New Foods and Recipes!

Over the past few weeks I have been trying some new foods and new recipes.  New foods for this week include banana and coconut flavored flax oil, brown basmati rice, and purple asparagus! 

Banana and Coconut Flax Oil

This flax oil is SO good.  I have tried the standard flax oil in the past, but I didn't really like how it tasted in my oatmeal and in my smoothies.  A few weeks ago, I found this flax oil on sale at Whole Foods for $5.99 each (now it's back up to $9.99--still worth it though).  I grabbed these two flavors and opened the coconut right away.  I LOVE the coconut flavor.  It tastes so good in quinoa porridge, smoothies, oatmeal, anything really!  I recently opened the banana flavor and I really like this one too.  Coconut is my favorite, but the banana will definitely hold me over until it's time to buy another bottle!



Brown Basmati Rice


Source



Make this rice!  Not only is the flavor great, but the nutty smell it gives off when cooking is worth it alone!   Basmati is gluten free, contains fiber, b-vitamins and tastes great either sweet or savory.  It's in my Sweet Potato Mash-Up recipe below :)






Purple Asparagus

I found these gems at Whole Foods.  They were the only purple bunch left among the green guys, so I grabbed them!  I have heard of green and white asparagus, but never purple.  Purple asparagus has a higher sugar content than green so it tastes a little bit sweeter.  When cooked, it loses it's purple color and turns green. I cooked these up with just some salt and pepper in a pan and added them to my Summer Time Salad below!



Here are my two new recipes for this week!  They are both vegetarian, but you could easily add chicken or turkey to either one for some extra protein!


Sweet Potato Mash-Up
4 medium sized sweet potatoes
1 vidalia onion
1 cup Brown Basmati Rice
1 15 oz can of tomatoes
1 15 oz can of black beans
Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

1.  Poke holes in your potatoes and roast them in the oven at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until soft
2.  Cook rice according to directions on the label
3.  Chop the onion into small pieces and add to a large skillet over medium-high heat
4.  When potatoes are done,  peel off the skin and discard, then add the insides to the skillet
5.  Rinse black beans and add them to the skillet along with the tomatoes and rice
6.  Add some salt, pepper, or whatever seasonings you'd like...

Not the best picture, but you get the idea!



I guess this isn't really a recipe, you don't really need a recipe for a salad, but here it is anyway!  This salad is SO good.  I love it and plan on living off of it for a while!

Summer Time Salad
Grab a huge handful of fresh kale
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup baby carrots
1/2 cup purple asparagus (or green or white!)
1/2 cup of almonds or walnuts (I used both!)
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 T toasted sesame oil

This is easy!  Throw is all into a bowl and eat!

Enjoy!

Wednesday Is My Favorite Day!

I love Wednesdays!

My day starts off with an hour-long yoga class.  The instructor is great and she's so small which reminds me of my sister ;o)  In class last week I mentioned last week that I teach spinning classes, so today she designed the class around hip openers and leg stretches.  It was fantastic!  The class is small enough and no one responds when she asks for requests, so I give my requests and she delivers!

Next, I shower up and eat breakfast, then I'm off to work!  I train one cilent then take a 45-minute spinning class.  I love taking classes where I work because the owner teaches and he's tough!  There were two times where I thought my butt was going to fall off because it was burning so bad, but it was short lived pain.  The best kind of pain of course!  After spin I go back to train a few more clients and I'm done for the day!

After doing some blog reading and school work I go off to teach my weekly Boot Camp class.  This is the highlight of my day...maybe of my week?  Is that sad?  This class is so much fun and everyone has so much energy every week!  I've been teaching it for almost 3 years so I have a pretty good following and I get some new people each week, too.  I love it :)

Now I'm home watching Modern Family (best show ever) and eating my yummy dinner...Sauteed Tahini Kale.  Here's the recipe:

Sauteed Tahini Kale

1T sesame oil

1t chopped garlic

1/2  bunch of kale

1/2 cup brown rice

1T tahini

2t lemon Juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic.  Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and add it to the skillet.  Sautee the kale for a few minutes until it starts to reduce down a little and turns bright green (just make sure it doesn't burn)!  Add the tahini , lemon juice and brown rice and mix it around until everything is coated.  Then, add salt and pepper, give it one more stir and it's done!

This is super easy and it tastes really good!  I might make it again tomorrow and just add some chicken for more protein, but it's great as a vegetarian dish, too!

I just saw that Cougar Town is on again starting tonight!  See...Wednesday's really are the best!!!

A Fun Weekend and New Foods!

The Weekend

My weekend started on Friday at 1:00!  My mom and I went shopping, as we do every Friday.  I got some cute tops at Macys and TJ Maxx, but ended up returning everything to TJ's since I didn't try it on in the store :(  After shopping, I was wiped our from such a busy week at work, so I went to bed really early and woke up early on Saturday for a 90-minute hot yoga class.  It was a really really good class.  I'm loving the new studio!  We held poses for a long time and the teacher was really thorough in his explanations which always helps!

After yoga, I cleaned then got ready for a day with my sister!  She had been in Aruba the previous week so we were in need of some time together!  We started with a run/walk around my town then got ready for a night out! 

We went out to dinner at Yella Grille, a cute little Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Andover.  I got a gift certificate for Christmas and was itching to use it.  This place was UNBELIEVABLE.  I really can not say enough about it! 

We started with Feta & Herb Spring Rolls which were delish, and a bottle of wine :)  YUM!  For dinner, I got a the Braised Eggplant & Zucchini Ratatouille--so so so good!  I was a little scared because it sounded a little too simple, but it was so good that I couldn't stop eating it.  Even when I was totally full, I still fit more in!  But, my sisters dinner stole the show!  She ordered the Mediterranean Chicken.  It was cinnamon chicken with almonds and greek yogurt. Oh. My. Gosh.  It was SO FREAKIN GOOD!  We both said repeatedly how much we loved our meals, and when the owner came to our table we were sure to tell her!  We finished off with a Strawberry and Nutella Crepe.  Seriously, this place is worth driving to if you don't live close to Andover.  It would be ideal for a date night, or even just a little lunch date.  Then, we migrated next door to Braisserie 28 (a wine bar) and polished off a carafe of Sangria, which seemed like a good idea until the last glass.  It made for a rough Sunday morning, but was completely worth it!

On Sunday we celebrated Easter since my sister is working on the real Easter.  We got our Easter baskets, had a delicious dinner, and, of course, ended up at Target.  I have a serious shopping addiction.  It's hereditary, passed down to me and my sister from my mom :)

New Foods

#1:  Kamut. 

I purchased Kamut this weekend at Whole Foods because I'm really trying to expand my food choices.  Oatmeal is great, quinoa is delicious, but there are SO MANY other grains out there.  I was initially drawn to the Kamut because of the protein content (8g per 1/2 cup).  Once I cooked it, I found that it was really similar to the flavor of oatmeal, it was just a little more chewy.  It's yummy!

#2:  Kumquats. 

These little guys are good!  I didnt' know anything about them, but Whole Foods had a little description about how to eat them.  They're like little oranges, but you eat the skin, which is really sweet.  The inside flesh is pretty sour so you don't have to eat it, but I did.  I ate a handful and I like them a lot.  They were a little pricey at $4 per container, but what do I care?  I spend like I'm rich, so $4 is nothing to me! (LIE! That's a lot of dough for a container of fruit!!!)

#3:  Almond, Peanut & Cashew Butter.

I haven't trusted my willpower against nut butters for a while.  In fact, I haven't bought a jar since January when I started eating PB2.  For a while I was eating a jar each week and I started feeling gross after eating that much, so I stopped. But! when I saw this for $4.99 at Target, I couldn't pass it up!  It's really good and I've been enjoying it on my morning Kamut.


I think that's it for now!  I'm off to eat my favorite tofu and watch Biggest Loser :)

Spring Cleanse: Day #5

I cheated again!


Yesterday, breakfast was a mango smoothie, I had an apple for a snack, some Whole Foods hot bar for lunch, and headed off to the mall with my mom (typical Friday activity).


While we were shopping, I started to get hungry again.  We stopped by the food court and got some food at Au Bon Pain.  They didn't really have anything that looked too satisfying, but I went with a the Mediterranean Wrap.  It was just a greek salad on lavash with a sun dried tomato relish.  So there was one of my cheats.  Not huge, but I'm not sure what was in the relish and I know the lavash wasn't allowed!  When I got home I had a greek yogurt (cheat #2) and some carrots with hummus.

In the end, I think this cleanse was a really good thing for me to do.  It helped me see just how foods effect my body.  Dairy makes me a little phlegmy, processed pasta and cheese give me a little stomach ache, I ate a LOT more veggies than I have been in the past, and I've reintroduced spinach smoothies into my diet!  I really do notice a change in how I feel after I eat processed foods now.  I thought it might all be in my head because it doesn't seem like just a few days of eating only whole foods would have that impact on me, but it absolutely did. 

From here, I'm definitely going to add chicken, eggs and red meat back into my diet, but I'm going to make a huge effort to keep up with the vegetables and whole foods.  I don't like how I feel after eating the processed foods, so why eat them?  I know it's really not avoidable and I will eat processed foods at some points, but I just won't eat them quite as much.  I'm also thinking about cutting dairy out of my diet and see how that works for a while.  I've done it before, and since I only eat greek yogurt and cheese, that shouldn't be too difficult.

So, that's it!  Cleanse over :o) 

Spring Cleanse: Day #4

I blewwwwww it! 


On Thursday, I had some no-nos as far as my cleanse is concerned.  I had greek yogurt, steak, gnocchi, cheese and wine.  Not my fault!  I had plans with a friend from high school and we went out to dinner, so I knew this was bound to happen.  I don't really care all that much, but I did notice some differences in how I feel.


(Watch out for a little grossness) After I ate the greek yogurt, I got really phlegmy.  I have read before that dairy products can make that happen, and I think it's true for me.  I'm going to try to limit dairy from now on.  I know there are lots of other kinds of yogurt, like soy and goat, so I'm going to give those a try.


After dinner last night, I felt bloated and had a minor stomach ache, nothing major, but definitely noticeable.  I haven't eaten any red meat in a long time, I haven't had plain gnocchi in REALLY long time, and the cheese I think just send me overboard.  Even this morning I don't feel that great.  Still bloated and I still feel full from last night even thought my friend and I split everything in half, I feel like I ate a huge meal.


Aside from the food, seeing old friends is always fun and that's what it's really about, right?!  So despite how I feel this morning, I would say it was well worth it.  For the rest of the day, I'm back on the fruit and veggie kick and giving my stomach a break from all other stuff!

Spring Cleanse: Day #3

Today called for more carbs!  It started with a sunrise yoga class, work, then a 45-minute spin class.  I haven't modified my workout schedule at all during the past 3 days, which Deborah suggested that we do, so I've been eating quinoa for an energy boost! 

Here was my meal plan for today:

Breakfast:  Coffee, Papaya with 1/2 of an avocado
Snack: Apple
Lunch:  Quinoa Salad; Smoothie w/ mango, spinach and a banana (water for a base) and half a scoop of protein powder, Yogi tea
Snack: 2 clementines
Dinner:  small yam, green beans, chicken breast

Dinner is where I fell.  I really felt like I needed some good protein.  I've worked out 3 times today (yoga, spinning, boot camp) and while that's pretty usual, I did miss my protein.  When thinking about this cleanse, I would think that it's a better idea to eat organic chicken than eat processed protein powder. 

I'm still going to continue with the cleanse as much as I can for the next couple days, but if I slip up it's no big deal.  If my body wants some chicken, it's getting some chicken!

Spring Cleanse: Day #2

I woke up today feeling really dehydrated, but immediately filled a glass with my lemon/cucumber/ginger water and drank down 2 glasses.  I made a juice (cucumber, carrots, romaine, 2 oranges) and had some papaya with half of an avocado. 
Then, I made my way to a 90-minute yoga class.  I tried a new studio and took advantage of their 21 days for $21 deal.  The class was AWESOME.  I had never been to a yoga class taught by a guy, but I had heard good things, so I gave it a go.  I'm SO glad I did!  He was so funny and such a great teacher, very hands-on, which I like.  I'm going to start my own little yoga challenge and see how many times I can go!

After a sweaty class, I came home and made a quinoa salad and had a couple clementines.  I felt really satisfied, but still pretty thirsty (more delish H20).  Lastly, before work, I had a banana. 

Between clients I had an apple, and now I'm watching some TV munching on cucumbers and hummus and drinking a yummmmy smoothie with almond milk, mango, and spinach :)

This cleanse is re-introducing me to old veggies that I really like!  When I was little, I would eat cucumbers and mayonnaise (gross, I know) and now I LOVE cukes with hummus. 

Still, I could do better on the veggie part.  Tomorrow I'll aim to eat more veggies.  I really liked the roasted veggies with hummus salad I had yesterday, so that may have to be duplicated!!

See you tomorrow for day #3!!!

Simple Quinoa Salad Recipe

I just made this for a post-yoga/early lunch.  It's really satisfying and filling!  The great thing about this recipe is it's just a base--you can add any veggie or fruit to it and I'm sure it would taste great!

Simple Quinoa Salad
Make 1 serving of quinoa and allow it to cool

To the cooled quinoa, add:

• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 Tbsp of red wine vineagar
• 1/2 c organic raisins
• 1/2c pepitas
• sea salt and cinnamon to taste

That's it!!  I put one cup of this mixture over some salad greens and I have myself a yummy meal, which is completely in-line with my cleanse!  

I think adding some citrus, like grapefruit or an orange, would be really good. Next time :)

Spring Cleanse: Day #1

Oh man!  This was a toughie! I hadn't eaten much junk over the weekend so I did kind of ease myself into this one, but still, I WAS HUNGRY!

I started the day off with a beautiful green juice!  I put a cucumber, celery stalks, a head of romaine, ginger and a few carrots into my juicer and was off to work...with my coffee of course (the only one of the day!).  After an hour of work and almost an hour of cardio I was more than ready to eat!  I had a nice bowl of papaya with blanched slivered almonds :)  This made me happy, for about 45 minutes...

After I taught spinning I had my apple, 2 clementines, and a 100 calorie pack of almonds/walnuts.  I told a woman at work about this cleanse and said how I didn't think I was going to make it...that was at 12 noon.  She laughed and agreed!

I had two more clients, then I was off to Whole Foods for some food!  I was searching the hot bar for something to eat and as tempting as everything was, I found a basmati brown rice salad.  It was so simple and had cherry tomatoes, arugala, currants, red wine vinegar and canola oil in it.  SO good, and all allowed on my cleanse :)  I also had a Kombucha.  Immediately following my lunch (?) I felt A MILLION times better.  I had more energy and I was definitely more awake...It only took until 3:00!!!!!!

Now I'm enjoying a big veggie salad with hummus for dressing and a protein smoothie.  Technically my protein powder isn't allowed, but I work out for almost 2 hours each weekday, so I know I need the protein!   

Tomorrow I plan to add some quinoa to my breakfast to beef up the protein and up my energy!

Spring Rejuvenation Cleanse

On Saturday, the yoga studio I go to had a nutrition workshop which was given by someone who graduated from IIN, where I am enrolled now.  The workshop was given to prepare us for a 5-day Spring cleanse.  Deborah spoke about why we should cleanse, what types of cleanses there are, and how this particular cleanse works. 

We learned that Spring is the best time to cleanse.  Deborah states "It is the season of new beginnings, renewal, and creation.  This is a time of self-awareness and self-expression."  This really resonates with me this Spring season!

One purpose of this cleans is to help detoxify the liver.  According to Deborah's handout, a liver imbalance can cause emotions such as anger, irritability, explosiveness and mood swings.  It can also lead to acne, allergies, and headaches.  I don't want any of those things!

So, for the next 5 days I am going to be eating as close to a vegan diet as I can.  This 5-day cleanse is chock full of organic fruits and vegetables (any kind and as much as I need!) which is perfect since I'm trying to get more in anyway!  Then I can add in whole grains and beans as needed.

The list of things to avoid is prettttty extensive:  sugar, artificial sweeteners, naturals sweeteners, animal protein, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, and unhealthy fats.  YIKES!!

I took a trip to Whole Foods today and stocked up on organic apples, papaya, bananas, romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes and cantaloupe.  Since I already have some clementines, lemons and frozen fruit on hand, I didn't go too crazy, but I somehow ended up spending $33.  Hmmmm....... :)

Honestly, I'm usually pretty skeptical about cleanses and detoxes.  The last "cleanse" I did was the Fat Flush.  Sure, I lost weight, but then I gained 15 pounds, but that was after a much longer period of time and it totally destroyed my metabolism.  I'm definitely going to ease in and out of this one.  If I feel the need for more food, I'll eat it.  I just want to give this a good shot!

I'm excited to try it and see how I do.  I know that the first few days will be hard, but I think I can do it!!!

Reduced Price Produce

I cleaned up in the reduced produce section this week!  For 99 cents each I got 3 green peppers, 2 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, 3 summer squash, and 3 cukes.  5 different veggies for $5 and they'll last another couple of days!  These veggies are great for stir-fry's or crockpot recipes.  They're also good because this will force me to eat them so they won't go to waste.

So far I've used the veggies for juicing, roasting, and tossed in a salad.  Upping the veggies big time!Twice this week I've made this tofu.  I'm telling you that it's the best tofu I've ever had and it's SO easy.  The first night I paired it with some rice pilaf, but the second night I added some zucchini and squash to it.  I used the same marinade for the veggies as I did for the tofu.  It was so good!  I'm tempted to make it again but I don't want to get sick of it, so I'm giving it a rest. 

I also made sweet potato chips for lunch this week!  I just sliced a sweet potato nice and thin and sprinkled them with paprika and sea salt, then baked them at 400 for 30 minutes.  They were so good! 


I've had probably 5 servings of vegetables this week :)  That's HUGE step up.  I'm making some progress on my veggie list this month!!!

A Half Marathon Isn't Half of Anything....

...especially considering this course!

Rolling hills, surprise hills, hills from start to finish!  Sure the race finished downhill, but we had to run up what felt like one hundred hills to get there! 

PJ and I got to the race really early.  Like 2 hours early-my fault.  On the bright side it gave us time eat some bagels, stretch, use the restrooms and get our nerves in order.  On the not so bright side, PJ had to get up earlier which he wasn't too happy about ;)  We parked the car and hopped on the shuttle which brought us close to the start line.  We waited in the gym and stretched and waited for the race to start.

Both of us had been battling little pains throughout the week so we were nervous that they would only get worse as we ran since we had both taken the prior week off from running.  Luckily, we both ran without pain!

The course started out in a residential area, running through side streets and neighborhoods.  Then after about 2 miles we transitioned onto a trail.  This is where me and PJ split up and I lost my sweatshirt (I'm always paranoid I'll be cold, but I ditched my sweatshirt in the woods almost immediately).  It was perfect running weather.

The trail was really fun to run on.  There were some potholes but it was mostly smooth and not without hills!  The trail lasted until about mile 6 (I think?) where I had gel #1, then we were back on the road.  

On both the trail and the road there were people playing guitars and singing and even one guy hula hooping, wearing rollerblades, and playing the violin!  It's times like these where I wish I ran with my camera! 

Around mile 5 my left IT band started giving me a little pain.  I thought I was finished.  I thought by mile 8 I would be done because usually when I start to feel a little tug, it's all over soon thereafter.  To help my leg I fixed my stride by landing mid-foot, quickening my step and straightening up my upper body.  When I did this, all I could think about was my job and how I have never been more thankful for a job in my life.   This seems kind of random but because pretty much all I talk about in my spinning classes is extension from the mid-section, I knew exactly what I needed to do.  Once I extended my upperbody, my lower body followed and I could feel my butt and hamstrings working!  Success!!!  Once I fixed my stride, the pain was gone and it didn't bother me for the rest of the race!  After I hit the mile 8 marker I pulled over and gave my left hip a good crack (my sister and I have determined that I'll need a hip replacement by the age of 40) and I had my second gel.  It was smooth sailing until mile 10.

This is where things got kind of difficult.  I looked at my watch and saw that I was running a 9:15 pace.  This was not ok!  Not at this point!  So I got out another gel and sucked it down!  I retuned to a 8:40 pace.  At this point in the run there was a turn around where peolple who were ahead were running back towards me.  I really hate that.  It's like, you think you're doing great, then you see hundreds of people running back past you and it's really kind of discouraging.  It took a mile to get to the turn around where they had some spectators and water.  When we made it back onto the main road it the homestretch.  I had one more mile to go!  I saw PJ just before I turned right to head onto the last leg.  It was a great pick-me-up! 

Once I turned the corner I thought it was time to pick up the pace.  I was much too quick to assume I was almost finished... because then came another damn hill.  I actually laughed out loud when I saw it because I really thought I was over the hump!  I got over the hill and started to speed up.  Then came the downhill.  I ran as fast as I could at that point and crossed the finish line at 1:55:59 (my PR)!  I immediately saw my Mom and Dad.  I was so happy they made it and that they were right at the finish line! 

We watch PJ finish, took some pictures and my parents headed home.  PJ and I stuck around and ate some pizza and had some cookies (excellent post-race fuel!), then waited for the shuttle to head back to the car.

Today I feel great!  A little tired and I have a pair of sore hip flexors, but otherwise I feel really good!  Not unlike everyone else who runs races, I can't wait for my next one!  I'm not sure when my next half will be, but I'm so happy to know that I can still do it!

The Day Before!

It's the day before the half marathon!  I've been drinking lots of fluids, eating lots of carbs (no problem with that!) and I'm stretching my legs a lot! 

Yesterday I went to get a massage since my leg was still bothering me.  The masseuse I had specialized in deep tissue and sports massage.  I was lucky!  She did a great job on my back working out the knots, but wasn't the best on my legs, which I asked her to focus on.  I should have asked for more pressure, but either way, it's good to get the circulation going. 

Today PJ and I went to get our race numbers and t-shirts and saw where we would be running tomorrow.  I got number 130...my number has always been 3 and I was #13 when I was growing up playing sports, so this might be lucky!  The women's t-shirt fits terribly,  but it's always nice to have :o)  Then we went to lunch and then to Sports Authority to see if we could find something special to wear for the race, which we both did!

After I was done getting my stuff for the race, my Dad and I went to a local Japanese/Thai fusion restaurant called Oye's.  I ordered the Thai Fruit and Vegetable Salad and a avocado & cucumber roll.  The salad was SO delicious!  It included avocado, pineapple, grapefruit, green beans and tomatoes over iceberg lettuce and was drizzled with a coconut dressing.  The dressing was unbelievable--as in, I could drink it--and the salad was so fresh.  I'll be going back for more soon...and I'll be asking for extra dressing!

Now I'm just stretching and foam rolling and sticking my leg...I just made my playlist and I'm starting to get really excited!  

Off to relax for the night and drinking lots of water!!!