Cat woman

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

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

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!!!