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

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 :)

MMMM Whole Foods!

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...

Bday Lunch

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!

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:

1. This teacher knew her stuff.  She told us the name (and translation) of every pose, which was very cool and interesting.
2. She moved around the class.  She helped us find our poses, corrected posture and just moved in general so we could really see her.
3. This was a workout.  She really had us moving quickly, doing one sequence in "real time"
4. It was early. 8am.  I usually don't wake up until 8:45! It got my day going on the right foot.

Cons:

1. Our instructor wasn't the most soft spoken of people.  I felt like she was a little too stern at some points.
2. 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.
3. It was a workout.  Pro and Con because sometime I just want to relax and stretch.
4. 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 The Fat Tuscan for a birthday lunch!  The paninis sound wonderful, but I think I am going to get the Nicoise Salad...Ahi Tuna is calling me!!

Sunday Funday

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-

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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
4. 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.
5. Want savory and not sweet? Dinner for breakfast!  Heat leftovers, throw them in a wrap or over rice and eat on the go.