Hello friends. It sure has been a while. I am still here but with some major changes. I started my job two weeks ago and it’s brought a lot of stress into my life. This would be one reason why I have not surfaced for a while. It’s not a terrible or overly stressful job it’s just altered my schedule and I have not yet gotten used to the change. It has been really hard for me to adjust and my body has suffered from it. I hope that I can get back to my old self soon because this half marathon is in a week :O!

One of the major changes to my schedule has been eating. Basically my job requires me to be at work from 5-10 almost every evening. This means that dinner must happen before work very early in the evening. When I get off of work I find myself downing anything unhealthy in sight as a means of “relaxation.” I used to do this before when I worked in a high paced atmosphere and it was ugly. To cope with this I have thrown out a lot of the bad things hanging around in the apartment. Before the job I had plenty of self control to avoid them but now not as much. I have also devised a strategy for after work snacking: grab a luna/lara or mini clif bar to keep my hands out of the big bad stuff. After the past few weeks of feeling awful about myself I think I’m ready to start with this plan.

Another serious change has been the amount of physical labor I do at work. It’s a 5 hour workout in itself. I have therefore lost a lot of motivation to get out and do real exercise and running. I’ve been so exhausted and in pain from running myself at work that I just don’t want to do the regular stuff. While I understand that I am burning calories at work, it just isn’t the same as doing a real workout. I need to get back on the ball and get some good running in this week before the race.

Another factor to my lack of motivation has been my serious sleep problems. I come home and get to bed much later than normal. I then get a restless nights sleep as my mind does not seem to switch off. I then find myself still waking up at the crack of dawn utterly exhausted. I try to sleep more but it just does not work. My body then feels yuck, I feel yuck and the rest of the day seems totally devoid of energy.

The job has altered my schedule and ultimately left me feeling totally out of control and off balance these past two weeks. I am tired of it controlling me and I am ready for this change to settle with my body. I realize that these things take some time but it’s been really really hard on me. This morning I am feeling much better and rested (thanks to my off day) so I am ready to go for a run to burn off the countless number of unnecessary and unhealthy calories I’ve shoved into my body this week. Emotional eating sucks major.

On a more positive note, I did compete in a 5k last weekend and did AMAZING! It was a small race but I am still super proud of my accomplishments. I was the 9th overall female and was 2nd in my age group with a time of 24:04. I was so close to beating the other girl in my age group. She came in at 23:54. SO CLOSE! I even watched her as she started to die down at the end. I could see her getting closer and closer to me. Maybe next time. The course was very hilly but I pushed myself hard and stayed close to the front with the leaders. It was great being able to compete with real athletes

MAY CHALLENGE

I’ve also decided to start a new challenge this month after reading some of Michael Pollan’s words of wisdom this week. One thing that really stuck with me was how little food there really is at a grocery store. He suggests to buy local when you can and stick only to the outside aisles of the store. So I devised a small challenge for myself this month: Do not step foot into a grocery store for the entire month of May. Sound crazy? Maybe, but I think it’s easily do-able and much healthier. The farmer’s market in town just opened for the season providing me with fresh and local produce. As for dairy and meat; the market has recently started to provide these amenities as well. The farmer’s market in town has really grown since last year and now provides local meats and eggs. Milk and cheese are not yet available in town but I know that markets in the nearby area sell some of these goods so I might have to make a special trip. I have been really excited about this new challenge. I realized how little I really need at the grocery store and how much time I really spend there buying junk that I don’t need! This will save me money, get me outside in the fresh air, support local farmers and keep me healthier! Not to mention, the stuff from the farmer’s market tastes 100x better than anything from the grocery (have you tasted fresh strawberries vs. grocery berries?). It’s been a blast so far and I hope to keep the challenge going past May. I might alter it to hitting the grocery only once a month because eventually I will get through my stock pile of nut butters, cereals, canned veggies and Greek yogurt. Feel free to try the challenge yourself if you’re interested! Let me know if you do

Sorry for the long and verbose post. I promise pictures will resume soon. I’ve got a major race coming up to post about! I feel better already.

Marathon Monday was sure exciting to watch. Luckily I found a station on Comcast that was showing the race so I watched it all morning long. Amazing how those women and men can be that fast for so long. Craziness. It did get me thinking even more about doing one myself. I really wanted to compete in the Marine Corps Marathon here in Oct. but it is scheduled two weeks after our wedding. Both my mother and the boy advised against me running so soon after the wedding since I would be stressing enough about other things. They do have a good point. I am planning on running the Derby Festival Marathon next year. I have always watched the race at home and it would be the greatest high ever to compete in  my hometown race with hometown faces cheering me on

While I was watching the race I cooked myself up some Hogsdon Mills hot cereal. I’ve had this stuff in the pantry forever. I’m trying to get through the rest of it so it won’t be in there any longer!

Instead of Cinnamon I threw in some Cardamon. It’s good to switch up the spices. Tastes like chai. I also but some pumpkin, raisins, cashews , flax and almonds to beef it up.

I put it in my now empty cashew butter jar. Thank goodness it’s gone. That thing has been in my fridge for months. I liked the cashew butter but was not overly impressed. I am glad it is out of my fridge!

I used the marathon as motivation and did some strength and yoga.

Fast fast fast. After my workout I fixed up a green monster. This one was by far my favorite mix. It included:

• 1 frozen Stonyfield lemon yogurt cup
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 1/2 cup frozen cherries
• Chia seeds
• Soy milk

Green slush. In the past you may have remembered me getting a bit sick from these monsters. I think my stomach just needed time to get used to them. I’ve continued to drink them and have not gotten sick since. My body has always been fairly tolerant of the things I eat. I am never one to give up easily. In this instance it paid off

 A bit later in the day I pulled out a coconut cream pie larabar.

I am dying to try the new flavors they revealed. Boy got home a bit later and noticed the blender in the sink with green slush floating on top. He was a bit frightened and disgusted by my green monster leftovers I assured him that his smoothies would never be green unless he asked. lol. I then started to make dinner. Spaghetti with fake meat sauce.

The mix included:

• meatless crumbles
• broccoli
• mushrooms
• spinach
• oregano
• basil
• ground pepper
• sprinkle of salt
• remaining spicy green pepper pasta sauce from harris teeter
• A can of Muir Glen stewed tomatoes

I served it over a bed of whole wheat spaghetti, topped it with some fresh Italian cheeses from the Macaroni Co. and had a side of peas.

I washed it down with an Amberbock

For dessert I had some unpictured Easter chocolate pieces.

This morning I made an amazing breakfast. Chocolate covered strawberry waffles!

I pulled out some more Van’s waffles and topped them with strawberry Fage yogurt, fresh strawberries and  a drizzle of Maranatha’s crack Chocolate Almond Spread.

With it I had some English Breakfast Tea in my Louisville Stoneware local public radio mug from back home. Miss my radio stations

Mmmm.

Earth Week Goals

As I’m sure you are aware, Earth Day is this week. As with most people, I am trying to be more aware of my impact on the Earth. Some of the things I’m working on:

• Using reusable bags when I go shopping (not just grocery shopping)
• Buying organic when possible
• Buying local when possible
• Turning lights/electronics off when not using them
• Reduce paper towel consumption and use rags instead (really need to work on this)
• Try to eliminate plastic water bottles from the home (boy likes them, but I think we’ve turned a new leaf this week )
• Stop using dryer sheets
• Reduce water comsumption when doing the dishes

That’s currently my list. What are some conservation goals you are working on this week?

Now on to a 4.5 mile run! Have a beautiful day lovelies!

Gday mates! Hope you have had a lovely Sunday. Let’s begin with last nights eats, shall we? We were pretty low on veggies yesterday so I came up with a good pantry meal: Tuna wraps. I pulled out some tuna and mixed in some Greek Taziki sauce, threw it on a flat out wrap with some lettuce and viola! With it I baked up some sweet potato FF.

Pom Spritzer? Yeah, you know it.

We sure have been eating a lot of seafood lately…This morning I jumped out of bed to prepare for my longest run ever. For fuel I started with a large whole wheat bagel smeared with some Naturally Nutty and pear butter. I also had a cuppa English breakfast tea to warm me up since it was chilly out this morning.

 More tea vicar? Yes please. Then I hit the road. It was a hard run this morning. I think it was the course. I went a different route than I usually do and therefore was not used to the terrain and atmosphere. I really have a major mental problem when it comes to running on a road full of traffic. It just does not motivate me to run. I’ve had this problem in the past and I had it today. I was getting pretty tired once I reached familiar terriorty and the large hill that’s always killer. Right as I was hitting the hill the perfect song popped onto my ipod: Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum. It played the whole way up and I really didn’t struggle at all. Just the fuel I needed  I finished my 9 miles in1:17:37. I might have gone a bit more than 9 since my mapping was a bit off but this is roughly my time. To be honest I really didn’t care, I just wanted to get through it. Rock on for getting to a new distance PR! I really hope I can get used to these long runs.

During the run I ripped open a Pom Luna moon packet. I wanted to try one out since I was not upbeat and in my race mood. They were really good. It was a bit hard nomming on them inbetween breathing really hard but I managed. The moons and Jamie Cullum got me through that hill.

In retrospect I probably did not need to eat these during my run. I’m trying to figure out at what distances fueling becomes necessary. Any more experienced runners out there have suggestions? I’ve got plenty of fuel options in my arsenal I’m just trying to figure out when they should be used.

When I got back I was sore and exhausted but I felt pretty accomplished. I showered and then prepared some brunch. Scrambled eggs with lots of veg, sweet potato FF leftovers and Refridgerator bran muffins smeared with locally made pumpkin butter!

Loooover refridgerator bran muffins. It’s the perfect way to make hot and fresh muffins whenever you want! My grandmother used to make them all the time. They healthy for you too. Best part is the batter stays good in your fridge for upto 6 WEEKS! Fresh muffins for 6 weeks? Yes please.

I know you all want the recipe, so here goes:

Refridgerator Bran Muffins: Makes 2qts

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup raisins (or dates)
• 2.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute of your choice)
• 2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or flour of choice)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups bran cereal (I used grapenuts and they worked fine)
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup nuts of choice
• 2 eggs (or egg substitute)
• 1/2 qt buttermilk (or milk substitute)

1. Mix together boiling water, raisin/dates and soda. Allow to cool.
2. Cream together shortening and sugar, set aside.
3. Beat eggs, add buttermilk and blend. Add sugar and shortening to the mix. Fold in raisins/date mixture. Cover and store in refridgerator until you are craving some hot muffins in the morning.
4. Pull out the batter. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line however many muffin cups you desire. Fill the cup with batter. Bake for 20-25mins.

Batter all ready to go.

Four muffin cups ready to go. In the oven for 22 minutes for hot and fresh muffins. A bit later in the day I fixed myself a cup of cereal as a snack. Kashi Go Lean crunch, TJ’s ginger almond cashew granola, grapenuts and Kashi organic promise with soy milk.

For dinner I fixed up some pork loin cuts which have been in the freezer. I threw on some BBQ and grilled them up along with some bell peppers and corn salsa.

While that was grilling I snacked on some pita puffs and hummus.

Still have a lot to get through to clean out the pantry and the freezer. The fridge is in much better condition but our freezer is still full of stuff. Hopefully I’ll make a dent in it this week.

Until tomorrow!

Afternoon folks! Hope you are having a lovely Saturday.We’ve been out enjoying the lovely weather.

Last night we had some awesome fiesta shrimp salads. I sauteed some shrimp in seasoned salt, cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper and garlic along with some corn and TJ’s three pepper blend salsa.

Complete meal

Light and refreshing. For dessert I had a serving of SO Delicious coconut ice cream with a drizzle of Maranatha’s chocolate almond butter. Seriously the best combination out there.

We then sat down and watched An Education from Netflix. I had been wanting to watch this flick since it was released in theaters. I was not disappointed. Great movie. I highly recommend it! While watching I sipped on a peppermint green tea.

This morning I fixed up some whole wheat Cream of Wheat for boy and I. Instead of vanilla extract I threw in some almond extract. It was pretty tasty. I love Cream of Wheat. Reminds me of waking up at my Grandmothers (she always made me some). In my bowl I put a spoonful of chia seeds, cashews, a dollop of pear butter and a dollop of apple cranberry butter.

We then threw on our walking shoes and hit the Manassas Battlefield (or Bull Run Battlefield) for a nice hike. This week is National Park’s week so many of them have free admission. It was a beautiful day for a 6 mile hike around the Second Battle of Manassas trail. For those of you not very familiar with Civil War history, there were two battles held at this battlefield so therefore there are two different trails for each. The second one is always less traveled so I chose that one.

Ahhh. Lots of air, sunshine and green grass For lunch we stopped at Boy’s favorite restaurant: a sushi and Chinese buffet. I’m not a huge fan but today I managed to find an excellent option when we go. They had a grill set up which allowed people to choose what they wanted in a stir fry. I threw in all the veggies I could find and Viola! No butter, no sticky sauces, just veggies with a bit of soy sauce. Perfect. I did sneak a dumpling and coconut shrimp on my plate because I still love them even if they are terribly bad for me. I think I knocked the boy out after that long hike and lots of food. He hasn’t gotten out of bed since we’ve been back. lol

Shout out to all you back home in Louisville: Happy Thunder Day!! Wish I were there for all the craziness

Woah buddy my body needed some yoga. I haven’t done yoga in a good 3 weeks or so. I really have no excuse for this except that I am lazy. I woke up in the middle of the night with a serious Charlie Horse. I took the hint. So this morning I pulled out my mat and did some poses. I really am going to get better at this. I haven’t done any yoga primarily because I got so sick and tired of watching the same Netflix yoga vid. Not a good excuse since I can do yoga on my own. Anything to keep from getting those awful muscle cramps in the middle of the night Ouch. Too much running and not enough stretching.

Yesterday I went for a quick 3 mile run and did some strength. I actually clocked my fastest 3 mile run so far at 23:52! I don’t know if I can take full credit since I did stop the clock at one stop light. That might have given me the rest needed to finish strong.

I had my typical apple and nut butter for a snack. This time with Naturally Nutty.

For dinner I made Kelly’s amazing tortilla fish with green beans and black beans on the side. We topped it with some TJ’s peach salsa and I washed mine down with a Pom+Lemon spritzer. Unfortunately it did not last long enough for pictures. Just trust me when I say it was good.

Before yoga this morning, I made an Almond butter and jelly parfait. I love parfaits The layers:

Vita Top + Almond Butter + Homemade mixed berry jam + Fage Greek yogurt = foodgasm.

An iced coffee to wash it down.

I checked up on my blogs, did some yoga poses and before you know it was lunch time! I threw together the remaining stir fry and tofu and mixed it up with more sweet chili thai sauce.

With it I had some grapes, 2 chocolate covered pretzel slims and some honest tea.

I also spent a good part of the day yesterday cleaning out my fridge and reorganizing. I am so proud of how it looks now I know I’m supposed to keep my grains in the fridge (wheat bran, flax, etc.) but they take up way too much room. I pulled them out. Personally I think they will be fine as long as they stay in a cool dry spot. So, with out further ado, my lovely and newly organized fridge

Ahhh, there’s a certain zen about having a nice and organized refrigerator!

Sprout Update!!

I can’t wait until there are colors coming off those stems

And now for some more great giveaways, especially if you like Greek yogurt!

$50 iherb shopping spree from Chocolate Covered Katie.

Oikos giveaway at Nutrition Nut on the Run.

Another Oikos giveaway (my those Stonyfield folks are generous!) at Sweet and Fit.

Good day to you all! What a lovely day it is too. Well, if you ignore the fact that today is Tax Day that is. I hope you managed to hit Starbucks today with your mug to get some free coffee. I did and it was delish.

Yesterday I worked on some laundry and cleaned the apartment before heading out for an awesome trial run. Before that, however, I had a nice snack. Fage + honey with blackberries and Kashi organic promise shreds.  

Refreshing and perfect. I love Fage. Around 6 I grabbed a handful of easter jelly beans and headed out the door to meet a group for a great trail run. It was a trail I had never been on and it was also the first time for me running with other people. I had a blast! The trail was much rougher than the others I’ve been on but it was so much fun. I had to be super careful not to twist an ankle on one of the many rocks. It was refreshing and I felt good the 4.8 miles. Best part was meeting a young couple who live close to us. I’m looking forward to running with them more.

After the run I was starvin! The run was a lot later than I was used to and I didn’t get home until 8pm. I should have gone with a quicker meal but instead opted for an oven meal…bad move. It was good it just took forever to cook. When it was finally finished I had sweet potato fries, baked tofu with panko crumbs and kale chips.

I dipped it in some Nando’s Apricot Peri Peri sauce

For dessert I ate a piece of a HUGE Reese cup. Boy’s father got us one of those giant Reese’s for Easter. One Reese cup was seriously the size of my head. I cut a small sliver to enjoy.

Then this morning I made a fabulous breakfast I thought up as I was falling asleep. It included Artisana coconut butter, a whole wheat croissant with flax seeds from Harris Teeter and a bowl of fresh berries.

Major foodie splurge. The last time I was at home I took a trip to my favorite local health foods store, Rainbow Blossom, and found it on the shelf. I shelled out the big bucks but felt great supporting my local business

I then iced my WW+Flax croissant with coconut butter. Who needs icing when you have this stuff?!

Yes, it tasted just as good as it looks. No, wait, it tasted better

I then ran to Starbucks for my free coffee which also happens to reside in Target. You know I browsed some more. I really am a Target-aholic.

Sooner or later it was lunch time so I made some leftovers.

I used some sweet chili thai sauce for dipping and washed it down with some Honest Tea.

Wisdom from a bottle cap

I still am not a huge fan of tofu. I keep eating it with different spices and toppings but the texture just doesn’t do it for me. It’s not terrible but it is so terribly bland. I think from now on I am going to stick with Tempeh. I like it way better. Do you have a preference? Tempeh or Tofu?

Then again, maybe I just haven’t found the perfect recipe for tofu. What is  your favorite tofu recipe?

To end, here are some great giveaways on other blogs

Barney Butter giveaway at Chelsea’s Chew and Run Fun!

Oikos giveaway at fANNEtastic food!

Until tomorrow my bloggies! Have a great day

First of all, thank you all so much for the good luck wishes on the interview. I guess I should let you know that it went very well. So well, in fact, that I have a part time job now Thank goodness for having something to do!! I will be working in a bakery at a large chain. I like to bake and have fun in the kitchen so I think it will be a good fit. I’ve worked in the food industry before (server) so I think I will be prepared.

Before the interview I was quite nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve had one so nerves were higher than normal. Before leaving I ate a nervous snack. Ezekiel toast with peanut butter and a few pieces of Sarris dark chocolate.

How cute is this wrapping? That’s a message worth endorsing

After the interview I got home and started some dinner. We also popped some champaigne to 1. celebrate my new job  2. celebrate boy’s bday and 3. because we have 3 bottles laying around that need to be enjoyed. A World Market near us closed a few months back so we bought a bunch of bottles when they were marked down for super cheap. I’d been wanting to try some Cupcake champaigne for a while anyways, so this gave me an excuse. I had some by itself first (was good) and then made a Pom cocktail for myself (make that two). We didn’t finish the bottle because we aren’t big drinkers. I always feel bad for letting this stuff go to waste

For dinner I cooked up some Curry Chicken Fingers we grabbed from TJ’s and veggies. The mix included broccoli, peppers, kale, chickpeas and curry powder.

My plate=lots of veggies and a chicken strip.

The veggies were good but the chicken was way too salty! I didn’t add any salt at all to the mixture so the sauce that came on it was to blame. This was a TJ’s fail for me. Boy liked it a lot but the saltiness to away the flavor for me.

For dessert I had another Jello cup. This time caramel with a sarris almond butter crunch chocolate.

Last night boy finished off my marshmallow fluff jar allowing me to have an amazing breakfast. Oat bran in a marshmallow fluff jar!

Into the mix went a tbsp of cocoa powder, some chia seeds and some peanut butter.

Yummm…washed it down with some English breakfast tea in my Liberty of London mug.

I hit Target a bit later for a prescription refill and found some great stuff on sale.

Refuel for my runs.

Lunch was another bowl of souped up soup. Same base with some lentils, roasted maters, pita crumbs, spinach, a dollop of hummus and feta thrown in.

Seriously the best hummus I have ever eaten. This is the only kind I get now. And that’s how you turn an ordinary canned soup into magic. I had two of TJ’s after dinner mints to cool my mouth after the hot soup.

Later this evening I will joining some locals for a trail run. I am really excited and I am even more excited that the sun has finally come out. It’s still going to be a sloppy mess out there after the rain yesterday, but sloppy runs are pretty fun.

I hope everyone has their taxes finished. Remember tomorrow is Tax Day! As an incentive, you should head to Starbucks with your coffee mug to get a free cuppa coffee. You have to provide your own mug though, which is better for the environment anyways.

Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Yesterday I went to the grocery to hit up some deals at Safeway. They had some super deals on their berries so I got 2 lbs of strawberries and blackberries. I’m not at all worried about them going to waste because berries go fast in this household. Combined the 4 lbs of berries cost me only $11. I was pretty happy. Along with the berries I also grabbed a few other goodies on sale:

Larabars were on sale for $1, A head of lettuce was $1, Lots of ripe bananas (immediately frozen when I got home), Kodiak cakes!!, free spectrum canola oil spray after coupon, Fage super cheap after coupons, Vans waffles with coupon, almond breeze with coupon and some Ezekial raisin bread.

I also found goodies in my mailbox! New magazines. Real Simple, Cooking Light and Shape. I love new reading material.

I quickly fixed up a snack to enjoy while reading. Toasted slice of Ezkiel bread with some Dubliner butter and a small bowl of berries.

Nothing feels more like spring than beautiful colored berries. I read and sat on the porch waiting for the boy to get home so we could go for a walk. Closer to dinner I made myself a really good Pom spritzer with fresh lemon squeezed in.

We went for a 2.65 mile walk up the street and back once he got home. He then went down to Noodles Co. for his free birthday entree while I had a bowl of soup. I had felt bloated and icky all day so I thought soup would be a good light choice.

I souped up my soup by adding spinach, lentils, pita chip crumbs, freshly ground pepper and fresh Italian cheese. It’s amazing what a few additions can do to an otherwise boring canned soup.

For dessert I pulled out a jello cup and mixed in a crushed up peppermint Joe Joe.

Then this morning I got up and made a large bowl of mixed cereal for breakfast. I threw in some Kashi Go Lean crunch, TJ’s almond cashew ginger granola (YUM), grapenuts, cashews, Flax seed, blackberries and strawberries all with soymilk.

I had some TJ’s Earl Grey tea with it.

After letting it settle a few hours I hit the pavement for a 4.5 mile run. The stats:

This run felt pretty good. I hope the rest this week go just as well. Tomorrow I am going for a 4.8 mile trail run with a group I found on Meetup. I’m pretty excited about it. It will be the first time I’ve gone on a run with other people!

Today’s a big day for me. I have an interview this afternoon for a bakery position with a local chain. I don’t want to go into too much detail because 1. I don’t have the job and 2. I think it best to keep some things out of the public. Anyways, I hope it goes well. It would be really nice to have something to do while I look for a position closer to my actual degree. Then again, sometimes you don’t end up where you intend to and that’s ok.

I just had a quick lunch which included a green monster and a boiled egg. Trying to keep up with a good cleanse this week. The base was a Stonyfield strawberry smoothie (last one, huzzah!).

With some spinach, chia seeds and blueberries thrown into the mix.

To top it off I squeezed in 1/4 of a lemon.

The finished product. Now it’s on to some cleaning before the interview. Wish me luck!

Good news! I found my camera charger so now I am back in business. Hope you didn’t miss me too terribly much! My eating has not been very good ever since Easter weekend. There are a few reasons for this but really it’s been lack of self control. I got pretty disappointed with myself last night and had an intervention while lying in bed. I know what I need to do and I know I can do it. I just need to take a step back, think and re-examine what I am putting in my body. Time for an attitude adjustment. Not only do I need to clean up my eating, I also need to clean up this messy apartment. I think these things go hand in hand. Overall, I just need to clean up my act and get with the program. I hope that monitoring myself through this blog can help.

Anyways, moving on, let’s start back by looking at eats from yesterday. I started with a bowl of mocha oatmeal:

I had a tiny bit of coffee left in the fridge from my iced coffee pitcher so I used it for my oats! The mix included:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup brewed coffee
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• flax
• shredded coconut
• chocolate coconut spread
• a few almonds

I then went for a run. I did a 10k at race pace. I came pretty close to my PR.

When I got back I snacked on a trail mix I threw together.

 

Yesterday was also my boo’s birthday so I made him a nice smoothie for breakfast before we headed out to a friend’s for a bbq. Boy loves his smoothies, as long as they don’t have anything green in them The bbq was nice and very chill. We both got a lot of vitamin D from the shining sun. On the way back home we stopped for some yum gelato.

For dinner we had boy’s favorite dish, chicken marsala. I used a different approach to the dish this time cooking it in the slow cooker for close to 10 hours.

Served with some green beans and sweet peppers.

The marsala was ok but not as good as I had hoped for. I typically experiment with this dish because we make it so often and I am always looking for the perfect technique. The crock pot was not a successful. Now we know! I finished dinner with some after dinner mints from TJ’s

I wish this was all that there was after dinner but it wasn’t. Boy pulled out my marshmallow fluff and things got ugly. That’s what caused my intervention. Sometimes these things happen. Before heading to bed I made a bowl of CHOCOLATE overnight oats. This mix included:

• Oikos caramel yogurt cup
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• a tbsp dark cocoa powder
• some shredded coconut
• a tbsp of chia seeds
• some almond slivers

I let it sit overnight and woke up to deliciousness!

Holy yum this was the best bowl of overnight oats I’ve ever eaten. It tasted like a chocolate coconut cheesecake. Yummmm! Since I had a cold breakfast I made some hot pumpkin spice coffee to warm me up.

Bodium press I got at Target for $8. Score.

I guess I should confess that I am not much of a coffee purist. I can’t drink coffee without sugar and milk to dilute the brew. It’s way too strong for me. For some reason iced coffee is much easier for me to drink which is why you don’t see a lot of hot coffee on my blog. Here’s what typically goes in my mix

A packet of purevia stevia sweetner and lots of soy milk

Breakfast is served!

I’ve spent most of the morning cleaning up the place which was actually quite a good workout. I started to get really hungry so I made an early lunch. Veggie burger wrap was on the menu.

Mystery veggie burger, shredded pepperjack cheese, bean dip, salsa and sweet peppers.

Leftover veggies and a few popchips made a complete meal.

While on the porch I admired my growing seedlings

I’m so proud of my sprout babies! They are getting so big. 

Now to knock off some more things on my to do list. Strength training is on the top of the list followed by grocery shopping to get some fruit. I can’t stand not having fruit in the house!

I leave you with this, a sweet giveaway from Averie:

http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/04/give-away-25-custom-chocolate-shopping.html

Do you ever go to bed thinking about what you are going to eat for breakfast in the morning? I do it almost every  night since I started eating better. One of the reasons I do it is so I don’t end up eating the same thing every single morning. When I first started out all I would eat every morning was oatmeal. Don’t get me wrong, oatmeal is wonderful and is probably my favorite food. Then I started to realize all the other wonderful foods out there that I was missing out on in the morning by eating oatmeal everyday. Now I try to switch it up. So last night when I was in bed I thought: Waffles, yogurt, almond butter and blackberries and that’s exactly what I had

The nice people at Vans sent me a coupon for a free box to try after I emailed them. I grabbed these gluten free buckwheat with mixed berries variety. Yes, I am still cameraless

The best greek yogurt ever. Fage with honey.

Smeared with some TJ’s almond butter and topped with blackberries. The waffles were ok. They were an interesting texture (similar to cornmeal) and I’m almost certain it’s due to the buckwheat. They weren’t my favorite but I have another coupon to try a different kind the next time I go to the grocery. This also helped with cleaning some stuff out of the fridge/freezer. We’re still going strong on Operation Clean out the Pantry. I can’t wait to get more of this stuff out of here.

After breakfast I ventured to my local Salvation Army since it’s 25% off day. I found a few cheap goodies before heading home to make some lunch.

Leftovers! Lentils topped with tempeh, feta and roasted tomatoes with a slice of Italian cracked wheat bread smeared with hummus. Twas yummus!

After lunch I got down to business and cleaned the bathroom. I scrubbed the tub and wiped the mirror. It’s nice and sparkling now. All that cleaning left me famished so I had some of my trail mix for a snack:

After being shut in here cleaning I needed OUT! I pulled my bike down and went for a lovely 7 mile ride around my neighborhood. It was beautiful and I missed my bike so much. I hadn’t rode it since before the snow hit! Since boy had grad school this evening I made myself some leftovers from last night for dinner.

While eating dinner I admired my growing seedlings!

My babies are growing up so fast!  For dessert I had a mini tea time. Peppermint green tea with two Linzer cookies in my V&A mug.

Now to finally catch up on the new Dr. Who episode I missed over the weekend!  I’m so excited!

Anyone else out there a Dr. Who fan or am I the only British scifi nerd?