speed incline 1.0

1/1o mile 7.0 speed incline 1.0

.15 miles 6.5 speed incline 1.0

1/2 mile 6.0 speed incline 1.0

1/4mile 6.0 speed incline .5

1/4 mile 5.7 speed incline 0

Then I walked another .2 miles after just to cool down. It was pretty good, with the walking and everything I did 3.25 miles in 34:00 min so not too shabby.

Lunch was -ok- but the highlight was my Back to Nature Chocolate Delight Granola. Granted, I only put 2 tablespoons on the yogurt..but it was SO worth it. It is all natural and delicious..crunchy and chocolaty.

I love sandwiches. Any of my friends will tell you about my obsession with sandwiches- I love wraps, subs, paninis, ect. So tonight, I made my own gourmet sandwich for a fraction of the cals.

Ingredients:

Arnold Sand Thins (all I had I know it's not the best choice but whatever)
homemade pesto
roasted red pepper
spinach
chicken breast
1/2 slice all natural gouda
press together on the forman.

It was amazing. I really liked the homemade pesto. Here's how I made it

Serves 2:

1/2c basil packed firmly
2 tbsp chicken broth
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh parm
garlic
process.

(pre-press)

So creamy with a strong basil flavor. I actually got this pesto sandwich idea from my mom, who saw it in Cooking Light magazine. I didn't look at the actual recipe in the magazine, but this was the general idea. On the side I had zucchini fries :)

And for dessert...Soy Delicious Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches. If you like coconut, get these. They had a great coconut flavor and were extra creamy. I love me some dessert :)

Now off to watch the obnoxious brats of NYC Prep...

Shredded

2009-07-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

For my afternoon snack, I had 1 oz of raw sharp cheddar cheese. Raw means unpasteurized milk is used, apparently, this is easier on the stomach than pasteurized products ( or so it's debated). I LOVED this cheese. It was extra sharp and creamy and 1 oz kept me full from about 5:00pm until I ate dinner around 7:30pm..

I did a little shreds after my snack, level 3. I was DYING. I think the hardest part is the scissor crunch..I can't keep my legs off the ground, it's so hard for me.

Then I made stuff bell peppers for two (since I am cooking for not only myself, but my sister as well..)

2 red bell peppers
8 oz lean ground turkey breast
onions
garlic
cumin
1 cup black beans
3/4c tomato sauce

Add garlic to sprayed pan. Let sizzle. Then add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add the meat, cook until all turned white. Then add the seasoning (add whatever kind you like, I added salt, pepper and cumin). Finally, add canned black beans and tomato sauce.

Meanwhile, steam the peppers until more tender. Scoop the mixture into the pepper and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 10min or so. Feel free to top with salsa, cheese ect.

I had that beautiful pepper mixture and the pepper plus half the sweet potato in the pic...I was surprisingly full and only ate half...but not full enough for...

ICE CREAM. Personally, I love plain vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I add toppings but mostly I eat it plain. I bought the Breyer's All Natural Vanilla..it has AWESOME stats ~110 cals per 1/2c and about 1.5g fat. AND it's ALL NATURAL. No fake sweeteners (so grosss) or colors.

I leave you with this lovely picture of my sister, Rebecca getting shredded!! You go girl

Rain, Rain Go Away.

2009-07-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's raining. again. I think it has rained every day..this summer. Not gunna lie, I sorta like it. I am in the middle of the Harry Potter series right now and I never feel guilty staying inside to read when it's raining.

For breakfast, I tried a Gorgeously Green recipe

organic instant oats (just rolled oats..no added colors)
1 tsp organic coconut
1 tsp organic honey
2 tbsp skim milk
1 small banana

Pretty darn good. Held me over during my yoga class, which felt more like Bikram since it was about 10000 degrees in the room. I kept looking around to see if anyone else was sweating, finally some woman asked for the fans to be turned on lol

Lunch was my left overs from yesterday:

whole grain pearl cous-cous (1 box)
tomato, cucumber, basil, red onion (one each of the cuke and tom...1/4onion and some basil)
splash of lemon juice (fresh lemon), 1-2tbsp of olive oil for the entire recipe (which serves 4)

Cook couscous in 2cups of water for about 15min until water is absorbed. Chill. Add ingredients. Feel free to add 2 whole cloves of garlic. Just toss them in and then for flavor. They will infuse throughout. Season to taste (salt, pepper, other spices such as cilantro, parsley, mint...)

I had one serving over romaine lettuce with a ezekial pita topped with avocado on the side.

I personally need a fat source (ie. cheese, avocado, salmon, nuts) to keep me full so that's why I added the avocado on the side.

Off to do some major grocery shopping. While I'm there, I think i'll par-take in operation beautiful!

I'll be reviewing raw cheddar cheese this afternoon so stayed tuned

MIA No Longer

2009-07-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends, so I have been slightly mia but I'm back :)

My healthy eating is back too, which is quite exciting if you ask me. Right now, my sister is living with me (or shall I say I am living with her lol). She is taking over the lease to my apartment and I am here off and on until I leave for France in September. She's going into her sophomore year at UF so this is her apartment...awwww. Needless to say, we eat the same things. lol. AKA we both want to be healthy..soo cooking has been double the fun since my last roomie and I ate very differently (hi myrtle lol).

We started planning our meals every sunday night for the entire week..this includes nights we will go out, nights I will go out and have drinks and so forth. It has made meal planning and staying on a healthy eating track so. easy.

Here's a link to a blank template.

In an effort to increase my "greenosity" I just bought

The Gorgeously Green Diet by Sophie Uliano. So far I love it. It give not only tips on how to eat more green (ie. reducing your waste such as plastic containers ect) but also the low down on organic and such. It also has meal plans depending on your "shade" (intensity) of greeness. I am a bright to light green.

Things I like about the book:

1. She incorporates information regarding vegan and vegetarian eating AS WELL AS MEAT! I am a flexitarian (although I do eat a large amount of fish) so I like this aspect.

2. She doesn't preach.

3. Easy to follow meal plan that appears to have the proper amount of food to keep you fueled (not so sure about weight loss (might be a little too many cals) unless you eat a poor diet but most defiantly weight maintenance and overall increase in energy and appearance)

4. Whole natural foods..no fake scary imitation/fat free/sugar free products.

I plan on making these meals from the book this week:

1. Asian Chicken Salad with Sobo Noodles

2. Black Bean Soup

Off to read Harry Potter #5!!!

Vacation Recap.

2009-05-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I just returned after being away for almost 2 weeks! I had a fabulous time, ate delicious food and even worked out!

My family and I travel quite a bit, however, this was my first time trying to be health conscious while still enjoying myself. I noticed a lot of things while I was in France and Italy. First, their food is fresh and simple. Most sauces were a simple olive oil based sauce with fresh lemon and herbs. Even the pizza manages to seem light and figure friendly, thanks to their wood ovens. In my opinion, this is the key to success. Keep it simple and let the ingredients shine through. I am moving to Paris on September 15th! so...hopefully this simple eating will agree with me :)

Overall, I think I did very well watching my portions and sampling everything. Here are a few of my tricks:

1. I choose to skip the bread (for the most part) in Italy because I don't care for their bread, while in France, I enjoyed it.

2. Share, share share. We ordered mutiple entrees and appetizers and desserts..and shared. This way you aren't stuck eating an entire plate of creamy risotto by yourself (not that that would be s0 bad... lol)

3. Sad but true fact. On normal family vacations, I have been known to eat gelato MULTIPLE times a day. More than one scoop at each sitting. This time, I tried to limit it to once per day. There were a few days where I did not have any at all.

4. Water, water water..and red wine...and a few limoncellos...but nothing crazy.

5. I ran at least a 5k 6 out of the 11 days I was gone. Book a hotel with a gym..I felt TOO guilty to walk by it and not stop in...

Some food highlights:

1. Entire Seabass, de-boned in front of us by our lovely assistant waiter, Mei.

2. A HUGEMONGO bowl of chocolate mousse..for 2.

3. Veggie Pizza in Venice :)

4. Vanilla Pan Seared Scallops in France

5. HUGE white asparagus in France. Out of this world good.

6. Delicious, authentic vegetarian falafel

Needless to say, this girl is back watching what she eats :). To be truthful, I've taken a month off of really being food conscious. It was an unintentional break..that I actually didn't like. I realized I enjoy eating healthy, whole foods, watching my portions and indulging every now-and-then. So I'm back..and it feelsss soooo niceeeee....

I am making turkey burgers tonight with baked sweet potato fries and asparagus!

Here are a few cute tips I saw in my SELF mag while I was lounging at the pool:

1. Cake's just not that into you. HEHEHE. Agreed. But totally worth it once in a while

2. Make sure you can ID the animal..scary..but true.

3. Don't buy food where you buy tires. Honey Buns are not food items people.

4. Your hips are not a fridge. AKA you don't have to eat everything.

5. Cut yourself a break! Don't forget to ENJOY!

I leave you with some pics of my adventures!

mousse au chocolat!

Don't worry. I shared this bad boy. Falafelllll in Le Marais, Paris, France.

Mei and the sea bass.

Sisters!

Gondolas!

Pre-Vacation Jitters!

2009-05-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hi lovies.

Today is my last day of work..and I am SO SAD. I love my kiddies and I am going to miss them. We have a banquet planned for this afternoon complete with Carrabbas and COOKIE CAKE. You best believe I am hitting that up.

Interesting Eats:

I went to Macaroni Grill. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I ordered Whole Wheat Penne with Tomato Basil Sauce, Broccoli, Spinach, Buffallo Mozz and 2 Meatballs. First off, it was drowning in sauce, the noodles were limp, yes, limp, 2 pieces of mozz (which was prolly for the best)..the meatballs were good?

On a brighter note...I tried the Yoplait Thick and Creamy 110cal Cherry Cobbler Yogurt. I was so impressed! Aside from the artificial sweetner, I liked every aspect. It lived up to it's name, and was both thick and creamy AND tasted like real cherry cobbler! I'd buy this again...but I'd eat if for dessert, not a snack or lunch item.

I also tried the Banana Cream Pie..not the thick and creamy but just the light. Don't waste your money. I can't overlook the artificial-ness thanks to its off taste. Stick with Thick and Creamy.

Signauture Drink. So...I want my own "Skinny Girl Margarita". I always get light beer when I go out, however, sometimes I want a girly girl drink so I've been getting

vodka...about 100cals
Soda Water...about ZERO CALS
Fresh Lime Juice..healthy?...ZERO CALS
not too shabby :)

So on Saturday I am off to....PARIS AND VENICE!! YAY! I cannot wait. My sister is over in Paris now studying abroad so we are going to meet up with her, check out my school for next year and such and then hop over to Venice. I will be gone May 16th-May 28th. I will take TONS of food pics..I promise. I am soo excited for all the clean, healthy food. YIPEE.

I'm BACKKK

2009-05-12T06:30:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm back!!! I took a brief hiatus from blogging and am happy to be back :)

I decided to take a few days (which turned into weeks) off. I was feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that was going on in the blog world...I felt like I couldn't keep up! I admire all the bloggers who do challenge after challenge and I felt like my blog wasn't really offering anything. I wasn't doing give aways, I wasn't capturing every meal on camera, I wasn't doing raw this or vegan that. I think those other blogs are AMAZING and I WISH I had the dedication those women do. However, I also realized that this is my blog and I can do WHATEVER I want with it.

So, I'm back. I won't be photographing every single thing I put into my mouth, but rather, the really good things :) or interesting ones, it just works better for me.

So! What have I been up to? Well, my roommate moved out before going to Phoenix for real life :(, I took my after school program to the water park (and didn't go crazy) and my eating has been...less than stellar to say the least.

I've seen major changes due to my diet changes. My skin isn't lookin' ::oh so radiant:: to put it nicely, my jeans are ::tight:: and my running has been ::affected::. Not a happy camper over here, but it's my own doing so time to fix it.

So, this week, I decided to follow the Clean Eating Magazine 14 day (make that 7 for me) meal plan. Today is day 3!

I did cheat some yesterday and had sushi for dinner. I actually had an AMAZING roll...without rice, which I never thought i'd like...but it was incredible. It had wakame salad, greens, tilapia, tuna, crab, carrots and seaweed. I also had some tart yogurt from this new place that opened in gville...right next to the Bento on Archer. They serve a zillion flavors of tart, natural yogurt. I got original and Taro flavored...it sorta had a sugar cookie taste..fine by me...

Things I like about this meal plan:

variety. They offer up a ton of different meals, such as a pork fajita casserole, strawberry smoothies, veggie burgers, tofu scrambles....
it's a reasonable amount of cals...about 1,500-1,600 per day. On long run days, I can always add a few hundred more
they give you a shopping list you can cut out...how perfect.
it's all clean eating

Not the biggest fan of...

5 meals a day is a bit much for me. I don't get up at 7am..so trying to squeeze bfast, snack and lunch into a 5 hour time frame is a bit stressful. I prefer four meals, bfast, lunch, snack, dinner..and then dessert :)
no dessert factored in. um excuse me. a girl needs her chocolate. and cookies. and cake. oh wait...that's why I'm doing this..to not eat those things everyday..whoops...
it's a little hard to eat out when you have it all planned like this. I'm still going to eat out...and do the meal plan for the other meals of that day

Exercise wise, I am TRYING to get refocused on running. I am still running 4-5 days a week...I've just cut back on my distance ever since my IT band issue. So, generally I've been running about 12-13 miles per week. But...I want to get back to doing a legit long run on sundays.

So here are some pics of what I've been up to all of May :)

My roommate graduated with her BA in May! Here we are at lunch :)

My friend Moira turned 23! Can you tell what her favorite color is?

XOXO, Healthy Girl.

New Life Motto

2009-04-30T17:17:00.001-07:00

Life Motto as of 8:15pm...

Eat Smart. Think Big. Act like a Supermodel.

Peace and Love.

Happy Almost Friday!

2009-04-30T06:43:00.001-07:00

Hi blog world.

Happy ALMOST FRIDAY!! I can't wait for the weekend. My roomie is graduating (sad but exciting) so this is our last hurrah.

Since my 5k, I really haven't run. I ran Monday..but it was pretty pathetic...I ran for I kid you not 18min. That's a joke (for me personally..18min is a very long time and admirable for many).

Last night though :).....I laced up the sneaks and did a nice 4 miler. I didn't even bring the garm which was actually refreshing. I love my garm. I feel nakie without it. BUT sometimes it is really nice to get out there and...run. Just go. I went at 6:40pm and when I returned home around 7:20pm I was really sweaty (yeah I live in Florida, I sweat at 10pm too) and felt refreshed. I think everyone should do that sometimes. Don't monitor your pace or cals burned and just go. I went. And it was great.

I also made Bison last night! I really do prefer it to regular meat. It has much much much more flavor in my opinion and has a leaner fat content. I salt'n' peppered it and threw it in the oven for about 20min. Then sliced it over a salad. Try it! You can order Bison online which is what my Dad did for me. It has defrosted really nicely and kept well.

Also, head over to SkinnyRunner and check out speidi...how chic.

Simple Pleasure of the Day: This actually happened the other day but I'll tell you anyway. I have one of the kiddoroos something and he said "Thank you". It made my day. A simple thanks.

Climb for Cancer

2009-04-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

So today was the Climb for Cancer race! WHoOoOoO!

I decided to do the 5 kizzle since my IT band hates me right now. It was so fun and I have never been happier to run 3.2miles in my life. ever.

We kept a really slow, comfortable pace, talked the entire time and enjoyed the weather. (simple pleasure..check)

I saw one of my kiddos from after school there so that was fun, especially since I met his Mom...he had better behave from now on.... lol

Distance: 3.2miles

Time: 30:30..including water breaks and such. and a potty break. for me. fantastic.

Friday night, we went to see a Beatles cover band, called "The Shitty Beatles"..haha. Great name, right? They were AMAZING. SO talented and they put on a great show :)

Here are some sweet pics from the race:

Pre-Race. Sweet Shirts, I know. They say Run 4 Roz...our friend that passed away from brain cancer in August. Love ya girl.

Shae, Moira, Jenn, ME!!, Caitlin

Jenn, ME!, Shae...I am so intense. Look at me going straight for the Garmin...for a 5k. Shae is so happy and look at that leg muscle...toned.

Post race, looking fab.

Caitlin, Jenn, ME!!, Moira

Simple Pleasures

2009-04-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Blog World!

Life gets so busy sometimes, that you forget to stop and appreciate the simple things. My roommate Caitlin and I decided that each day, we are going to stop and notice a simple pleasure during our daily routine.

We were at the pool laying out today, brainstorming all of the simple pleasures we take for granted! Here is part of our list (with help from Chad too):

Washing your hair after a good workout/the beach/the pool/a looonnggg time (ew but true)
Brushing your teeth the next morning after a long night out
New Socks! Especially new running socks
A cool breeze on a warm day
An unexpected text! You know when you just don't have time to look at your phone and don't hear it ring and then you finally look...and you have a text from someone unexpected? Yeah I love that feeling.
Saturday Morning rainstorms. ARE. THE. BEST.

These are just a few of our ideas! Take some time out of your day to notice the small thing that bring you pleasure!

SIMPLE PLEASURE OF THE DAY:

A beautiful, cool breeze while laying out! Brought a smile to my face.

QUESTION: WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR SIMPLE PLEASURES??

I'M BACCCCKKK

2009-04-22T05:35:00.001-07:00

HELLO WORLD!

So, I took a brief hiatus from blogging and boy did I miss it :) I hope you all missed me as well.

Since my hiatus, I have really refocused on eating what I want to eat...not what I think I should eat. For example, I don't need a million snacks a day. I just simply don't. Not now anyway. I am not running nearly as much as I was before and I was still continuing to snack away...but it wasn't necessary.

I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet. I have NO plans on becoming a raw foodie, although I really applaud those of you who follow this lifestyle, I think it's great. However, I am trying to have a few raw meals a week. I think it is an interesting concept with many health benefits.

I have been sporadically running due to my knee and I really miss it.

Lastly, I have been eating out WAY TOO MUCH. I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing though. On one hand, I have not been eating dessert. In fact, I have not had dessert since....last thursday? (except for some on Sunday during Founder's Day :) Which is a good thing since I can't seem to control myself with dessert. I have also been ordering somewhat healthy items in appropriate portions so...we shall see how this works out.

So...that is the latest update. Overall, I feel LESS controlled by food! Which in my opinion is great. Being controlled by food is scary and I am happy to report that I have felt much much better in the past week or two.

My race for Cancer is SATURDAY! It came upon me so quickly. I am currently signed up for the 10k, however, I might switch to the 5k. I am going for a run in a few minutes to see how my IT Band is feeling. I don't want to really injure it. I am so excited for this race though because some of my friends are doing it as well. They might all be doing the 5k and in that case...it would be fun to all run together!

I will be back to picture taking! For now, here are some highlights:

Cioppino again. I AM obsessed with this stuff.
RAW-ISH LUNCH!: Veggie Juice (carrots, apples, kale, celery) I could DEF taste the Kale which was EXTREMELY salty...but the apples and carrots helped keep it sweet WITH a huge salad of lettuce, avocado, tomato, olive oil, some (not raw) feta
SUSHI!- I had this one roll that was wrapped in soybeans....so different and so tasty.
MICROWAVED EGG WHITES! BEST.THING.EVER. I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE. I put 3 in a mug and nuked them for 1min 30sec. SOOO much better than a fried egg. THey are so fluffy and moist! I saw them on Eat, Live, Run! :) Thanks! Super easy and delicious.

Also, I think it is strange that Miss California from the USA pageant is going around saying her answer cost her the title. I think that is rather presumptuous of her to say and is a dig at the winner, Miss North Carolina. The whole pageant itself in my opinion was rather strange. Girls were wearing barely there evening gowns, everyone looked INCREDIBLY FAKE, yet beautiful, and the hosts? Really? They did a terrible job. They were unprofessional and it made the entire pageant seem like a sham. Skinny Runner brought up some good points as well. I believe this pageant focuses more on beauty than brains, which is too bad.

Tues-Thurs Recap

2009-04-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Sorry I have been MIA-- I have been really busy lately :)

Tuesday, Demetri Martin (the comedian) came to UF to perform. HE was SO FUNNY! He did a funny skit on purposing to your girlfriend lol.

So, I realized that I have been crazy about food lately. I mean crazy. It has been controlling my every thought..psycho I know. So..I decided to just highlight my food from now on. I was really lacking when it came to intuitive eating. I was eating snacks just because it was snack time. So...I needed to chill with the whole food thing. Needless to say, I feel 100 times better :)

Highlights:

sushi!! I got wakame salad, miso soup and a tasty roll
salmon salad wrap: canned salmon, light mayo, flatout wrap, lettuce, tomato, avocado
juicy pear that I dropped on the ground so I ate around that part...whoops...
odwalla c-booster juice

Thurs Highlights:

I've been keeping my oatmeal nice and simple lately so I had

1/2c rolled oats
1 cup water
a little less than brown sugar

I had earlier posted pics of my pomegranted water. It sorta tasted like Body Odor. I know that's a weird explanation but that was the after taste. Not pleasant.

So on my search for tasty sparkling water, I found Poland Springs Raspberry Lime. Delicious! Had a nice, clean taste with no scary after taste. Thanks Poland!

I also had Ethnic Gourmet Pad Thai with Tofu. It was tasty. Could have used more spice. I recommend getting real pad thai though. It just didn't have enough heat for me and the tofu was a little chewy although the noodles help up really really nicely.

I like the SmartOnes Rice Noodles taste better although they don't heat up as well so...choices.choices.

So in an effort to not be so crazy about eating, I got a portion controlled chocolate chip cookie :) My sweet tooth was completely satisfied and I felt in control.

Workout:

My knee feels a lot better. I am pretty sure it is my IT Band that is irritating me. I decided to run today so I did

Distance: 2.5miles

Time: 23:10 min

I might do the 10k instead of the 15k on April 25th. I don't want to be hobbling to the finish line, I'd rather finish strong and not have any knee problems.

I have some new eats planned for tomorrow! Can't wait!

GOSSIP!!

Did anyone watch Real Housewives of NY on Tues?? Really Kelly Bensimonne? She was running, in the street, in a studded t-shirt, with her hair down. LOL. OK.

Have a great night everyone :)

Weekend Recap/Happy Monday!

2009-04-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Passover and Easter!

I had a fabulous weekend!

Friday I went out with my friends and ran into this monstrocity...

yes. it is what you think it is. a.giant.crunch.bar. and i.didn't.touch.it. lol YAY me. Shout out t0 Shanty :)

Saturday I helped with French Compeition prep at the local highschool where I did my internship during undergrad. I love french :) They got subway for everyone so I had a smoothie with:

1/2 banana
5 strawberries
handful of spinach
vanilla protein powder
silk milk

for breakfast and then a turkey sub for lunch.

I went to an AMAZING sushi place, Fuji, for dinner! A-May-Zing. I also tried Sake for the first time...interesting. lol. Not my fave but def interesting.

I saw I Love You, Man. HA. HA HA. Funny. Not the best..but funny. I could kind of relate to the main character because sometimes I say things, and then I'm like..uh...why did I just say that. why.

Other eating highlights from the weekend:

Too Jay's Veggie stuffed pita (holy yum)
Banana Foster Oatmeal (oatmeal, banana, brown sugar)

Get Ready to Run!

So..I went for my 9mile run. My knee was KILLING me around mile 6. I stopped and stretched it..and I guess it sorta/kinda/not really helped. So..I only did a slow slow slow 8miles...

Distance: 8miles

Time: 1hour 24min

I did take some shots during the run (Cliff shot blocks hehe) which really helped! And I also ate my oatmeal about 1hour before I left for my run and I felt well fueled and nourished. Eating a meal is a must for me before I run.

SO..that brings me to today!

Went to Yoga/Pilates and felt really energized, balanced and strong! I love those days!

I particiapted in Meghann's amazing blog bake sale and got my Chunky Monkey Brownies! So.Goood. These babies are topped with dried bananas, walnuts, chocolate chips..they taste so homemade! I ate..one..two...three...lol...with a side of salad lol

lettuce
avocado
turkey breast
cucumber
tomato
hummus
slice of wheat bread

I also tried this Pom Sparkling Water...pretty good. Sometimes I want something other than water but I never ever drink diet drinks and I don't like spending calories on sodas soo..this is a nice substitute!

Tex Mex for dinner :)

chips and salsa
one tortilla
1/2 order of chicken fajitas :)
refried beans
some guac/lettuce/tomato salsa
brownies. why chunky monkey. im going to be a chunky monkey.

TIP:

When you go out for mexican and they give you fajitas or multiple tacos/burritos, take the fillings and stuff them into one shell/tortilla. This will save you cals but you can still enjoy the food and get enough to be satisfied!

So, I'm going to call the DR tomorrow and see what's up with my knee. I REALLY REALLY REALLY need to run the 15k. I refuse not to and maybe this seems irresponsible but this is probably the most important race I will run this year. So. Yeah. :)

Have a great night...enjoy The Hills...College Life...other trash...hehe.

Fridizzle

2009-04-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hi blog world!

So today was my first day not being a vegan..however..I ate more plant based meals today thanks to my vegan experience!

Breakfast:

1 cup shredded wheat
1 cup silk light
1 cup strawberries

Lunch:

lettuce
1/4 avocado
vegan burger, quite good! Boca Vegan Burgers :)
cucumber, tomato
hummus

Refreshing and light!

Snack:

1 cup of grapes
1/2c edamame

Dinner:

I made my favorite quinoa cold salad with:

quinoa
cucumber
tomato
soy sauce
lemon juice
some chickpeas
you can add edamame, corn, different beans, something sweet

plus some baked chicken breast with mustard and steamed broccoli.

And then a delicious banana with some honey for dessert!!

So, you may have noticed that my eating has changed a bit! My meals are usually more carb heavy and I always have dessert dessert.

As I said earlier, I have not been feeling myself lately. I have been feeling heavy and out of shape. So I made some simple changes to my diet and I will see how I feel after the week

Change 1: I love carbs and I think they are so important. HOwever, I need to moderate my consumption. I think I do best with a carb at each meal but not necessarily at each snack. Additionally, I need to stick to quality carbs such as sweet potatos, ezekial bread, cereals and watch portion sizes!

Change 2: Sometime I eat to eat. I'll feel like something and eat it, regardless of the nutritional benefits or how hungry I am. Sometimes one slice of toast is enough and I don't need two. I am working on changing my attitude about eating and no focusing SO MUCH on it.

Change 3: Sometimes I eat in anticipation for a big run and I feel like I NEED CARBS AND PEANUT BUTTER! That's great for a long long run..but for a 2 miler? I don't think so. Just because I run a lot does not mean I need to fuel like an iron man. I still need to keep it in check.

Hopefully with these changes I will feel back to normal! I will keep you all updated :)

Workout:

My friends Moira and Jenn came with my on a nice 2mile run. It was BEAUTIFUL out!! My lower back has been bothering my a bit so I went for a light run. I am still planning on my 9mile run on sunday so we shall see how that goes.

Distance: 2miles

Time: 18min 42sec

I did another .5 miles at an easy easy pace.

I just watched Southland, the new cop show on TV. It has the guy from The OC in it..he plays the same character..kinda weird..kinda cool. It is on on Thursdays..pretty good..watch it!

Going out with my friends tonight..re-cap tomorrow :)

I leave you with this little joke from my friend Steph:

Steph: "I need a date"

Steph:"....the food and a real one"

HAHA Love Dates...both kinds ;)..

Vegan Days Review

2009-04-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to cut my vegan experiment short. However, I learned some really interesting things since Monday.

Vegan Review:

Benefits:

I tried Kale for the first time, in a green smoothie and really liked it. Veganism made me branch out and try different breakfasts. I'll be incorporating more kale into my diet.
I don't necessarily need meat to feel full. I had udon noodle soup, tofu wraps, salads with beans and felt satisfied without the added animal bi products.
I already enjoy fruits and vegetables, however, vegan cooking allowed me to experiment more with them. It also made me consider incorporating more "raw"foods into my diet.
It helped me feel more in control of my eating. When I wanted chocolate, I knew it wasn't part of my eating philosophy and I was able to better resist.

Critics:

I found that I did not miss meat but rather eggs. I think eggs have a lot to offer health wise and I enjoy them for breakfast and for snacks. I really did miss them. And milk. Soy milk works very well in smoothies...however I perfer a glass of cow's milk to drink or in cereal. This is probably a habit and could be easily broken, however, for now, real milk for me.
Just because it is vegan, doesn't mean it is healthy. I made a cake and trust me, this bad boy was pretty heavy calorie wise...no eggs doesn't mean low fat.
I found that I did experiement with many diffrerent foods, however, I also ate more carbs than I normally do. I did not necessarily feel lighter after the 4 days.

Overall, vegan eating has many perks and I am happy I tried it for a few days. I really missed:

eggs
milk
fish

But that was about it. I encourage people to try and eat vegan or to try and eat a more plan based diet. The biggest thing I took away was recipes that are plant-based. I will be making a conscience effort to eat more plant based meals :)

Here are a few highlights from my days as vegan eating:

kale smoothie, roasted red pepper and two pea soup, roasted garlic and tomato soup with kidney beans, lemon-coconut bundt cake...all of these recipes were incredible. I highly recommend Veganomicon as a great way to start experiment with different foods. Easy to follow directions and tasty recipes :)

Also, a peanut butter cookie larabar. LOVED IT. This is my new favorite one :)

Workout:

While I was home, I did a little 5k for fun around my neighborhood. Before the 5k, my mom and I walked/ran 1 mile. She did a great job! Hopefully we can do a race together soon!

Distance: 5k

Time: 28min 08sec

I also did a easy 2miles in 20:03

I am getting ready for my 9mile run on Saturday in prep for my Climbing for Cancer Race, Saturday April 25th. Click Here for more details! I'd love to see some of you on race day! It is for the best cause in my opinion. I am so excited! I have run 5ks and a half marathon, but never an in between distance so it should be interesting.

Lately, I have been feeling a little off balance with my eating. Over the next few days you may notice some changes in my eating including smaller portion sizes, more plant based meals, less sweets. Hopefully I will be feeling back to normal soon!

I leave you all with a cute pic of my doggy, Star. She's so cute and 12 years old, which makes her even cuter. Look at her rockin' that headband.

Vegan Week

2009-04-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! So Yesterday started Vegan Week for me! So far so good..granted it has only been 24hours.

I came home to visit my parents since this week is Spring Break for the Public School District, therefore, I will be uploading all my cool pics on THURS. I've been cooking away so make sure you stop by and look at my creations :)

So yes, Vegan Girl here as part of Ryan's challange.

Mon's Bfizzle:
Ezekial Toast, Nat Pean But, Nat Jelly

Snacky:
1/2lemon larabar
an orange..that tased rotten..yet I still ate it..great.

Lunch:
WHOLE FOODS HOT BAR lol I like ran through the store grabbing things I needed for dinner and then ate this:

quinoa salad with corn and black beans

brocolli

indian tofu deliciousness (made with oat milk)

brown rice

all vegan friendly :)

Snacky:
other 1/2 of larabar

Din:
SO GOOD. I made some recipes for the fam from the vegan cook book:

Two pea and roasted red pepper soup ( They had grilled shrimp too..not I though)
arnold thin with hummus
lemon coconut bundt cake
all vegan of course

YAY! So my new obession is Iced Tea..not sweet tea...not tea with added sugar/sugar substitute/fake scary stuff....just cold tea. I can feel myself getting healthier by the minute. Seriously.

Tues BFizzle:

kale leaf
1 tbsp all nat pean but
almond breeze vanilla (1cup)
1 large banana

...GREEN MONSTER!

LOVED this combo..minus the fact that the monster was stuck in my teeth until I brushed them.

So today , I took my car to get an oil change and my mom and I hit up the mall. First off...the new color of the season is bright yellow. Which is great. Because I love it. I got this soo cute bright yellow cardigan and cute stripped shorts from Bana Repub. And new sunglasses from Coach that I look fab in if I do say so.

Lunch:
Hit up the Granery with ma mere (mom in French..I love French..consider this a little lesson).

For lunch I made a wrap with:

grilled tofu
quinoa cranberry walnut salad
a little bit of brown rice salad made with veganaise
avocado
baby greens
1/2 vegan dumpling

more please. it was that good. even ma mere thought it looked delicieux!

GOSSIP:

Here's a little fun. Watched The Hills last night. WHY HEIDI? First off..I hate Heidi's fake look (but that's old news)..and I HATED Lauren's Bday look. She's gorg..but this outfit didn't do her justice. Also...Heidi needs a life. Stop spending 24/7 with your Chuckie Doll BF. Get some friends. Hate when girls ditch ALL their friends for a boy and then come crawling back when things don't work out. Bad move. Never works out.

Sweet Little Heidi in the Beginning of her relationship with Chuckie (aka Spencer)...

UH...WHERE DID THAT CUTE GIRL GO?!?!!? Chuckie Ate Her.

Watched the CMA's...those ladies are so beautiful! Carrie Underwood is smokin as is Julianne Hough...I literally love Julianne and her BF..so.cute.! I heard Carrie Underwood is a vegetarian...hopefully by the end of my Vegan Week i'll be even hotter than her...

Julianne and Chuck.

Just imagine my head on that bod...how perfect...

DM FUN!

2009-04-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

So DM is overrr! Pi Phi (my sorority) got 1st place in spirit and overall DM raised over $413,000!!

Great success. My youngest sister, Rebecca danced. Here are some sweet pics from the event (for those of you who missed my previous post, it's a 26.2 hour event were "dancers" have to stay on their feet the entire time and they learn a cool line dance). All proceeds go to the Children's Miracle Network.

Some of the songs/music of the line dance were:

Swing, Bird Walk, Single Ladies, Blink 182, Pour some sugar on me...

My sister is in the black shirt and blue/white nike running shorts..with a shirt on that says "I heart Pain"..how approp lol...apparently she's gettin' down in this pic...girl got moves...

WORKOUT:

Did a TON of walking on Saturday and went to the UF Track Invitational...super fun!

This morning went for a run. I felt really good starting out. I felt strong and had a good pace going. Around mile 6...I was dragging. Majorily dragging. DONE. Didn't want to keep going..but I did? Apparently I did. I took a shot (block haha) at mile 6...which gave me a 1.3 mile burst and then I just sucked it up and ran.

Distance: 8.00 miles

Time: 1hour 18min 31sec

Gear: 2 80z water bottles 4oz gatorade 4oz water, 1 shot (block)

NOSH:

My mom came up for the event for my sister so between getting things for her we managed to have a little fun ourselves! Had a great lunch at swamp:

seared salmon
multigrain bread
avocado spread
lettuce
tomato
side salad

We then hit up Fresh Market and got some fruit...I have watermelon :)

A little later, I ate the rest of a coconut cream larabar from earlier in the week...

THEN DINNER. SO GOOD! We went to a place called Fresco. It was divine.

We split the red pepper hummus appetizer...

Then the Chioppini ( I love this stuff)

calamari
muscles
clams
shrimp
tomato based broth with spinach in it
salmon. so good.

My mom got the salmon with a pesto sauce over whole wheat linguini.

We took the left over salmon home. I plan on eating that in about 2.5hours haha.

Then we hit up Mildreds for dessert...obviously...we had:

coconut cream pie..so light and moist and the perfect amount of coconut
chocolate raspberry tort...really good although not what I thought it would be. We only ate about 1/3 of this one

This morning I had a rudi's bagel before I left for my run...then a bowl of cereal with raisins and skim milk when I got home and some coco water (with peach and mango..much better than reg)

Lunch was the ever so delicious Pita Pit with:

pita
chicken
tzaziki
lettuce
cucumber
tomato
onion
red pepper

Then a chocolate chip cliff bar...a orange...

GOSSIP:

empty. must research.

Questions!

2009-04-04T07:28:00.001-07:00

So excited to have my first questions!

So, I received this lovely question from Healthy Adelphi (check out her site...tons of cool info on foods, exercise, life)

Q: "What is on your ipod playlist?"

A: EVERYTHING! I have three main playlists that I rotate between when I don't want to just hit shuffle and run. I update my playlists probably once every two weeks when I heard new music on the radio that gets me jammin. If I wanna dance to it at a club..I want to run to it as well. You can always go to the ITunes page and look at the most downloaded songs or look up Billboard top 100.

Playlists 1 and 2 highlights:

Circus: Britney Spears

Decode: Paramore

Just Dance: Lady Gaga

Single Ladies (personal mantra): Beyonce

Live Your Life: TI and Rhianna

Love Story: Taylor Swift

Viva la Vida: Coldplay

One Step at a Time: Jordin Sparks

Running: Evermore

Une Derniere Dance: Kyo (in French)

Let It Rock: Kevin Rudolf

Rain on Your Parade (love this song): Duffy

Poker Face: Lady Gaga

I Hate This Part: Pussycat Dolls

Crack the Bottle: Emminem

Top of the World: Pussycat Dolls

Sober: Pink

Pourque tu m'aimes encore: Celine Dion (French)

Those are some highlights. Each playlist is anywhere from 1.5hours to 2hours

This is called, YOU CAN DO IT. Sometimes you need these jams to get you through the toughies. I made it for my half marathon for go to instant adrenaline:

Right Round: Flo Rida

Top of the World

Mad: Ne-Yo

Rock Star: N.E.R.D

Poker Face

Rain on Your Parade

Just Dance

Crack a Bottle

Dead and Gone: TI and Justin Timberlake

Blame it on the Alcohol: Jamie Foxx

Soon to be added for my run on Sunday:

Cookie Jar: not sure who sings this

Swing: Savage

Kiss me through the phone: Soulja Boy (what what)

Love Sex Magic: Ciara and JT

For cool down and an early morning run, nothing beats Death Cab for Cutie.

Hope this helped!

Q: What kind of shoes to you wear?

A: Excellent question. I HEART Asics. They are the only shoes I will wear. I pronate inwards, so I have the the gel ones for stability. More importantly, it is important to have a good sock. When my sock isn't cushioned enough, I can feel the shoe and it's uncomfortable for me. So, buy a nice sock with structure...not some flimsy thing.

See you all later xo

TGIF!

2009-04-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

Friday. I cannot express my joy.

This is going to be a crazzzyyyy weekend! It's Dance Marathon...a 26.2 hour event. "Dancers" have to stay on their feet the entire time. Support is ESSENTIAL! About 600 people dance.. last year DM at UF raised $465,000!!

I was the delegate for my sorority last year. My sister (real sister :) is dancing so my mom is coming up and we are going to bring her lots of goodies.

Back to today...

WORKOUTS:

Power Yoga/Pilates. Today was tough! I was getting really warm throughout class. I did some cool poses today and I really feel like I am getting stronger.

The pilates portion is the best. Seriously...I feel like my abs are sooo much stronger. I have scoliosis so my back bothers me a lot...see ya back pain ever since yogs/pilates.

I also played "vollyball" with the kiddos..aka...we used part of a fence at school as a net. I am soo terrible at vollyball..they were loving it. They kept high-fiving all my horrible hits.

NOSH:

Bfizzle- Rudi's sweet wheat bagel with:

1tbsp nat peanut butter and all fruit jelly on 1/2
slice of gouda on other half

I have been making a serious effort to not just eat because it's snack time. So..this actually kept me full until 1pm. I didn't break into a legit snack because I wasn't hungry.

For a "snack" I had 8oz of snyergy. YUM. Honestly... people say it tastes like vinegar? I think it taste like wine ahah. Like a fruity wine spritzer.

Cancer Fighting Agents? Check.
Digestive Help? Double Check.
Antioxidants? Check
Bacteria (gooood bac)? Check
Naturally Alcoholic? WHOOOOOOWHEEE!! Haha jk. But seriously, Check.

Lunch:

greens
tuna (solid tuna)
avocado...obsession with it...
tomato
dried cherries
onions

I love salads that are soo tasty you don't even need dressing. And I am obsessed with avocado. The end.

An hour later I had a bowl of Heritage Flax Plus, Skim Milk and some raisins. Perfection.

During my intense vollyball workout haha I had an apple.

Dinner:

Soooo HUNGRY. I downed some

sauteed spianch with 1tsp olive oil and garlic
amy's organic black bean chili, corn bread, rice
bowl of roasted red pepper and tomato soup

STUFFED. CAN'T MOVE. TOO MUCH FOOD.

I am dreaming of eating some better than pb...carob chips...a fig..a square of chocolate...But I can't. I have never turned down food. Maybe I have come to a breakthrough and I am capable of eating only when I need to? HAHAAH Prob Not.

FRIENDS:

Goin' out with friends tonight...probably have a drink or two. It's soo hard because a pitcher is like $2. So people just order pitcher after pitcher...bad news. I am going to try to order singular drinks.

SHOPPING:

Hit up old navy after work and got this tank that says Peace, Love, Yoga.

Usually not a huge fan of words on clothes...but this is sweeeeeeeet.

Gosh, Kitty is such a DIVA. She always has to be in every picture I take.

I also got Veganomicon. WHOOP! Couldn't resist. I mean really...I HAD to buy it. I'm doing the vegan challange for a week...this is technically a necessity right? I might have also purchased Becoming a Vegan. Very necessary.

GOSSIP:

While I was shelling out money on vegan books...I read the newest issue of US Weekly. They had the Dancing with the Stars "secrets!!" on getting in shape. All of the professionals were saying that they don't eat carbs..don't eat carbs after 5pm..all that kind of stuff. I could never swear off carbs or make myself stop eating at like 3pm. I duno...I think it sends a poor message to people and they think the only way they can be in good shape is if they cut carbs. I disagree. I think different things work for different people but this article def sent the overall message that carbs lead to weight issues. NOT COOL. LOVE ME SOME CARBS.

Also, Real Housewives. Fight between Bethenny and Kelly.

Bethenny: 1

Kelly: 0

Hot Hot Hot!!

2009-04-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today was an all around HOT day!

Workout

Had big plans for today. Got up...geared up...never really got going haha...

I started out really pumped for my run..and it was a dud. I ran my regular route and just could.not.get.going. It was struggle. I think part of the problem was that

a) it was 100000000 degrees outside. I live in Florida. It had rained. Not pretty.

b) i normally eat breakfast 45min before I run. Lately, I have been trying to just eat a banana...yeah...not workin' for me.

c) I did mad weight lifting the day before.

Needless to say...I ran 3miles in 30min...then walked .25 so I didn't pass out...then ran the rest home. where I marveled that I was still alive.

Distance: 4.4 miles

Time: 46min

You can see the sweat.

Nosh:

So, as I said before, I had a banana before I left. I usually don't bring a hydro belt with me unless I'm running for over an hour. I had planned on 5m so it would only be 50min. I actaully randomly decided to take a handheld bottle with about 8oz gatorade.lifesaver. I would have had to hobble into a gas station and beg them for hydration.

When I got back I ate my bfast cookie with:

1/2c oats
1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder
some organic skim milk
1tbsp pb
some walnuts
some raisins

Then, I hit up Mother Earth...apparently I love spending money because I can't stay away from this place. Highlights:

synergy! (the "raw material" is a little scary...)
primal strips
green and black chocolate
Better than Peanut Butter (i know...i really shouldn't have...)

I FINALLY got the JUICE BAR! WHOOP WHOOP. I got a small juice ( I mean SMALL) with:

celery
spinach
and apple (juice or the fruit..not sure)

I tried to be cool and get a green monster haha. It was KIND OF a green monster. Sorta.

That was a nice, refreshing mid-morn snack.

Lunch was a burrito with:

pinto beans
brown rice
whole wheat wrap
1/4 mashed avocado (best part)
1/2 slice gouda

with a side of oikos vanilla greek yog with granola.

I had an odwalla banana nut bar for a snack. Ok, does anyone else just NOT LIKE these things? I tried the berry..it was ok. This was also ok. It kept me full from like 4:30-7 but it tasts too "vitamin-y" for my liking. I much prefer a cliff bar or larabar or boomi bar.....

I might have gone BACK to Motha Earth for din. It's similar to a sad whole foods hot bar. By sad I mean there are 6 choices. I got 5 of them haha. Not the healthiest but really tasty!

tofu artichoke spinach dip...uh..so good. recipe anyone?
1 black bean manicotti
some mac and cheese
lots of roasted broccoli with garlic
lots of roasted veggies
handful of mary's chips for the dip

hehe...it was 1.6lbs..

Dove into some choc for dessert. I had 4 squares of chocolate:

1 dark choc with rasp and almonds
3 toffee milk chocolate

Love these chocolates because they are low in cals. One square of the rasp was 25cals...3 of the toffee was 60. Not too shabby for dessert.

RANDO:

Completely random sidenote. I was driving today in the middle of nowhere Gainesville and I look to my right...a CVS. I look to my left...a Walgreens. WHY? Why are they always on every street corner right across from one another. I don't get it. Wouldn't it make more sense to spread out. LIke...you are right across the street from your competition. Seriously. If someone could enlighten me on their thinking, I'd appreciate it.

GOSSIP:

Charlie Sheen named his baby BOB. No offense to the name..but for a baby?! Like...Bob? Not even Robert? Bob is a name you grow into. Like your name is Robert. People call you Rob or Bobby. Then when you are a bit more mature..you go for Bob. A 2 week old named Bob? Kinda cute...kinda oldmanish. Sorry to all you baby Bobs out there.

On a serious note..GET BETTER BABY BOB! Baby Bob is sick :( Get better soon!!

So so so so sad Private Practice isn't on. So sad. However, Taking the Stage is. Can't wait to hang out with these High Schoolers tonight. Im cool.

Bloggy World:

RUN over to Angela's Site and watch/read her interview with Kris from Crazy, Sexy, Cancer. It is beyond inspirational. Be thankful for each and every day..I know I am!

Rain Rain Go Away

2009-04-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hi bloggy world.

Rainy day here. I had the most adventurous day! But first:

Workout:

I was quite motivated this morning, so I went to the gym and did some light weights

Bicep curls- 8lbs- 3 sets of 10

Chest Press- 8lbs- 3 sets of 10

Chest Flys- 8lbs- 2 sets of 10

Triceps- 8lbs- 2 sets of 8

Should Press and lunges- 8lbs-3 sets of 8

Miltary Press and Squat (JILLIAN!!)- 8lbs- 2 sets of 10

V Raise and Squats..aka death...- 5lbs- 2 sets of 12

Then I did some leg presses, inner and outter thigh machine, quad lifts

And then 10 easy min on the reclined bike while I read O magazine...I don't even like it but it sucked me in.

Then, it was RIDICULOUSLY raining so I went back to the gym for a 3mile run on the treadmill. I HATE the treadmill. I DESPISE it. I think it is torturous. terrible. hard. boring.

Distance: 2.56miles (couldn't even do 3...hope pathetic)

Time: 25.02 min

However..I'm proud that I did it. I could have just gone home but instead I went to the gym.

NOSH:

Breakfast was PB&J/Trail Mix oats:

1/2c oatmeal, 1c water
2tsp natural pb
2tsp nat. jelly
2tbsp trail mix
mix mix mix

No time for a mid morning snack..went to this new place called Designer Greens for lunch. They have one in O-town too. It was good...however...I was starving after I ate it. It just wasn't enough calories. I figure the chicken and avocado were really the only substantial items. I also know that I do best with a carb...like whole wheat bread or a wrap in addition to lunch.

So, I created me own salad with:

carrots
onions
cucumbers
egg whites (the girl looked at my like I was crazy when I asked her to ditch the yolk?!?..she couldn't figure out how to pop it out haha)
Herb chicken (not that great)
Avocado (this was really good)
strawberries..2 measly ones!!
Light Ranch..although all I did was dip my fork a few times.

Please take note of the beastial amount of dressing they give you.

So, since I was crazy hungry...an hour later I had a whole wheat bagel with a slice of gouda (which is naturally low in fat and cals! FYI!!!) and a slice of turkey. I intented to only eat 1/2 but I was soo hungry that I ate the other half with some spray butter.

There's a bagel hiding under there :)

Pre-Gym (again) snack

A monster apple and a few almonds. Too bad the apple gave me the worst indigestion. It was painful. Not cool.

Din Din:

Baked Chicken
3/4c brown rice
zucchini
mushrooms
red pepper
onion
1tsp olive oil
1.5tbsp sweet thai chili sauce
Stir Frizzle

Dessert. Apparently I had a huge sweet tooth. However! I kept it in check and I am proud.

1/2c stonyfield Dark Chocolate Fro-Yo
sprinkle dark choco chips
all nat pb (probably 1tbsp...maybe less)
1 square dark choc

done-zo

Can't wait for Veganism next week! Check out Ryan's Blog!

GOSSIP/FUN:

Last night, I spent a good amount of time google-ing Reggie Bush and Kim K. I have this odd obsession with "bad"/mysterious boys...ie. atheltes and such....falling for a girl. I think it's soo cute. Im jel. They are by far my fave couple. Weird?

Additionally...Shana and Travis Barker are off again. Really? Like just stop. No one cares.

BODY UPDATE:

So, as I said before, my clothes and body were feeling off lately. I am happy to report that just after 3 days...I feel better! I feel stronger and more fit! yay! I also feel more in control of my eating...not just mindlessly eating but really thinking about what I want and need. Like for today, I packed about 20 almonds and an apple...but I just didn't need all of them so I had a few.

I am going for a nice 8miler on Sunday to get ready for my 15k.

If ya like it then you better put a ring on it..

2009-03-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey!

I've broken down this post into sections! Have fun!

Workout:

So...very productive day! As I previously stated...my clothes have been feeling tight..so I decided to go for a nice hilly run. O.M.G. So.Hard.

I have run these hills (florida hills lol) before and part of my half marathon ran over these "inclines". But seriously...I don't know if it's Jillian or what but my legs were hating me. I ran about .75 miles..yes POINT 75...and had to stop and stretch. Then at about 3.3 I had to stop again after conquering a huge hill to stretch. THEN at 4.0 I had to stop and walk .1 and then ran the rest of the .6 home. Needless to say..I feel great HAHA!

I was really slow though but oh well.

Run

Time- 49:02

Distance- 4.66 miles

I have so much respect for you hilly runners.

NOSH:

Before I ran I had half a whole wheat bagel. When I got back I had some gatorade (I was out of coco water!!) the other half of the bagel with egg whites, 1/2 slice of gouda and a banana. YUM.

Snack:

about 10 almonds

Lunch:

Oh lunch. I love fish. I could never eat meat again as long as I had fish. So..I made a fish taco with

tilapia baked in the oven
1/4 mashed avocado
red onion
tomato
lettuce
whole grain wrap

with some Vanilla Okios and strawberries. SO FILLING.

Kind of looks like frosting...or ice cream...or whipped cream...alas, it's yogurt..

As you all know, everyone in my life is getting in engaged. Tonight was my friend Beka's engagement dinner (not a real one, just a "i want to try on your ring, tell me the story again and again" one). So before dinner I held myself over with a nice ApplePie Larabar...and for dinner we went to

SWAMP. If you have ever been to Gainesville, you have been here. New menu...still good.

I got the shrimp salad with:

grilled shrimp ( kinda measly.. but tasty)
roasted red peppers
corn
black beans
mixed cheese

honestly, it didn't even need dressing. I also stole a few sweet potato fries..that counts as healthy..right?

Starving after dinner. Apparently I had a black hole for stomach so I had some flax cereal, raisins and skim milk :) Heaven.

FRIENDS:

Here is the Bride to Be! Doesn't she look so happy! Don't I look so jealous?!

The Girlies.

GOSSIP/ENTERTAINMENT

Did anyone hear that LuAnn from Real Housewives was getting divorced?!!? Keep your ears open...pretty sure the Countess just lost her title!!

Other Bloggers:

Also, head over to Ryan's site...she is hosting a vegan challange for the month of April! I am going to try to do a few days of vegan eating this month. I'll let you know when!

Hi Friends!

2009-03-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! I am soo happy to be back!

So here's the deal...we have a wireless router that isn't secured (oops!) and someone had downloaded "Flight of the Concord"..illegally. So they shut us down! They are hardcore..they went as far as to reprimand me...I didn't even do it!!

Needless to say....I'm Back..and ready to RUMBLEEEEE...

Here's a quick update on my food life the past few days:

1. I tried the Soy Jerkey Primal Strip...YUM?!?!!? It was like the filet mignon of beef jerkey. I got mine at Mother Earth.

2. I tried Oikos Vanilla Yogurt...I like it better than Vanilla Chobs. I have been mixing it with strawberries and granola as either dessert or a nice snack.

3. I need to run more...my clothes are feeling tight :(

4. Choppini is my new fave thing (fisherman's soup)

5. Tried the Kashi Meals for the first time... VERY IMPRESSED. The veggies were crisp and nothing tasted soggy..like most frozen meals do. I tried the Lemongrass coconut chicken.

6. Made an amazing homemade pizza with mozz cheese, spinach, mushrooms, basil, organic sauce

Sunday Run

Distance: 7.00 miles

Time: 1hour 10min 53sec

**RACE ALERT!!!! If you live near Gainesville, Fl..here is a great race!**

It's called Climbing for Cancer. It supports cancer research as well as the families of those with cancer.

My dear friend, Rosalynn Rose Rivas, fought a courageous battle with brain cancer. She passed away at the mere age of 22. This is near and dear to my heart and I will forever support cancer research.

There are 4 races to choose from:

5k walk

5k run

10k run

15k run...I am doing this one :)!!

Hopefully I will see some of you at the race, April 25th. Go to www.cfc-foundation.org for more info

Eatsssss

I have been great today...trying to watch what I eat a bit since things feel snug.

Here's a pic of din:

Tilapia sauteed in EVOO with some Sweet Chili Thai Sauce (SPICY!) with a sweet potato, broccoli and a cucumber, tomato, basil, onion and organic dressing salad. YUM!

I love sweet potatoes because you can microwave them in about 5min! They are so nutritious and provide a nice carb to the dinner.

Oh and PS, ANOTHER friend got engaged! YAY!! When her now fiance asked her out on a date for the first time..she laughed and thought her brother-in-law was playing a joke on her. now they are engaged.

*Moral of the Story*- laugh in boy's faces when they like you and you will get married.

So..sorry this is so long, I'm just excited to be back. Does anyone watch the show DEA on Spike? Because I'm obsessed. It's about the Drug Enforcement Agency (duh)...omg it's honestly the best show. I've decided I need a manly man like those on the show. My current crushes are "Sammy", "Kevin", "Chris". Hope their wives aren't reading this blog....

ALSO, Has anyone hear Jon and Kate Plus 8 are getting divorced?! Poor Babies if true..I LOVE Colin.

INTERNET AGAIn!!

2009-03-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

So after spending some time (1.5hours) on the phone with my cox and linksys friendssss... I HAVE INTERNET!!

Check back later for some juicy posts...

ARG INTERNET!

2009-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!! My internet isn't working!! It's been down for 2 days :(

So....I am going to try and get it fixed tomorrow and if I can't...I'll post from a different location
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Keep Checking Back!!

Sweet Dreams!

Mother Earth!

2009-03-24T17:14:00.000-07:00

I ended up running

4.51miles
45min 01sec

I thought it was a little overcast today...WRONG. It was soo hot and I was super sweaty when I got home so I refueled with some coconut water. To be honest...I don't LOVE the taste of coconut water but I like how it makes me feel post run. It isn't super sugary like some drinks and I actually feel good when I drink it. Try it!

I hate waking up late because then I end up skipping a snack. When I got back from my run..it was around 12 and I had to go to work around 2 today...so...I had lunch.

Sorry about this pic..not the most appetizing but it was delish.

slice of whole wheat toast with stone ground mustard
bison frank
carrots and bean dip
Pacific Tomato Soup

For a snack I packed some whole grain crackers, a banana with barney butter and a salad made from

cucumbers
tomato
onion
olive oil
lemon
salt and pepper

I ate about 1/2 the salad.

I was STILL hungry despite the large snack. That's what happens to me when I skip my mid-morn snack. I get uncontrolably hungry. I don't mean to skip snacks..it's just hard because I have to eat lunch by 2:30..when you wake up at 9:30 (like I did today!! SO LATEE I KNOW!!)..its hard.

For din, I stopped at Mother Earth...the hot bar was more than lacking. All the good stuff was gone! I saw some sort of spinach lasagna thing and got all excited...only to find the little thing empty. UGH!! So..I went to their Macro/Vegan stuff and got:

Thai Dumplings (really good...the filling was like a vegetarian egg roll filling)
Sesame Noodles (just had a few..but really good)
BBQ Tofu. I decided I just dont like this..too chewy. cool, just wasted $5
Salad (that I topped with some smoked salmon...a tiny piece)

This is a pic of the dumplings and the sesame noodles.

ate about 1/2 the salad.

I felt snacky post dinner so I had a few Stacy's Bare Naked Pita Chips (about 4), a Cliff Nectar Cacao Bar (this was for dessert) and a small bowl of Flax Cereal with Skim Milk.

Review:

Not that great. It was fine...but I much perfer the reg Cliff Bars. This bar reminded me of the Cliff Z bars...but I like the Z bars better. I don't think i'll buy them again although reg Cliff bars (along with Larabars) are my absolute faves.

Now, I am going to go be a boy and watch the Gator Game on ESPN..then watch some girly shows like real housewives and such. Oh and maybe i'll get around the reading.

Engagements Galore

2009-03-24T06:56:00.001-07:00

Seriously...every person I know is getting engaged. It's like flu season...only people are happy. It all started in November when one of my best friend's from high school got engaged..and then another on Jan 1st, and then 2 girls in my former sorority, and then a girl from high school....

First, I need to find a man to be engaged too...then I can get in on the action.

But on a serious note, Congrats to all!! Very exciting!

Today was supposed to start my 24hours facebook free since I am always lurking on facebook.. but I OBVIOUSLY had to ring stalk the two girls that just got engaged so...those 24hours will just have to wait.

For din last night, I made a really good chicken quesidilla

whole wheat wrap
chicken breast
mushrooms
fresh sauteed spinach
skim mozz cheese
red peppers

with a side of Pacific tomato soup and some Veggie Fat Free Refried beans (sooo gooddddd).

and half a cup of Stonyfield AfterDark Fro-Yo. YUM.

Breakfast this morning was completely pathetic. It was so sad and I am embarrased to even post it (just because it was lacking..no offense to Cream of Wheat)

I had pre-packaged Maple Brown Sugar Cream of Wheat...it really lived up to it's name of Maple and Sugar. I reallyyyy need to hit up the grocery store. Plus a few mission figgys.

I might go for a run in a bit...we shall seee...but I am def running today..probably around 5m...nice and slow.

I leave you with pictures of my boyfriends...

My true love is Chuck Bass...aka Ed Westwick. Can you tell I have a type?

QUESTION????: Do you have a certain look you always go for?

Manic Mondayte

2009-03-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

HI friends!

Happy Monday. It was so nasty outside..that I did nothing. except for facebook all day and go to the mall and boarders. I got the new Jodi Picoult book. She always cooks up a good novel...I somehow always end up crying and become more knowledgable on topics such as:

teen suicide
heart disease in children
Eskimos
leukemia
school shooting

wow. thats so depressing.

We tried to take our Kitty to the mall today..but she really wasn't having it.

my roomie and kitty

Breakfast was PB and J Oats!

1/2c oatmeal dry
1 scoop almond butter
1 scoop all natural jelly
sprinkle of trail mix
banana
to.die.for.

Jelly made it sweet and delicious. (the pic won't load..argggg)

Grabbed Subway at the mall..had a turkey on honey oat w/all veggies and some oil and vin. Plus a water :)

Snacked on Mary's Crackers, Figs and a Peach Chobani.

So, while at boarders, my roomates and I stumbled across this little proclamation:

"How Jessica Simpson Lost 10lbs in 5 days" plastered all over a mag cover

Then these two pics were side by side:

Two things to be learned from the mag cover:

1. Lay off J-Simp. Nick Lachey has been happily ever after post-divorce...she on the other hand as run around with the Jackass guy, John Mayer, Tony Romo..leave.her.alone. Also, sorry she isn't anorexic anymore. SORRY SHE DECIDED TO START EATING AGAIN.

2. However...

Try this little trick. Wear your most unflattering, heinous, awkward outfit in your closet (should resemble this high waisted jean mess).

Then...a few days later (like 5..to make it somewhat realistic)...wear something that is slighty less heinous and unflattering (perhaps a corset like top). I bet people'll be sayin you lost 10lbs too.

Or just don't wear things that make you look fat...when you're not...

OFF to SHRED with JILL!

Go Gators!

2009-03-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

Basket.Is.Amazing.

I finished the chocolate covered pretzels. They were divine. I loved them. The Lindt truffles are also amazing. I act like I have never had them before haha.

Oy. The weather was beautiful...so I layed out at the pool and got Pita Pit. I had:

hummus
tiziki
cucumbers
spinach
tomato
pickles
green peppers

Then I went to the University of Florida baseball game. SO FUN. UF's my alma mater (I sound soo mature and old), I still live in Gainesville and I have never been to a game. Sad I know. Today was my first and it was really fun. We beat Tennessee 10 to 0 (when I left).

Check out these pho-tos:

Albert and me...what what

I moonlight at a baseball player...with out a neck...

Had a Kashi Bar and a bite of a fried oreo (eh...not that great...to0 fried tasting for me...I like me some regular or-e-os)

Dinner was a delicious chicken parm and some pasta...so full off all the sweets...

Tomorrow! I am going to do a super sprint triathlon for fun so:

250m swim
4mile bike
1.5 mile run

I am pretty excited about this because it will be a nice change up of my normal workouts. Should make the time go quickly! Plus I need to "work off" the basket I just consumed so I

look more like this:

and not this:

HOLY COW

2009-03-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

THIS JUST CAME TO ME FROM FED EX (i am actually friends with the delivery guy).

FEAST. YOUR. EYES. It's called the VIP..naturally.

BEST PARENTS EVER.

I'm probably going to be a giant whale after this...but. o.m.g. I just devoured the chocolate covered pretzels and sampled a few other goodies.

I'll report back later...with my other eats (which will hopefully be healthier)

2009-03-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

TGIF. This week was killer. The kiddos were pretty good today...I played soccer with them, I was team France ( obviously)...I got one goal. ONE. They are so cute, they kept kicking it to me to score (they honestly kicked it to me about 1000 times) and they would scream Go MS.MEGHAN!!..and I just couldn't. I felt like a loser. Haha. I couldn't tell if they were laughing at me or with me...whateves. It was fun!

Eating today was fun. As it is everyday. Nothing special though. Just a smoothie in the morning, cereal for a mid morning snack but I did use my bean dip on a sandwich with avocado, tomato and chicken. Sometimes I feel so crafty in the kitchen :)

Din was JAMBALAYA BABY! I added a Bison Frank to it for kicks. So good. These franks are all natural so none of that scary stuff in pork franks...and each link (they were a nice size) was 140cals and 8fat. Not too shabby.

Um, then my raging hunger kicked in again. Why am I the most ravenous person on Earth? So, I had half of a sweet potato. I am still kind of hungry..but I am going out in a bit and planning on a few drinks sooo I'll have to suck it up. Not to mention, I am pretty sure I am bored-hungry, although how could I be bored when I am watching...

TAKING THE STAGE! SO here's a tid bit about me... I LOVE REALITY SHOWS ABOUT PEOPLE MY AGE. I don't like those Tila Tequila ones or Gs to gents...I like

The Hills
Two A Days (old school)
The City
The Bachelor
TAKING THE STAGE

I get so into their lives haha. It's kind of sad actually. I feel like I know these teenagers. I really do get so involved with their lives. WEIRD, I know. If you are weird too, here is the link to the show. These kids are SO talented!!

So, I'm lame. Not going to upload pics. I'll make up for it tomorrow and post TONS!!

Jambalaya part deux

2009-03-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

O.M.G. I work with middle schoolers, as y'all know. Honestly, I hope I wasn't this "trying" as a child as these ones are. I spent one hour talking to three different boys about their behavior. The hardest part is, they all listen and respect me. It is the other staff members they treat terribly. Despite it all, I still love it. I love working with them and trying to help them better themselves. I really care about them all and can't wait to have my own class.

Anyway, as I was trying to guide them in the right direction, I ate a Cliff Raisin Maple Oatmeal bar. I love this one. It is so gooey and chewy and keeps me fullll

Went for a run after work. Felt prettyyyy greatttt. Although Jillian is killing me with these leg lefts/squats/jumps/whatever else she makes us do.

Run:

4.5 miles

Time:

42 min 53 sec

Here is the link to this awesome workout schedule that Evan Longoria (sexy man) does. This came my way via Chad...who has a man crush on Evan. I personally LOVE Men's Health. You can take a lot of the info and tweek it for women. Check it out!

Made my JAMBALAYA (in a accent of course)..just a good as before. Although, I used a little less spice and decided I def like more. I am defrosting some Bison Franks so I am going to add them to the mix for din tomorrow. Gettin' fancy.

Ingredients:

brown rice
chicken stock
red pepper and green pepper
garlic and onion
cajun spices
red pepper flakes
shrimp
diced canned tomato

Then I needed an orange. It was a monster.

Now I'm hangin' out with the Doc of Grey's Anatomy. I just looked up and they were holding a face. Looks like it's going to be a good episode...

Beans Beans the magical fruit...

2009-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone!

I honestly had the weirdest night's sleep. The power went out inexplicably in the middle of the night and I was so confused as to what was going on. It woke me up, but not enough to really care so I went back to sleep. Then my precious cat, Kitty, was rumaging through a plastic container that was on the floor at 5:00am. WHY?! I tried to wait it out, but I was so irritated that I got up and moved the stupid thing.

Here she is causing problems..as per usual. In a eco-friendly bag.

Morning fuel:

I made my oatmeal pancakes this morning (no pic...couldn't find my camera it was hiding under a blanket on the couch?)

dry rolled oats about 2/3c
milk, about 1/4c
egg whites, 2
cinnamon, sprinkle
vanilla, about 1 tsp
baking soda
5 walnuts
blend blend blend

I topped them with organic honey about 1/2tbsp of all natural pb

Made a Publix run for green peppers which magically turned into many other items including this gem:

Bean Dip! So Good. I normally don't search for the lowest cal item or lowest fat since mosst things I eat are quite healthy. I thought this looked really intriguing and then I saw that it was only 25cals and no fat per 2tbsp..so I had to buy it!

It is all natural with a nice spice- not too spicy at all...less spicy than a medium salsa. It is creamy and would be the perfect salad "dressing" for a taco salad..or just with chips/crackers/veggies/eggs.

I snacked on some figs in the car on the way home from the store.

Lunch!

I made a HUGE salad with

1/2 small sweet potato
strawberries
1 black bean and chipotle veggie burger
1/2 a small avocado
a few walnuts (couldn't even tast them..kind of a waste)
a drizzle of organic Provence des Herbs dressing...pretty good

I also had to pair it with about 3tbsp of my black bean dip with carrots and Mary's original crackers. Great combo! I could have used the dip as a dressing too since it would have gone well with the burger.

I got a great link from my friend Chad that has the workout plan of Evan Longoria (Ray's Third Baseman). Chad's OBSESSED to say the least with sports..so thanks for the link! I'll post it later..maybe we can all get shredded with the combined efforts of Jillian and Evan. Sweet.

Lie to meee...

2009-03-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, I love the show Lie to Me. It is the first really interesting TV show. It is about these human lie detectors and they show real people's facial expressions when lying..like Bill Clinton. So Good.

I did my shreds. I am still sweating up a storm. And just when I think I am getting better at the v flys with chair squats, I look in the mirror and realize my arms aren't quite so "v" shaped.

Din:

1/2c whole wheat pasta (dry)
1.5 tsp olive oil
2 big slices of eggplant diced
zucchini
onions
red peppers
canned diced tomatos
a sprinkle of part skim cheese

Tip:

If you love pasta, like me, cook a reasonable portion such as 1/2c-3/4c dry (about 1c cooked) and then load it up with veggies, chicken sausage, lean ground beef, lean ground turkey ect. This way you feel like you are eating more and it isn't a measly 1c of pasta with sauce.

I really liked the diced tomatos as a sauce because they were slightly sweet and added a nice flavor.

Dessert:

1/2c stonyfield dark chocolate nonfat frozen yogurt..uh..yum? I probably could have polished off the entire pint. Good thing I somehow managed to muster up self control and stop at 1/2c. I am amazed.

Now I am going to watch the ridiculous lives of the Real Housewives.

St. Patty's Recap

2009-03-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

So last night's festivities were FANTASTIC. We had some delicious green beverages..green cupcakes (so cute) and just a lot of fun in general. Here are some pics:

Yesterday's eating was SO WEIRD. I don't know what my problem is but I just didn't want anything to eat...but wanted to eat. Weird? Yes.

I ending up eating cereal, some toast with peanut butter and jelly, some TCBY, a cookie, some crackers and hummus, some green cupcakes...all SO random. Luckily, I swam and ran last night, 2.38miles in 22:36min..so hopefully that did something haha

Does anyone else feel like they are STARVING all of a sudden? Is it spring...there must be a reason other than the fact that I love food and to eat.

This morning I made my normal bowl of oats:

and then honestly, an hour and a half later I was hungry! WHY?!?!

So, I ate the rest of my delicious Quinoa Salad with some canned salmon on top and a handful of Mary's crackers.

I bought Chipotle Black Bean veggie burgers...YUM! Pretty good stats and GREAT TASTE. They are frozen so you don't have to gobble them up as quickly as the nonfrozen brands (Garden of Eating makes them). I paired them with my Jalapeno Cheese and it had a really nice flavor. Plus some tasty Pacific organic Roasted red pepper and tomato soup.

I was hungry again! Out of control appetite. I am like a sumo wrestler. So, I had an apple...then a yogurt for my afternoon snack..then a bowl of flax cereal and granola after that!!!

I was going to ride my bike, but it is looking like it's going to rain cats and dogs..so I think i'll just Shred instead :) I think I can see some shredded muscles in my arms, like Sarah Jessica, so I am pretty pumped! Ok actually, I take that back. Those are bazookas..I just want water guns.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

I am currently blogging in my "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirt. I want to wear it to work but I work with middle schoolers so I feel like the whole, "kiss me" part might cause some problems. Some of my friends are having a party later to celebrate this joyous day so hopefully I will have some green beer later! WAHO!

Break:

flax cereal
shredded wheat n bran
banana granola
skim milk

I then went and swam. The weather was kind of in between today but sunny enough!

Swim workout (about 40min) in meters

700 free

100 back

50 breast

200 kick

(2) 100 free fast as possible (under 1m45s)

(2) 100 back fast as possible (under 2m)

(2) 50 free as fast as possible

(2) 50 back

100 cool down

Post work out snack:

I bought Jalapeno Monetary Jack cheese and really wanted to use it haha soo...I made a nice post workout snack of scrambled egg whites with one slice of the cheese and a handful of Mary's crackers

I ran to Mother Earth (like Whole Foods) and stocked up on some goodies including:

Boomi Bars (probably have one for a snack!)
Wraps
Quinoa Salad
Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt
Mary's crackers
Coconut Water

I bought Quinoa Salad with walnuts, cranberries, herbs, Walnut Oil, Tamari- honestly, SO GOOD. I was freaking out at how good it was.

I put the salad in a wrap with

canned salmon ( I love this stuff, great time saver!)
cucumber
tomato

I had it with organic roasted red pepper and tomato soup...also so good. I like how the sweet salad contrasted with the salty salmon and the soup was the perfect hint of sweetness as well.

and an apple :)

Off to wizz-ork. If it doesn't POUR, going for a run after work, just a light run maybe 2 or 3 miles. Can't wait to try a Boomi Bar for a snack..

SO MUCH TO SHARE

2009-03-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, sorry I was MIA.

So first off:

1. Great Bday Celebration for my dad's birthday

Picture of my mom and me

My dad and me

Not sure why my eyes look funny, I swear they don't look like that in real life.

Lots of eating this weekend including delicious hamburger, swordfish, cherry crumble, guac...

Back to food blogging tomorrow :)

The celebrate tonight, my roomie and I ordered sushi!! I was soo hungry after doing shred and riding my bike, so I ate two whole rolls and trail mix! Bike riding was great today, I got a helmet and rode 4.5miles and then did shred.

Plus I HAD to have some celebration cookie and cookie cake!

Tomorrow I am going to celebrate getting into grad school and St. Patty's day...get excited for lots of pics!

YAYAYAYY

2009-03-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

First off, quick post before shreds and dinner...longer post to come!

Happy Birthday DAD!!! It is my dad's birthday today!! He is the best dad a girl could ask for! Love you!

Second,

I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!! I have been waiting for this day since December. I will be attending NYU in the fall for one year in Paris and one year at NYU to get my masters in Teaching French as a Foreign Language! I am beyond excited!! Thanks to all my friends for listening to me worry :)

Mania!!!

2009-03-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have this "friend", we shall call her SBS.

SBS is crazy. Like crazy. She is a little bit bipolar (not legit but almost). But so funny. LIKE HONESTLY, so funny.

Let me just recap our recent conversation:
SBS: Um, I am calling to ask you what you are wearing for your triathalon. Are you wearing a wet suit?
Me: No.
SBS: WHY NOT?!?!?!? Omg, like, you have to bc your boobs will..
Me: I don't have boobs and mines in a pool so no. i don't need to.
SBS: I could never just wear a bathing suit, I mean how can you run in a bathing suit? I never could..
Me: Ok, well how about you just stop worrying about my race...

The girl is crazy. She is so concerned about my triathalon, its kinda cute slash creepy. Good thing she is like my best friend or else i'd be scared...

I just feel bad though for people who don't have a crazy friend. Crazy friends make it ok to be crazy, bc then you don't feel so alone. Crazy friends are the best friends bc they make you laugh, take a keen (somnetimes creepy) interest in your life and they are just always so fun. Talking to them on the phone is fun bc they say outlandish things/make you laugh/are irrational. I love my friends. especially SBS. I think we are such good friends because we both love food a little too much...:)

I love technology..

2009-03-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

So, I think I just broke our TV. I was trying to play Jillian post run and my parents have this complicated TV..and now it isn't working!!! I seriously have the worst luck with technology. I feel like tvs in particular hate me! They never work. And I couldn't get Jillian to play so now I am waiting for my parents to return from a 90 year old woman's birthday party so they can fix it for me. great.

On a good note, had a nice (hot) run, 4.25miles in 41:45, not too shabby. Ever since my half marathon a few weeks ago, I just can't get in the groove of running. I just can't break the 4.25 marker! I used to run about 3-5.5 a couple times a week and a long run on sundays. I just need to break that mental hump.

Went to Whole Food for lunch and pretty much tried a little bit of everything on the hot buffet...um why have I never done that before?!? SO GOOD.

But then I ate about eight (8) girl scout cookies. Bad move. Normally, I would have gone on a crazy binge and said oh well, might as well eat everything in sight. I haven't done that in a long time. So instead, I carefully stopped myself and walked away. I was pretty pleased with my performance. I was able to bring myself out of binge mode and walk away. Plus, I went running after which gave me a terrible stomach cramp and I really remembered why I don't like stuffing my face with cookies.

So yes, as previously stated, I am home for the weekend and my parents are at a 90yr olds birthday party. You know what I have to say about that? You go girl. You are 90, you still drive, have your own home, WORK, socialize....way to go. When I am 90..I just hope i'll be able to remember my name. and that I am 90.

It is so funny because my parents are always going to things at retirement homes and care centres. They have honestly eaten dinner at every retirement facility in our town. Plastic trays and all. People love my parents, so they always invite them places, including their assisted living facilities for mac and cheese at 4:30pm. It is so cute. These people are some of the most spunky I have met! They all travel, have companions, work, drive, exercise...honestly, inspirational! Makes you think twice before complaining about anything :) or making excuses as to why you can't do certain things!

Feeling Shredded

2009-03-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

So, Shreds is hardcore. I am a fit person and honestly, it is still hard! I don't even want to see level 3. As Sarah said, those fly squats are SO DIFFICULT! I can barely keep up. But I think i'll be shredded soon enough...Natalie aint got nothin' on me!

Din:

Oh leftovers. I had the rest of my tasty salad (those sugar pecans are honestly so delicious) and my left over singoporian dinner...just as good the second day (on my cute target plate)

Perhaps some pineapple while watching Castle from last night. Anybody watch it?

I am trying to be more balanced in my eating, heeding Bethenny's advice. So, since I had some sweets with the pecans and the few bites of pudding, I will have pineapple for dessert.

She also has this whole idea of you eat a protein centered meal in the morning, then eat a carb centered meal in the afternoon, ect. I don't know how I feel about this since we often need carbs when working out so much. We shall see...

Going home tomorrow morning. We cancelled the after school program since they had a school dance. So therefore I am leaving around 9am, making the 2.5hr drive to go home for the weekend. YAY!

Free Lunch!

2009-03-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

So, as shown by my post title...I got a free lunch today!! BJs is opening in Gainesville and today (including this weekend!) was their dry run through!

They offered up potato skins as an appetizer, which were very substantial and more than enough for two of us. I had one potato skin to try and it was very tasty.

I ordered The Field Greens which had:

chicken breast
roasted red peppers
feta
onions
mandarin oranges
sugared pecans (uh..yum?)

I eat about half my salad and I am going to eat the rest (picture to follow) tonight with dinner!

I also had two bites of the BBQ chicken pizza, which had a really nice crust on it!

YAY for free food.

This morning I did some yoga and had a really good bowl of oats with the usual:

banana
skim milk
1.5tbsp trail mix
honey
blob of all natural PB

Work was better today, the kids weren't as wild. We do have this one student however who abuses the fact that his/her mom works at the school. It is SO ANNOYING!!!! Oh well :)

I did cooking today with the kiddos- we made dirt pudding...with cream cheese and powedered sugar mixed into the pudding. It had 2 spoonfuls and let me tell you...delish. I had to have the spoonfuls :p because I made a very stupid mistake.

I always eat breakfast, then a snack, then lunch, then a snack, then dinner and sometimes dessert or a snack.

Well, I ate break at 8:30am and didn't need a snack before lunch at 11am. Fine. HOWEVER... I wasn't terribly hungry so around 2:30pm, I had 4 little chunks of pineapple. BY 5PM, I was famished! I scarfed down my yogurt and granola and seriously had a hungry stomach ache until 10min ago, when I ate the other half of my morning banana. What I should have done was had a light snack around 2:30pm (such as string cheese and a cup of fruit) and then my normal snack around 4:30/5. Instead, I let myself get too hungry. Lesson learned. Luckily, I was able to stop at two bites and come home to a nice half a banana.

Going to SHRED IT UP!!!! See you all after dinner :)

Cha Cha real smooth

2009-03-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

Good evening all :)

This was me today, read further to see why!

I can see your comments...but still can't comment back! I can't see the special code :( Anyone know how to help?

I got up this morning at 8am and was running by 8:30. It was so nice out, not too hot but still nice and sunny (at 8:30 am, 3pm, different story).

Pre- Run:

Slice of ezekial toast

Run:

3.00 miles

30m 10sec

Post- Run Breakfast:

I have just been loving cereal lately! I thought about making oats, but I was hot and sweaty and cold cereal was so appealing. So, I had a bowl with (my favorites of course)

Flax multibran (I am seriously obsessed with this stuff)
banana granola
organic skim milk

I don't know why, but I felt super motivated and honestly I was channeling Michael Phelps. I was flying through the water like a mad woman

Swim (in meters)

600 m warm up free

100 m warm up back

100 m warm up breast stroke

100 kick breast

100 kick back

100 free

(4) 50 Free

100 free

(4) 50 back

100 free

(4) 50 IM

100 free warm down!

Post Swim snack:

1% cottage cheese
fresh pineapple...so good after the swim!

Pool Time..AGAIN! The doggie was there chasing his ball. Isn't it funny how something as simple as a dog chasing a ball can brighten someone's day?

Lunch:

Tuna (I accidentally got chunk lite..yuck)
edamame
corn
avocado
tomato
cucumber
ezekial toast

With a beautiful banana with 1tbsp almond butter (on my beautiful new target plate)

WORK WORK WORK!! WHYY!! The kiddos had FCAT today and they were WILD! Draining. I was then out in the sun playing basketball with them. Oh kids.

CHA CHA!!!

So, I went to the Singaporean place for dinner with my friend Chad. We are both really adventurous eaters and wanted to try it! First off, our server was so cute. She was this little woman, so dainty and cute.

I got the vegetable coconut soup. It was a coconut broth so it didn't much coconut milk flavor, because it wasn't...but it was nice. A nice starter.

Chad got a lemon grass type dish with chicken. It was nice and spicy. Not too spicy just right.

I got the CHA CHA sauce..with tofu, green peppers, red peppers, onions, bamboo shoots and brown rice. I ate about half the tofu dish and 1/3 of the brown rice.

Now I am watching Lie to Me. If you don't watch it, start. It is fascinating!

I bought Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel. Pretty interesting if I do say so. I'm not sure how practical it is for someone as active as myself, but some of the concepts are very interesting. Like thinking of food as a bank account- invest in quality. Taste lots of food. ect. Pretty interesting.

I think I might be needing some Breyer's Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!!!!! Just a little scoop :)

Really Target?

2009-03-10T17:05:00.001-07:00

First...I am having trouble responding and commenting on posts! For some reason, I can't see the special code you have to put in to comment. SOOO, if I don't respond, that is why! And I can't comment on other people's blogs either, :(

So I read on the Chic Runner's Blog that she had a little run in with target. Well, I just joined the club.

So, I wanted Shred. I had done shred at my friends Jenn and Shae's house and it was hard. So, I rang up Tar-jay, and asked if they had it. After a few minutes on hold, they said, "Oh, no we don't. Sorry!". Bummer. Whatever, I am a resourceful girl, so I called up Best Buy. After 4min on hold...I got my very own shred!!! So, I first had to stop at Tar-jay to get the weights for shreds. Well, well...what do I see. about 19 copies of shreds sitting right next to the weights. COOL TAR-JAY! Like really? Your job is to know what you have in stock. Really? Like what if your doctor was like "oh, no don't worry you don't have a broken bone..." do your job Target. On top of it all, Tar-jay sucks you in. So, I didn't simply leave with my dvd and weight..oh no..I had to buy some cute place mats, some dish cloths, a new shower curtain and plates and bowls? Why? Why does Tar-jay do this to us?

Anyway, I did shred...and it was worth all the trouble. I was sweating, breathing hard, read..love it. Level 2 rocks.

So I did hatha yoga and shred today :)

Happy to report that the apple really held me over last night and the cool crispness made me feel "light" ? if that's possible. Going to have one again tonight :) instead of sweets just to see if I feel more fit after a few days of limited sweets.

Dinner:

Re-do! Loved that jambalaya!! had to have it again :) with broccoli and my dessert apple on the side. Maybe some dates if I feel super snacky during the Real Housewives of NY. Yes, I watch it. Yes, it's ridiculous. But honestly, how great is Bethany? She's fit, is an all natural chef and to the point. The girl is blunt. You love her or hate her. Anyone else feel like they need some bluntness in their life??

Repeat, Repeat

2009-03-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

It was beau-ti-ful out!! I layed out again...the cutest dog was there again chasing his ball! His owner put sunglasses on him too and it was soo cute!

Pre-pool, I had a delicious bowl of cereal with:

1/2c multibran flax cereal
1/4c shredded wheat n bran
1/2c organic honey cheerios
sprinkle of banana granola
3/4c skim milk

Hit the spot! Sometimes cold cereal just does it for me :)

I had to go shopping with my boss for some cooking supplies for work. It is so hard sometimes to balance my eating philosophy and what my job requires. They only want to make cookies, tacos, desserts ect. I always buy light items when possible, like light sour cream, or skim milk...but I still feel like I am filling them with junk. I think I am going to try and have a nutrition class sometime soon with them.

Pre-pool snack:

hummus
Mary's herb crackers ( I like the original better, although both are excellent)
carrots
cucumbers

I love refreshing snacks like this! Especially on a hot day.

Post Pool Lunch:

I got a little inspiration from Angela. Instead of wrapping my veggie burger in lettuce, I sauteed some spinach in olive oil. I topped the burger with avocado and tomato with a side of strawberries and some peach greek yogurt. I usually don't eat the same thing two days in a row...but I want to use the veggie burgers and they just sounded soo good.

Welcome to Nawlens

2009-03-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

I made the best jambalaya ever! It was featured in clean eating magazine. It wasn't really a gumbo as much as it was a tasty, well seasoned, SPICY, rice dish. I was out of chicken so I just used more shrimp. I really liked it so here is the recipe:

Be for warned. This is spicy so adjust accordingly to your spice level.

Serves 4

1c long grain rice

2 tsp olive oil

1 green pepper, 1 red pepper chopped

1/2c white onion diced

2 gloves garlic minced

1tbsp salt free cajun or creole seasoning

1/2tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1c reduced sodium chicken broth (or water)

2 cooked chicken breast halves

1/2lb med shrimp, peeled and deveined

salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package
Meanwhile, heat oil over med high head. Sautee peppers, garlic and onions until soft (a few min)
Stir in seasonings to coat veggies.
Add chicken and broth. Bring the a simmer.
Toss in shrimp, cook until no longer opaque.
Add rice and heat through.

I will definitely be making this again ( I am having it for lunch or dinner tomorrow :). You should too!

I went for a run after work and boy did it feel great. It has been so long since I really ran and felt like I got a long, sweaty workout. I did 4.25 miles in 43minutes. The weather was really nice and I felt really motivated. YAY!

Tonight's a low key night. Going to watch the City to see what shenanigans Olivia pulls tonight.

Post- dinner snack:

Apple

As I said before, I have been feeling bloated lately and just not slim and trim. So...I am trying to cut back on sweets.

I will let you all know how it goes :)

Eat, Pray, Love (run)

2009-03-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Afternoon all.

I was lying by the pool today post- yoga reading Eat, Pray, Love. A few months ago, my sister suggested I read it, since I was going through some changes. Well, I finally got around to it and so far, it has made me reflect on my life since May 2, 2008.

On May 2, 2008, I graduated from college with a degree in French and minor in Secondary Education. I suppose you could say I was still trying to figure things out. I had decided to not pursue a M.A. in french but rather an M.ED in education. Of course, I was too late applying to grad school so I was looking at one year of...work?

That summer, I decided to take a look at myself, physically speaking. I was 5'4 and 153lbs. And not happy. Thats the most important part. It wasn't the weight, but that I wasn't happy. I decided to join WW and lost 28lbs.

Reading the book forced me to look back at the person and the person I am now. My life has taken a 180, for the better. In May, I was confused about my future, unhappy with my physical appearance and dependent on my friends, boyfriend and family for happiness. I was scared at the thought of packing up and moving to France, even though I knew it was necessary. I was a control freak, wanting to be able to predict the future and know exactly how it would unfold.

Now, I am independant. I have found happiness in myself. For those of you who can relate, I am now capable of being alone. Nearly all my friends left Gainesville upon graduation and I have been forced to "be alone" from time to time. I ran away in the beggning, going home every weekend, flying up to New York but now, I am ok with being in Gainesville, even if everyone else has left. I ran a half marathon and I am now training for a triathalon. I have found new ways to occupy myself that don't necessarily involve others. I applied to a grad school program that requires one year in France. I am really proud of how many positive changes I have made and the person I am becomming.

In the book, she said something about pleasure. How American's find it difficult to achieve pure pleasure. I think I am on the road. Finding pleasure, in my opinon, starts from within. I have learned to let go of the control and seize every opporutnity as it is presented.

Just wanted to share this insight with you all :)

Breakfast was two of the baked donuts, one with an almond butter glaze the other with a drizzle of organic honey.

Post-Yoga snack was:

2/3c multibran flax cereal (Heritage Path)
little less than a 1/4c banana granola
1/2c milk
I love this snack.

Lunch:

Giant Leaf of Lettuce (for burger top and bottom)
veggie burger
tomato
avocado
mustard

1% cottage cheese with strawberries, grapes and kiwi mixed in.

I wanted something sweet post- lunch before work. Lately, I haven't been feeling "toned", so instead of grabbing a cookie or some chocolate, I grabbed 2 medjooled dates. These babies are good. They satisfied my sweet craving for a reasonable amount of calories, plus they have nutritional benefits so they are not an "empty" food.

HUMMMMMM

2009-03-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Again!

Ok Ladies.. Pearl Harbour was on today. I tivo-ed it, of course. I love that movie. I swear every time I watch it I laugh, cry, smile....love it!

I had a pretty uneventful afternoon. I did some hatha yoga just to relax and stretch a bit. It was actually really relaxing...except my cat, Kitty, was very interested in what I was doing and kept getting in my way!

Post Yoga, I had an delicious snack! One of my fave my far:

Hertiage Path Multibran Flax cereal (1/2c)
All natural banana granola (1/4c)
Skim Milk (1/2c)

I just love the flax cereal. It is crunchy and has such a wholesome yet appropriately sweet taste.

Then I made the donuts-- (of course I HAD to try one..with a little honey!) Very good, more like a cookie though than donut. I can see how good they will be dipped in chocolate :)

I feel like my apartment does not stay clean. I don't get it. I clean it and then a day later it looks like world war three...war of the foods. I swear food is always everywhere. WHY?!?!

I bought fresh veggie burgers today at Publix...and I wanted to use them so I made a scramble with:

4 egg whites
one veggie burger
spinach
green peppers
onions
salsa on the side
a slice of ezekial toast (with a bite missing :)
mushrooms
part skim mozz cheese

It really hit the spot. Of course... I needed something post dinner. So I tivo-ed The Amazing Race and ran to Lollicup, which is Gainesville's version of Pink Berry (tart real frozen yogurt). I used to hate Lollicup...it was sour and odd tasting. Now

, I love it. It is refreshing and clean tasting. It's funny how your taste changes

Questions: Has anyone found a food they used to not care for that they now do??

Isn't She Lovely...

2009-03-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

Good Morning everyone!

First off, Jillian Michael's killed me. Level 2 shred is HARD. I was sweating and today, I have a sore booty and sore calves (random right?). Jillian- you are a beast.

Britney. Welcome back my friend. My friend Jamie went to the concert last night and left me a voicemail of Circus. I am forever grateful. Not gunna lie, I like to jam to Britt Britt.

Last night was Moira's pageant! She was amazing! She has so much self confidence, poise and grace. Check out these great pictures:

Post Pageant we hit up Chili's. It was soo late for dinner, about 10:45pm but I was hungry! I brought snacks to hold me over at the pageant including:

Borden Cheese Stick and Mary's Herb Crackers
Some trail mix
3/4 of a cherry pie larabar (very good)

We all shared the snacks and then for dinner I had a chicken fajita pita from Chilis with black beans and some chips and salsa. YUM.

This morning it was BEAUTIFUL out, so I had some oats and an apple and layed out. When I got back, I heated up the rest of my creamy carrot soup and made a veggie sandwhich with:

ezekial bread
hummus
cucumbers
spinach
tomato
sauteed zucchini

I really need to hit up Whole Foods for more Larabars...I am in love. Let me tell you why:

They are all natural. I really like the thought of eating them because they are so pure.
They are dense, so they take a while to chew.
They really taste like what they are supposed to. For instance, you get a nice cherry flavor from the cherry pie.
They can be eaten on the run

I think I am going to relax for the rest of the day and maybe bake some of Meghann's Baked Donuts. Check in later :)

Miss Gainesville

2009-03-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

What a great Saturday! I have been a bad food blogger though. I only took pictures of breakfast. My food day hasn't been too interesting...so nothing missed :)

Breakfast was oats- a delicious combo if I say so myself:

1/2c oats, 1c water
1/2 banana
honey
couple of dark chocolate chips
walnuts
barney butter
vanilla and cinnamon

Snack: Piece of Cookie Cake ekkkkkkkkk. why why why. I was almost out the door when Chad said, "There is cookie cake in the fridge". Shoulda just kept walking....

Lunch: Amy's Whole Wheat Mac and Cheese ( I wasn't in the mood for anything so I quickly made this)

I was so motivated to swim today! I think it's because it was so nice, I wanted to be outside.

Swim Set, in yards:

700 warm up:

500 free

100 back

100 breast

200 Kick:

100 back

100 breast

Main Set:

200 Long and Strong 30 seconds rest

100 Fast on 2min

50 sprint on 1 min

Repeat 4 times

Warm Down:

4 50s Comfortable Pace- alternating back and free

2,500 yrds

I then had half a cliff bar before going to do SHRED Level 2! SO HARD. Honestly, my legs were quivering. I was really working hard. I like it though because it is a quick to the point workout. It moves so quickly, there is no time to get bored or give up ha.

Post Workouts snack:

other half of cliff bar
smoothie with blueberries, strawberries, skim milk, vanilla protein powder

Gotta let those muscles recover!

Going to the Miss Gainesville Pageant tonight! My friend Moira is in it. I'll put up pics later :) I am going to bring some snack to the pageant like trail mix, granola, lara bar maybe a sandwich since it starts at 6 and probably wont be over till 9.

GO MOIRA!!

Recap

2009-03-07T05:23:00.001-08:00

Happy Weekend!

This week is spring break and since I live in a college town...NO ONE is here. no one. I'm not gunna lie, it's kind of nice. I get my spring break April 4th since I am on the public school calender. Needless to say, we went out last night. One of our friends is doing Miss Gainesville tomorrow, so myself and our three other friends went out since we were the only people left in Gainesville. Let me tell you, it was an interesting night.

Shae, Caitlin, Me, Jenn (note the emptiness)

Recap:

We probably said "No You Cannot" (in the Jillian Michaels Shred Voice) 100 times.
It was dead. Therefore, we could actually move around. weird.
A cop came up to my group asking for our IDs. When asked who made him think we weren't 21, he pointed to me (We are all 22 or 23).
I ended up knowing the cop. We went to the same high school (with less than 500 people in it), when he was a senior, I was a freshman.
I convinced my friends Jenn and Shae to do the super sprint triathalon. Great fun.

Overall, Successful night.

My plans for Clearwater are a bust! The tickets fell through to the Phillies training game and Coral Springs is a ridiculous drive from where I live. I am depressed to say the least. On a lighter note, all you triathaloners will appreciate this:

Meg: Yeah, so I need to practice transitioning between the different events

Steph: Why?

Meg: You know, like to see what it feels like to get on a bike after swimming and stuff...

Steph: Oh so you have to practice riding a bike wet. Just jump in the shower first... (lots of laughing and making fun of me)

Meg: I hate you.

Dinner Last Night: Chicken fried Rice

3/4c brown rice
2oz chicken
mushrooms
red pepper
onion
zucchini
one scrambled egg
chili thai sauce (about 1tbsp)
soy sauce (about 1 tbsp)

I really like the thai chili sauce with it. It added nice flavor, a little sweetness and some heat. I couldn't even taste the egg, next time I would leave it out. Unnecessary calories.
I had some Pacific Roasted Carrot soup, reallly good. It was nice and sweet...but not overwhelmingly sweet. Still had a savory side.

Dessert: Cookies :) and a few drinks out.

Friday FUNDAY!

2009-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

It's Friday WAHOO!

I made a tasty French Toast this morning using:

2 slices of ezekial bread
crushed almonds
1egg white
vanilla and cinnamon for seasoning
drizzle of honey
crunchy and flavorful

I had a side of my organic strawberries too

I then went to Yoga/Pilates. It was a great pilates workout, I could really feel my abs contracting and my "butt" muscles working during our pilates bridge.

Pre-Yoga Snack: 2 egg whites, 2 spoonfuls of hummus, carrots, Mary's organic crackers. It's like egg salad...with hummus. The eggs are hiding under all the yummy crackers.

I then ran to Fresh Market to grab some barney butter, thanks Kath. Couldn't wait to try this stuff.

Lunch:

Noodle month...an excuse to eat more noodles. I had the rest of my spinach vegan/macro noodle mixture and a banana with barney butter!

Barney Butter: Creamy (or crunchy) Almond Butter that does not need to be refridgerated.

Review: This had a strong almond taste, which good... and it is very creamy. I am a true peanut butter fan and always will be however, this stuff is creamy (and not hard like my all natural peanut butter) so it makes the perfect topping for fruit..oatmeal..toast...ect

Snack: Boomi Bar, Perfect Pumpkin

Review: YUM. Honestly, couldn't really taste the pumpkin seeds, but the fruit (raisins, cranberries, dates, honey) was very good. It had a nice flavor and nice consistency- chewy with a little but of crunch from the nuts.

At work, I played catch-up with the boys- got a little workout in. Although, I kept getting out because they are all so good haha. They have been so crazy lately. They literally will not stop touching each other, every time I look over they are punching, pushing or shoving one another. I can't even begin to tell you how many times the words, "stop" and "keep your hands to yourself" came out of my mouth today.

I felt soo energized after work that on the ride home I decided to go for a run. I really wanted to zone out and listen to music and run HARD- work up a sweat. I only ran 2miles but did it in 18:24! That's good for me, usually I am around 20:30 :)

Pre-workout Snack: a few almonds to hold me over before dinner

GIRL SCOUTS!!

2009-03-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

I bought girl scout cookies. And ate lots of them. And loved every minute of it. Tagalongs and Thin Mints are my friends.

Snack:

Hummus, carrots, Handful of Mary's crackers, cheese stick

For din, I stuffed chicken with:

sauteed spinach
red peppers
goat cheese/mozz cheese
it was yum.

with a sweet potato mashed with:

pumpkin pie spice
bourbon vanilla

and broccoli and cauliflower. then LOTS OF COOKIES! YAY!

Might be going out tonight with some girls to dance off the cookies...we shall see.

Tomorrow is yoga. I am so excited because I feel a little tight from swimming and running.

Happy Noodle Month!

2009-03-05T10:41:00.001-08:00

I am sure you are all as excited as I am about this announcement:

HAPPY NOODLE MONTH! I love noodles soo much that my parents actually call me noodles (one of my many nicknames).

Noodles are my favorite. All kinds and shapes and flavors. I even like tofu noodles because they are called, "noodles".

I can thank Hungry Girl for letting me know about noodle month!

In honor of noodle month, I had some delicious Spinach Noodles. These babies were Macro and Vegan and out-of-this-world good. You can serve them warm or cold. I like them better warm. I found that at my friendly Whole Foods (located on 13th and 7th for those in Gville).

I had my NOODLES with plain/ff yogurt with strawberries mixed in and a spinach salad with

dried cherries
goat's milk feta
cucumbers
tomatos
pistachios
drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper

I like the cherries and goat cheese because the sweet and tart really balance well together. Plus a few cherries go a long way as does the goat feta (low in fat too :) ) I had another handful of pistachios too :)

While I was swimming, I saw my trainer friend Karlton. Somehow he talked me into doing a super sprint triathalon March 29th. Can't wait!

QUESTION: Has anyone done a super sprint (250 swim, 4m bike, 2m run)? If so, do you have any tips?

Pre-Swim: Lemon Larabar

Review: Lived up to its name of lemon. VERY LEMON-Y. Refreshing. Clean tasting.

Swim Workout (in yards today, the numbers in quotes are the number of times you do it, so (4) 100 means 4 100s):

Warm up: 300 free

100 back

100 breast

Kick/Pull:

(4) 75 alternating between kicking and pulling

(2) 100 drill (I did back and fly drills)

"Main set": This is called a descending ladder. I didn't really do it to its full extent because I had already run this morning and didn't want to over use my ankle.

(4) 100s, alternating between back and free. 10-15 seconds rest

(8) 50s, alternating free/back 5-10 seconds rest

(3) 100s, free/back/im 10-15sec rest

(6) 50s, free/back/im 5-10sec rest

I stopped here, but you would continue with 2 100s, 4 50s, then 1 100 and 2 50s

Warm Down: 100

Total:

2, 500 yards.

And here is a picture of my adorable cat, Kitty. She is very eco-friendly, hence her choice of grocery bag.

Thursday...One Day Closer to FRIDAYY!!!

2009-03-05T05:46:00.000-08:00

I am counting down the days till Friday! Today should move quickly. Going for a quick, light run (my ankle felt fine yesterday), going to the office to work on some stuff, work, out with my friends! For those of you that don't know, I run an after school program for middle schoolers in my college town. I am currently waiting to hear back from grad school about my acceptance into a dual degree program, MA and M.ED, for Teaching French as a Foreign Language YAYA! Hopefully I will hear soon and be on my way to teaching :) and bettering my French!

Needless to say, I only work about 5 hours a day- from 3pm-6pm at the middle school and for about 1hr-2hr in the morning. This is a pretty low-key week, no field trips or guest speakers planned. Although, I had to give them a long speech yesterday about behavior during homework time. Yes, I have turned into THAT person..ahhhhh!

After stopping by the office...I AM SWIMMIN'! YIPEEEE. I love swimming. Great arm workout, great core workout, great strengthener for your lower back, for your neck, low impact, high cardio (if you want). If you currently don't swim, try it. I am always looking for a swimming buddy, check out Sarah, she swims too!

Breakfast was a little disappointing. I made my bowl of oats, but added my protein powder. I just didn't care for the consistency of it with the added powder, it had powder chunks in it, yuck. I might have added it incorrectly but nevertheless, I think i'll leave it out next time. I had:

1/2c oats, 1c water, 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder (leave out next time)
1/2 sliced banana
1/2 tbsp dark chocolate chips (yum)
sprinkle of unsweetened coconut (couldn't really taste it)
raisins
cinnamon
drizzle of organic honey

I forgot my PB...which is depressing since I love it! I knew something was missing...so I just had a small spoon of pb to make up for it :)

Munchies!

2009-03-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

So, my indian dinner was just ok. I left it in the slow cooker for 4 hours on low, but this was just too long. It didn't have as much flavor as I had hoped and the chicken was pretty dry. I am going to try it again, only this time I am going to follow the recipe exactly as it was written!

I ended up adding an apple to my snack, so I had a slice of ezekial toast, natural pb, organic honey and an apple. It hit the spot.

I have been munchy all night long! Today is the first day I have run in a week, maybe that's why? or boredom. it's probably the latter. After dinner I was tempted to bake the organic cookies I got but instead grabbed some carrot sticks...and then a few mary's crackers with hummus..and then a few heaping handfuls of fruit and nut trail mix from Nutsonline!.

Dessert was a double chocolate dream vitatop (so delicious!) and 1/2c of dlites ice cream. Look at those melty chips!

Hopefully I can keep the munching at bay for the rest of the night!

Tomorrow is going to be a productive day, I can feel it already! Lots of exercise planned and a new recipe to try out

See you tomorrow

Bollywood

2009-03-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

I just put my Indian dinner in the crock pot and I can't wait to eat it when I get home from work! Here is a link to where I found it, Indian Dinner.

I whipped up a salad for lunch with:

canned salmon, about a 1/4c
carrots
dried cherries
feta made from goat's milk
cucumbers
tomato
spinach
mushrooms
red peppers

This salad was so flavorful. You don't even need dressing with it and you can really taste all the ingredients.

I paired it with a side of Northern Bean Soup from Whole Foods. They list the ingredients right near the soup so you know exactly what's in it. Pretty much beans, veggies, orzo and broth.

On the Run Tip:

Love salmon but no time to cook it? Buy canned salmon. You get the same great benefits, it's cheaper, tasty and lasts a while.

Snack:

So indecisive on my snack. I work everyday from 3:00-6:00, so I have to pack a snack on the go. I am going to defrost one slice of Ezekial toast, spread some all natural peanut butter on it and maybe a handful of grapes or an apple. I wanted to try my coconut water, but I think i'll save it for after a work out.

See you later :)

MMMM Whole Foods!

2009-03-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi guys and gals!

This morning got off to a great start! I slept so well last night and woke up at 8am. I was craving cereal (well really the cold milk that goes with it!) so I had a delicious bowl of mixed cereals:

1/4c organic honey o's
3/4c flax plus ( I love this cereal by Heritage Path!)
1/2c shredded wheatn'bran
1/4c bluerberries
about 3/4c skim milk

I had to run some work errands but after I was planning on heading to Fresh Market to grab ingredients for my Indian Dinner tonight, but instead, I decided to try the market about .2miles from my apartment! IT WAS A MINI WHOLE FOODS!! WAHOOOOOOOO!!

I got soo many great things that I have seen on other people's blogs like:

coconut water! thanks Fitnessista
Boomi Bars, can't wait to try them
silken tofu for desserts
organic pasta salads from a place in Tampa
homemade soup (hello lunch.)
organic cookie dough- sometimes you just don't have time to make your own!

I also bought some beautiful strawberries for smoothies, cereal, salads, ect. They were $7.29!!!!!! AHH! But soo worth it, check 'em out...

Snack:

Chobani Vanilla Yogurt
1/4c natural banana granola
1/3 of a medium banana
mix mix mix

Review:

Tasty. The yogurt was really thick and creamy. I love the peach, but I don't think I would eat the vanilla alone. I would, however, absolutely use it with mix-ins. The banana granola was crunchy but not so banana-y when mixed with the yogurt and real bananas. On its own, great. Mixed it, great, just no intense banana flavor.

I just found out I am going to Clearwater on Saturday! YIPPEEE!! I get to see one of my biffles, Steph, who lives in NYC. SO HAPPY. (That's me with blond hair this summer when we went on a Contiki Tour!)

Off for a run- only 2 miles, slow pace to see how the ankle feels. It feels normal when I am doing everyday activities, so we shall see...

Winding Down.

2009-03-03T16:35:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! Have a great evening, here is a quick post.

Had a great snack of (sorry it's crooked!):

cucumber
carrots
1tbsp organic hummus
handful of Mary's organic crackers
1 part skim cheese stick

Went to work then Barnes and Nobles to check out some good cookbooks and then came home for dinner.

I made a delicious grilled wrap with:

edamame puree (pureed some edamame with olive oil, bit of yogurt, salt and pepper)
black beans (about 1/4c)
red pepper
1/4c part skim cheese
spinach leaves
spelt wrap

I matched it with a handful of grapes and a salad with cucumbers, tomato, corn, vinegar and olive oil. YUMO.

I felt really munchy post dinner- craving sweets. OH NO, maybe I should do a CFW like Angela!! I had some ice cream (about one cup! EEK), some squares of chocolate (about 5 squares!) AND a homemade banana larabar!! All in all though, I'm proud. This normally would have led to consuming everything in sight. Instead, I had a few things and then stopped myself. YAY for progress!

Looks like extra gym time for me tomorrow :)

Goals for the rest of the week:

Eat more veggies.
Try some new recipes- branch out especially for breakfast and lunch.
Try and find alternates to dessert on some nights.
Exercise but be careful of my ankle!!
Read more

See you tomorrow!

For Oats Sake!

2009-03-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

Happy lunch hour everyone!

I went to the gym to let my ankle rest a few more days heeding Caitlin's advice!. I really just don't care for the gym, unless I go there for a class or to lift weights. Nevertheless, I jumped on the sit back bike ( 15min) and the elliptical (25min), did some light weights and some abs and stretching.

My oats kept me full for so long that I only had half of a Larabar (pecan pie flavor) before my workout. I ate the other half after lunch, before my snack, since I was a bit hungry. It was pretty good, I still like the chocolate coconut and cashew cookie better.

I just looveee the quinoa salad I made! It is soo good and versatile. Today, I had about 3/4c with my left over Bison filet and a baby smoothie.

Smoothie:

1/2c skim milk
handful of blueberries
1/2 banana (left over from my oats)
2 ice cubes
1tsp flax seed
1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Blend Blend Blend. It was tasty although I find with banana, it really overpowers the other fruit. I like banana, but I want to try and taste the other fruit too. I think I will try a peach based smoothie next, maybe peaches and cream?

On the Run Tip:

Never know how much is "enough"? Follow these simple tips:

*again these are just the recommended serving sizes, not necessarily what I eat.

Protein such as meat, poultry: the size of an old school ipod (watch for thickness!)
Peanut butter (my fave): the size of a golf ball
Cheese: the size of a matchbook (I know I know, too small!!!)
Baked Potato: size of a computer mouse
Pasta/Rice: the size of a tennis ball

Tip:

I would highly suggest washing your Old Navy water bottle if you buy one in the dishwasher. Mine tasted like aluminum (even after hand washing it) and the taste went away after I washed it in the dishwasher. It doesn't recommend washing the bottle (not sure why, maybe to keep the colors on the bottle intact) but I just couldn't drink out of it without washing it in the dishwasher.

I am mad at my crock pot and my oats. They failed me this morning. I tried to make a crock pot porridge. Pretty much its brown rice, oatmeal, fruit, nuts, spices and milk, put it in the crock pot and you have on the go breakfast in the AM. I think I left it in too long ( I set it at 10pm and got up at 8am...a LITTLEEEE too long), it burned. NOT APPETIZING.

So, I opted for regular oatmeal instead. I think oatmeal, oatmeal pancakes and cereal with berries are the best breakfast fillers for me personally.

My oats had

dates
cinnamon
vanilla
raisins
banana (best part)
walnuts
drizzle of honey, scoop of all natural PB

So warm and cozy. Then I watched The Hills from last night.

SPOILER ALERT!

So, honestly, not a huge fan of Jason The Bachelor. Never was. I found him kind of weak (sorry!). DEF NOT a fan after this little episode. I hate how Jason tries to act so "nice". Like, oh, I have to let Melissa be angry for a while. Oh, ok, thanks Jason you are so mature. Thanks for being such a mature individual. I got the heads up on the switcharoo thanks to US Weekly. Apparently, this was a plot cooked up by the producers and that Jason wanted to be with Molly the entire time but chose Melissa so they could do the swap to boost ratings. Jason: What would Ty say?!?!?!

And Olivia on The City?. No words for her. Are these people real? I mean probably not since its the City but still!!!!

Off to work for a bit and the gym

Fun Finds!

2009-03-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

After work, I made a quick run to Old Navy to get a new water bottle. I think I forgot my pink one at the pool on sunday :( and a girl needs her water! GREATTTTT FINDSSSS!! What a great selection of aluminum water bottles in two sizes. I love these water bottles because:

They are aluminum! No icky plastic leaking into my water.
They are good for the environment. Less plastic = Less pollution.
They are cute. Different styles for different personalities.
They come in two sizes. The little one is perfect for spinning/riding your bike, since it has a pop up top. The bigger one is great for everyday use, since it holds quite a bit of water and you can tie it to your bag!
It's secure! My temporary water bottle was leaking from the bottom today at yoga due to a crack in the plastic. NOT COOL.
It's a conversation starter. "Where did you get that cool bottle???"
CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. The most expensive bottle was $7.50!!! A case of water alone is about $5.00 these days.

Snack: Left over quinoa salad (even better cold!) with a salmon "cake" mixed in.

Dinner Mate!

Went to Outback for dinner. Haven't been there in sooo long. I got the Chicken and Shrimp Griller with grilled veggies and grilled pinneapple. I substituted the rice for a sweet potato. Here I am getting ready to dig in :) No dessert for me tonight, already had my sweet treats earlier.

Bday Lunch

2009-03-02T11:01:00.001-08:00

The name of this restaurant was very deceiving. It's called The Fat Tuscan, however, there were many healthy choices!! YAY! The atmosphere was great, very homy and cozy, take note of the pic above!!

I chose the Nicoise Salad, complete with Ahi Tuna, Potatoes, Green Beans, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives and Egg (I took out the yolks and ate the whites) accompanied by a slice of homemade bread and homemade dressing (I had it on the side).

Chad, the birthday boy!, got the Antipasto Sandwich! DELISH!! The bread was soft and the filling was flavorful. It had prosciutto, ham, salami, olives, roasted red peppers, artichokes, mozzarella cheese and provolone (we think!). It came with a side of pasta salad. I had a bite of his and it was very very good.

THEN CAME TROUBLE!!!! COOKIE CAKE AHHH. Hehe. But soo delicious. I had two (2!!) pieces and one little homemade chocolate "cup" filled with vanilla creme. When in ROME! (or Tuscany!)

Going out to dinner tonight with my sister to Outback. I think I am going to get the Shrimp and Chicken Griller, no rice, instead substitute it for a baked sweet potato. I am craving one!

Happy Monday!

2009-03-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

I decided to try a new yoga class this morning. I usually do yoga practice Monday and Friday at 11am. I am the youngest person in the class by about...20 years! So today, I went with my friend Staci to a "younger" class. Here's my recap:

Pros:

This teacher knew her stuff. She told us the name (and translation) of every pose, which was very cool and interesting.
She moved around the class. She helped us find our poses, corrected posture and just moved in general so we could really see her.
This was a workout. She really had us moving quickly, doing one sequence in "real time"
It was early. 8am. I usually don't wake up until 8:45! It got my day going on the right foot.

Cons:

Our instructor wasn't the most soft spoken of people. I felt like she was a little too stern at some points.
It was a little difficult to focus on my breathing and the movements. She was really going fast so it was pretty much one breath for every move, rather than feeling the move for a few breaths.
It was a workout. Pro and Con because sometime I just want to relax and stretch.
It wasn't very spiritual. I am not the most spiritual person but I like it with yoga.

I will defiantly go back. I think I'll alternate between the two class, one on Monday and one on Friday (I like to sleep in a little on Fridays :) )

Speaking of Yoga, Angela as purchased from Lulu! Check out her comment on yesterday's post :) She had some great things to say. Thanks for adding me Angela and thanks for the comment!

Pre- Yoga Breakfast

homemade spelt wrap
homemade black bean puree (black beans, touch of olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, red onion)
sauteed red peppers, white onion, spinach
3 egg whites
fresh strawberries

Post yoga snack

one fresh apple
about 1.5tbsp all natural peanut butter on half
a drizzle of natural honey and cinnamon on the other half

I am going to T he Fat Tusc an for a birthday lunch! The paninis sound wonderful, but I think I am going to get the Nicoise Salad...Ahi Tuna is calling me!!

Fun Finds!

2009-03-01T15:49:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love a good pair of yoga pants? Yoga has many health/mind/spiritual benefits and cute clothes. I love yoga clothes because

They can transition into cute daytime wear. Who doesn't envy that girl looking casually chic in her yoga pants and jacket, with glowing skin and a cute racer back top with her water bottle in tow?
They are comfy. A good pair of pants is key to good yoga practice. I like a pair that move with your body and stay put!
They are fun! Cool styles and fun colors make yoga practice, well, FUN!
They are practical! Many styles have built in pockets so you can store a house key ect.

My friend Moira always looks cute and chic in her yoga pants. Here is a great website she told me about where they have tons of fun styles-LuLu. Thanks Moira!

I have not bought from this website...but I am planning my first purchase, the Empower Crop Style in a fun color like Krinkle Green. I am loving that there is an inside pocket. I personally don't like to run in pants (unless they are Nike Running tights/pants) so I am going to buy a pair for yoga practice and a pair for running errands/bumming around :) Product review to come so stay tuned.

Question: Has anyone else bought from this company? Comment?

Post lunch snack was a few almonds, a bowl of flax plus and skim milk AND a banana bread homemade larabar...I was hungry!

I made a summer quinoa salad for dinner. I really like this grain, it almost pops in your mouth and has a nice flavor. I got the recipe for the salad from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, it consisted of

cucumber
quinoa
tomato
edamame
thyme
lemon juice
soy sauce

It was a bit on the salty side, next time I would not salt the actual grain before cooking it. There was enough with the soy sauce. This is going to be great cold, which is perfect for a quick snack tomorrow :)

I paired it with a delicious bison fillet mignon and steamed broccoli.

For dessert, I warmed up the other half of my pecan bar, eh not that great warm. It was too buttery and when I warmed it, it just didn't have that great of a taste. So...I had 2 little squares of chocolate too. They hit the spot. I LOVE choxie bars- I got these at Target. One was milk chocolate creme brulee truffle and the other was dark chocolate coconut truffle bar. The dark chocolate was a good balance of sweetness, the milk was a little too sweet. I highly recommend them because they really satisfy a sweet tooth with a small amount. They are so cute, they are begging to be eaten!

DELISH!

2009-03-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

My knee is still really bothering me so I decided to go for a swim. Pre-swim snack was a delicious bowl of 1% cottage cheese, the other 1/2 of the banana from breakfast and grapes all mixed together. I really love this combo. If you are a new cottage cheese eater, I highly suggest adding grapes (red ones). They are sweet and crunchy and contrast nicely with the texture of the cottage cheese. Bananas are the same texture (so once you get used to that add them in too) but they add a nice sweetness as well.

Don't cha just wanna eat it??

Since I knew I would be getting hungry after my swim, I made my spelt wraps in advance, this time, freezing some like Angela suggested. Here's a pic:

Swimming was great! I could feel my ankle/knee still bothering me so I'm glad I didn't push it and run. This was my workout:

Warm Up: 300m free, 100m backstroke comfortable pace
Kicking: 200m alternating breaststroke and free kick
Pull: 200m, switching each 50 between free, back and breast
"Main Set": 200m free 30s rest, 6 100m alternating each 100 (1st back, 2nd IM, 3rd Free, repeat) on 2m 15s, 6 50m same as the 100m on 1m 10s
Cool Down: 100m slow pace

I attempted to make a salmon cake for lunch to put in my wrap. I was somewhat successful but I needed to add a binding agent, like an egg white, so it would stick. I mixed:

canned salmon- 1/2c to make 2servings (saving one for tomorrow)
onions, red peppers and carrots lightly sauteed
paprika, deli mustard (squirt), plain fat free yogurt (a dollop)
pepper, no salt because the canned salmon was salty already

I then put it in a grill pan in an attempt to make it stick (which it didn't) but it was warm and delish! I then stuffed it in a wrap with some hummus, spinach and tomato with a side of carrots and hummus. HELLO LUNCH!

Close up of my attempt:

Nuts for Nuts!!

Food Find:

I heart nuts. I like nut mixes, plain nuts, nut butters, dried nuts, sweet treats. My dad always sends me nut baskets from NUTSONLINE. This is a great website and I highly suggest it (they ship to Canada too). Why you may ask?

Nutsonline delivers quickly! I am impatient so I want it fast.
Everything is fresh. You can smell the quality as soon as you open your package.
You can mix and match. Chocolate covered pretzels and pistachios? Yes please.
Makes a great gift.
Their health information is online. I don't mean just calories and fat. They tell you the vitamins in their products! How great is that?!

Leftovers from my delicious basket. Please note how he chocolate covered pretzels are nowhere to be found.

Sunday Funday

2009-02-28T18:13:00.001-08:00

Just had to share this little video for all you runners out there...thanks Moira for sending it to me, you are the queen of cute xoxo

Running Video

I was in a real dilemma for breakfast this morning. Everything sounded so delicious (oatmeal?smoothie?breakfast cookie?) but I decided on oatmeal pancakes to gear up for my run (or swim) later. I got the idea to make my own fruit compote thanks to Tosca Reno- the Clean Eating Queen. Google her asap.

The pancakes are quick, easy and filling. Plus you can jazz them up with whatever you want..perhaps some banana, almonds, walnuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut..

I went for 3 pancakes, one with bananas (this one was the best!) and PB, one with raisins and one plain with blueberry syrup. Next time, I would add raspberries or another fruit to the syrup and maybe some all natural honey.

As you saw above, Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet cookbook is one of my favorites, as is Clean Eating Magazine. They have great recipes using real ingredients, plus a food plan if you need more structure. I heart these and every recipe has been delicious.

On the run tip:

Don't have time for breakfast? Follow these simple tips-

Grab a packet of instant plain oatmeal. Throw it in the microwave, add some cinnamon and pb and you have breakfast in under two minutes.
Make a breakfast cookie! This is a great idea from Gina's Recipes and Fitnessista. Make it the night before and you have an on the go meal.
Shake it baby! Throw a few ingredients in the blender- such as fruit, milk, protein powder, peanut butter, sweet potato ect. Whip it and you got breakfast on the go
Eggcellent. Hardboil eggs to last you through the week. Pair the egg whites with a slice of toast and some fruit and you have a balanced breakfast in minutes.
Want savory and not sweet? Dinner for breakfast! Heat leftovers, throw them in a wrap or over rice and eat on the go.

Pecan Pie Goodness

2009-02-28T16:53:00.000-08:00

After fighting with my card reader to eject my card...I actually had to bust out tweezers to pry my memory card from the card reader...I cooked up a little dinner. Nothing too exciting, just some brown rice, the other half of my bison sausage and a bowl of homemade split pea soup. I love this soup because it is all natural- just split peas, chicken broth, celery, carrots and onions. I feel healthy just looking at it! The color says it all!

Earlier, I had gone to a cute bakery downtown and purchased 1 (one.singular.more than one is dangerous) pecan chocolate bar. I managed to not bust into it before dinner. I cut it in half and that was my dessert. Decadent and delicious. I find that when I do not let myself have a small treat, I end up eating everything in sight after dinner. Moderation is key.

Check out this delicious bar...

This bar was gooey and the crust was very flaky, the perfect "mini" pecan pie.

I was still hungry- I just can't skip snacks or i'll munch later- so I opted for a bowl of flax plus and skim milk. Now I am perfectly satisfied.

I just completed my first half marathon last weekend and I have been having trouble with my knee all week. Tomorrow, however, I am going to attempt a slow, strong run- about 8miles. If not, I might go swim.

See you tomorrow

Lunch and Other Goodies

2009-02-28T14:55:00.001-08:00

I made Angela's (Oh...She Glows) delicious wraps!! I love these and highly suggest them. They were simple and very tasty. Mine didn't look too professional...but boy were they good.

I made a delicious wrap filled with roasted chicken, hummus, spinach and tomato. I then snuck a few more bites of a wrap with some PB and hummus, yum.

I finally found a camera cord for my camera and the wraps really held me over. So I am going to make an early dinner.

FASHION FINDS!

I love racer back tank tops for running and working out. Here are my reason's why I must wear one to run:

They are form fitting. When I run, I hate things swinging from my body.
They keep me cool. I sweat like a mad man, therefore, I like a tank made from a thin fabric that will keep me cool.
They are cute! Check out my pics above to see just how cute these tanks are. Working out is much more fun with you feel stylish.
They are cheap! I found these great tanks at Old Navy for $16.50. They had a variety of colors and a built in bra for extra support.

Oh Radio Shack

2009-02-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Good morning all!

My day started out so well. I decided to use the bison sausages for breakfast. I scrambled up

egg whites
mushrooms
red pepper
onion
spinach
added 1/2 a bison link with a slice of Ezekial Bread yum!

After I got my hair cut, I grabbed a Larabar (chocolate coconut chew) and a banana and did some shopping. I lost the camera cord to put my pictures on my computer so I ran over the RadioShack. Yeah, they were useless. They gave me the wrong cord so now not only can I not put my pics on my computer but I also need to go back to RadioShack.

I love Oh...She Glows and Angela has a great recipe on there for make your own spelt wraps. I think i'll whip up a batch for lunch. Stay tuned :)

Dinner...BISON?

2009-02-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

I have been searching high and low for Bison. In my small town, it is not available. After casually mentioning this to my dad, he ordered me POUNDS of Bison from an online company :) I was beyond excited ( I scared the Fed Ex guy with my sheer enthusiasm).

Tonight I decided to whip up the Bison Sausages. They were DELICIOUS. I added them to whole wheat penne, a touch of olive oil, sauteed mushrooms, red peppers and spinach with a little red pepper flake for heat. The bison sausage had a rich flavor and was still very reasonable calories and fat wise. I highly suggest them :)

I was unable to take a picture of them, but tomorrow I will upload pictures!!

Now for some dessert. I have been trying to plan for a dessert every night..or else..I rummage through the kitchen eating everything in sight. BAD. So, tonight, I am going to have 1/2 a cup of Breyers Natural Chocolate Chip ice cream. In addition to loving food, I am trying to eat as naturally as possible- this mean limiting my processed food intake. I realize ice cream isn't exactly a real "winner" with regards to eating naturally, but, I want something sweet (more like I want ice cream haha) and while low sugar this and fat free that is tempting...it is so fake. So, I am going to have a scoop of the real thing.

Inaugural Post

2009-02-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Meghan (second from the right, short dark hair) and I am a 20 something who loves everything related to health and fitness...and food. I love every kind of food- sweets, carbs, meats, veggies, fruits...you name it, I love it. I wake up each morning and check my six favorite blogs to get workout and food inspiration. I spend so much time reading other people's blogs and thinking about food, working out and researching general health that I decided to start my very own blog!

Hope you enjoy :) and thanks to my fellow bloggers for the inspiration!