2010 August|Chia Seed Me

Aug 31, 2010 Posted by candice on Aug 31, 2010 in Eat clean, dinner, eating on the go, lunch, recipes | 21 comments

how to make an epic salad

Thanks for all the sweet and encouraging comments on yesterday’s posts. Every single comment on this blog truly means so much to me!

Today has been pretty uneventful really…I’ve spent the morning working away on the blog and Outbox stuff, breaking just long enough for breakfast and lunch. I do, however, have a new “eats” page at the top to show for it – so go check it out if you get the chance!

Jon and I did go out for a run this morning, which unfortunately turned into a half run half walk. We intended to crank out 3 quick miles, but the return of the heat and humidity plus Jon running late for work got the best of us. I think we may start hitting up the treadmill for our short runs until this heat lets up a little bit. I am not a big fan of the treadmill, but I’m even less of a fan of sweltering heat.

Breakfast this morning was one of my all-time favorites

Cinnamon raisin Ezekiel muffin with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter and half a sliced banana

And lunch was one of my favorites from last year. When I was a teacher, I would make my lunch before I went to bed every night. A version of this salad was one of quickest, easiest, healthiest and most popular meals I ever took! Popular because several of my coworkers would always ooh and ahh over it’s color and beauty. Now that I am at home for many lunches, I don’t make it as much, seeing as how I don’t have to worry about being on-the-go…but today it was resurrected!

So, in honor of our last few weeks of summer, here is a quick little tutorial on how to create an awesome salad. Salads don’t have to be just lettuce. I’ll be the first one to say “I don’t like salads” if we’re talkin’ lettuce and a few tomatoes thrown on top. I know some people really dig that, but for me – they’ve got to be loaded with different flavors, textures and colors to be enjoyable and to keep me going throughout the afternoon. So, here we go.

Pick your base

spinach
spring mix
romaine
kale

*Next, chop your greens and put them in a large bowl. This salad could get big, so leave plenty of room:) I always chop mine up because I want every bite of salad to have a bit of everything. Plus, I try to avoid shoving giant lettuce leaves in my mouth in front of my lunch buddies (which granted, now mainly include Olive).

Choose and chop your veggies. I like my salads to be bulky. Lettuce really ends up being a smallish part of the overall masterpiece. But you definitely want to create volume by tossing in lots of different veggies. I usually use anywhere between 3 and 5 of the options below.

squash
zucchini
mushrooms
artichoke hearts (a must in my opinion!)
onions
celery
carrots
bell pepper
broccoli
snow peas
sprouts
corn
cold peas
asparagus
beets, shredded
green onions
tomatoes

Choose your protein. Every good salad has to have protein. I’m going to stick to vegetarian suggestions. For beans, I usually add in about 1/3 – 1/2 of a cup. Sometimes I’ll go with 2 different types of beans and add 1/4 cup of each.

beans (kidney, black, chick peas, navy etc)
chopped egg
nuts (sliced almonds, walnuts etc)
tempeh
tofu

Choose your healthy fat.

avocado
nuts/seeds
olive oil

Choose your dressing. Now we all know that a bad dressing can ruin the most healthy and delicious salad. The great thing is that with all the flavorful elements you’re adding to this salad, you don’t need much of a dressing! Here are a few of my personal favorites – just to add a bit of moisture.

balsamic vinegar, straight up. I poor on about 1-2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and call it a day. It adds the perfect amount of flavor, in my opinion.
olive oil
lime or lemon juice
salsa
hummus

And now for what I consider to be the best and final add ins. These are things that really add a huge punch of flavor or texture.

dried fruit without added sugar (cranberries are my favorite)
chia seeds
fresh fruit (apples, mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries, pears, grapes)
seasonings – sometimes just a sprinkle of ground red pepper or oregano can add the perfect touch

Now that all of your ingredients are in a huge bowl, it’s time to mix it up!

This is one of the most important steps because if you just add everything onto a plate, layer by layer, then you won’t get a little bit of every ingredient in most bites. And we definitely cannot deal with that. So mix it up really, really well!

Lastly, dump it all out either onto a plate or in a to-go container. Now off you go with a super healthy, filling and tasty lunch that will make you the envy of everyone you know! ha.

Note: obviously some of these suggested ingredients can serve for more than one category. For instance, olive oil could serve as your healthy fat and your dressing. Or chia seeds could serve as a fun, crunchy add on or as a source of healthy fat or protein. You get the picture.

If you’re someone who is always in a hurry when making lunch like I was was, I suggest using some time on the weekend to pre-chop your veggies that need it (rocket science, right?). Then reserve a small space on one shelf of your fridge for “salad fixins.” That way, when you get ready to create your salad, everything is ready to go – you can just snatch it out of the fridge, toss in a little of this and a little of that, throw a lid on it and go!

Along with creating this salad for lunch today, I also made a new and improved batch of hummus.

Spicy Garlic Hummus

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Directions

toss everything into a food processor minus 1 tsp minced garlic and process until smooth
transfer hummus to a small bowl and add remaining tsp of garlic to the very center
garnish with a sprinkle of ground red pepper

Well, I’m off to have a (hopefully) productive afternoon! See you all later;)

What is your favorite salad topping?

counting and cookies

Hi!

Today has been a pretty low key day. Jon and I took a rest day today, so no workout this morning. We got up just in time to get ready and head to the coffee shop.

One of my favorite things in life is local coffee shops. Now, you all know that I love my Starbucks for a quick and tasty cup of coffee, and it’s a good thing because unfortunately our favorite local coffee shop is only open between 7 and 3. So, outside of those hours, we head to Starbucks. But on mornings when we hit up The Daily Grind I seem to have an extra spring in my step, like everything is right with the world.

However, this morning as we sauntered up to get our coffee fix, we ran into this

Another unfortunate fact about hometown coffee goodness is that if something goes wrong – the whole shop closes down. Charming on one hand, yet very disappointing on the other.

By that point my stomach was growling up a storm, so I headed home to make some breakfast.

For some crazy reason I seem to be on a bit of an egg kick. Not sure how I feel about that – but I decided to go with it. I cooked one organic, free-range egg + one egg white in the microwave for 2 minutes and then sandwiched it between 2 Van’s flax waffles for a simple, delicious and filling breakfast.

After a few hours of work and tutoring, I met up with my friend Grace for our weekly Panera lunch date. I ordered a half Mediteranean Veggie sandwich and half Garden Vegetable soup with an apple.

It hit the spot as usual! I packed up the apple to take home. Fun fact about Panera apples: My love affair with apples began at Panera. I had never really loved them before, and then one day I ordered one at Panera just because I didn’t want chips or more bread – and I totally fell in love! After that I had an apple almost every day for months on end.

Today I started something new in my life that I want to tell you about.

I started counting calories. Over the course of the summer I have slowly put on a few happy pounds. I call them happy pounds because they’re a result of carefree summer days and nights, eating whatever I please and enjoying every second of it. Sounds lovely, right? Well, it has been fun, but now I’m starting to really feel it. Fall is coming on fast and all my flowy skirts will soon be tucked away in favor of warmer tighter jeans. While I’m more than ready for jeans, jackets, football games and cold morning runs, I’m not really feelin’ the tight uncomfortable feel these extra pounds are plaguing me with.

I am in full support and favor of intuitive eating and not worrying about the numbers. It’s a well-known fact that calorie counting is….how do I put it…frowned upon in the blog world. The reason for this is because it can be more hurtful than helpful for many people. Oftentimes people become obsessive or bogged down by the numbers, and it becomes a negative factor in their lives. Over the last couple of weeks, I have tried to intuitively cut back in smalls ways, but because I’ve gotten into the habit of eating however much I feel like eating, I’ve sort of lost touch a little bit with my hunger signals and with appropriate portion sizes.

In addition to that, race training can add difficulty to listening to hunger cues. And I don’t just mean overeating. I also mean under-eating. Yesterday could serve as a perfect example. Knowing that I’m trying to cut back a little bit, I was focusing on eating smaller portions; however, because we had run 5 miles yesterday morning, my body was feeling extra hungry all day and I wanted to make sure I was fueling it properly, while not overdoing it. On long run days it’s easy to have the mentality that because I ran this morning, I can eat however much I want. If I really want to feel better and fit into my jeans in the coming weeks, that’s not gonna cut it.

So while calorie counting has sort of a bad reputation, it can also be helpful for getting back on track and being more diligent about giving your body exactly what it needs through discipline. I plan on counting until I feel that I’ve gotten back in the groove as far as listening to my body and gauging portion sizes, and then I’ll be able to carry on with my normal intuitive eating as usual. Counting calories is not something I’m interested in doing for the long term, but for the next several weeks I’m counting (ha) on it helping me out:)

I’ll keep you updated on how it’s going. Feel free to ask me if you have an questions about it. I don’t plan on posting calorie amounts, but will of course still be posting my daily eats.

And now, on a slightly different note, I bring to you the promised recipe for

Super-Charge Me Cookies from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

Ingredients

1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/4-1/3 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit (I used dried cranberries)
3-4 tbsp carob or chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup flax meal
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp nut butter (I used peanut)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp organic canola oil (I settled for non-organic)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, coconut, dried cranberries and carob/chocolate chips, sift in baking powder, and stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flax meal, syrup, nut butter, and vanilla and stir until well combined.
Stir in oil.
Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until just well combined (do not overmix).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spoon batter onto baking sheet, evenly spaced apart, and lightly flatten.
Bake for 13 minutes (no longer, or they will dry out).
Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute (no longer), then transfer to a cooling rack.

See you all later!

a hoax

Only a few more hours left to enter the chia seed giveaway!

Yesterday I was MIA…at least here on the blog.

There was, however, a lot of action going on off the blog.

Cookies were baked (and eaten!)

Walks were taken

Delicious food was prepared and consumed

And the moon was watched.

Not sure what that other object is – it wasn’t visible except in the photo. Must have been something to do with the lense?

Yes, that’s right. I said the moon was watched.

My lovely sister sent me a text message on Friday evening tell me that at 12:30 am I would be able to see Mars and that it would appear as big as the moon. Well, I’m not one to miss out on an event this epic!

So, while Jon fell asleep by about 11pm, I burned the midnight oil, waiting for my chance to get a glimpse of the red planet. At exactly 12:28 I shook Jon awake and told him, “you have to get up! we have to go see Mars!”

He faithfully stumbles after me, down the hall and out the front door, where he sleepily plops down on the porch while I stand in the middle of the yard, camera ready.

I watch…and watch….and watch. Waiting.

And nothing. There was nothing but the trusty moon and a sprinkling of tiny stars.

So, after about 10 minutes, we traipse back inside where I immediately hop on the computer to get the lowdown. It’s at this point that I find out that we’d been duped! Apparently this email goes out every year, and it’s all a hoax designed to get fools like me to stare up at the sky, hoping to see a once in a lifetime event.

Bummer.

Luckily the husband is very sweet and forgiving of my crazy antics.

But Cristen, you better watch your back

Onward and upward.

This morning we got up super late for our weekly long run. Because we cut back to the half marathon, our weekly long run was cut back as well. So we went out for 5 miles. I think I underestimated it. I was a little too cocky.

We’ve been running seven plus miles, so I thought we had this one in the bag. It didn’t go so well, however. By the time we got out there the sun was beating down with a vengeance, and despite the drop in temperatures as of late, it was blazing hot. With the help of a little walking, we finished it out though. Bad runs always happen, so we’re not too bummed. The walking time was actually kind of nice:) We’ll get revenge next week.

I’m off to get caught up on some work that piled up a bit while we were playing all day yesterday. I’ll be back with a recipe for the second batch of cookies later.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

a thai kind of night

Last night we had a special visitor!

Bjorn was a part of the team we worked with in Thailand, and he now lives in California. He was in town last night, so he and Jon had dinner together and then they came back to the house afterward to hang out.

I had my weekly scheduled chat session for my photography class, so I couldn’t go to dinner. And when Jon told me they were going to our local Thai restaurant I was so bummed because I’ve been craving Thai food. And I wanted to spend time with Bjorn of course!

So what’s a girl to do when she’s home all alone and craving Thai food?

If you said get take out, shame on you;)

Classic Cashew Veggies

Ingredients
snow peas
zucchini, sliced
canned baby corn, cut
organic carrots, chopped
broccoli, chopped
mushrooms
brown rice
3 tsp low sodium tamari
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
chia seeds
raw cashews

the sauce lineup:)

Directions

1. Add olive oil to wok
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat
2. In a small bowl, mix together tamari, maple syrup, arrowroot powder, rice wine vinegar
3. Place chopped carrots and broccoli in wok and stir fry for several minutes
4. Add baby corn, zucchini, snow peas and cashews to wok
5. Pour liquid mixture over veggies and stir fry for 10 minutes or until desired softness is reached (I like mine to be a bit crunchy)
6. Add mushrooms and cook for just another couple of minutes
7. Pile veggie mixture atop a bed of brown rice, sprinkle with chia seeds and enjoy!

and the star of the show

This was just as good or better than what I get at the restaurant – and it was so fast and easy!! The cashews definitely make this dish, though, so give your right arm if you have to, but don’t leave out the cashews!

It was an interesting change to cook for one instead of two. Cooking for one has it’s perks…such as no worries about the husband rejecting my sauce (I told you he’s brutally honest). But I have to say I much enjoy cooking for two – the company in the kitchen can’t be beat. Jon and I usually cook together – read: I cook and he entertains me. It works:)

However, I have to say that sometimes the husband comes through and creates his own unique spin on things. He’s the one that inspired today’s lunch.

Haha, just kidding! I actually did have this meal for lunch, but I decided to spare you the pictures because the box truthfully is prettier than the meal itself. But I’m positive the meal tasted better than the box did. Not that I would know.

Here’s what the husband really did inspire

This is one of his favorite “inventions” and he’s so proud of them.

I taught my PiYo class this morning and then went straight to campus to tutor my new ESL student, and by the time I got back home I was starving and craving mexican food in a big way. I don’t like to eat frozen meals too often because fresh food is so much better! But it is nice to have one on hand for those days when you just want something super fast and easy.

But I couldn’t have mexican food without chips and salsa and seeing as how we didn’t have any tortilla chips I went with this healthified version.

Basically just cut a corn tortilla into 8 pieces, place them on a cookie sheet, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt!

Bake it for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, watching carefully to make sure there’s no burnage. You want the edges to get barely browned and crispy!

Pair with some homemade salsa, and you’re set!

I’m gonna go sit down, put my feet up and sip on a Pom spritzer for just a bit before I get some more work done. The friendly people at Pom Wonderful were kind enough to send me a case of Pom juice to try out, and I’m loving it!

There are so many ways to use it, but for starters just mix it with some seltzer water and ice

It makes a perfect afternoon pick-me-up, and it’s full of antioxidants to boot!

Diet coke – be gone!

Btw – the company didn’t ask me to review this product...I just tried it, loved it and wanted to share it with you all!

Happy Friday to you all!!

Who does the cooking (and cleaning!) at your house?

silence is golden

Good morning!

As soon as our alarms started buzzing this morning, Jon and I headed out for an early morning 3 mile run. It was a beautiful morning, and I was kicking myself for not having my camera. Please let me know if you’ve mastered the art of carrying your DSLR while running ’cause it seems the best moments happen while out on the road:)

It was the perfect time of morning as the sunlight was just barely peeking up over the horizon and glinting off the tops of the fields. Has anybody ever told you that Oklahoma has the prettiest sunrises and sunsets? Well, we do.

Second only to this maybe.

Sunset during our time in Halong Bay, Vietnam

This morning was just one of those moments when I could hardly believe the beauty. The perfect way to start the day.

There was a biting chill in the air this morning as well, and despite my hands going numb it felt quite refreshing. Three cheers for fall! Have I mentioned that it’s my favorite season?

After I got back and showered, I blended up a green smoothie. Anytime I go more than a couple of days without one, I start to have withdrawals

2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 banana, 1.25 cups almond milk, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 2 heaping tbsp Vega powder

I changed it up a bit this morning by swapping chocolate Vega powder in for Amazing Grass. I was a little nervous adding 2 heaping tablespoons of powder because I have yet to use a protein powder that didn’t make my smoothie chalky tasting. I can honestly say that this one did not! It added 12 grams of protein, 2 servings of veggies (like it needed more veggies:), 2500 mg of omega 3, 6, 9, 1 billion probiotic cultures, only 100 calories, and a hint of chocolaty goodness! And by the way, Vega did not ask me to review their product; I’m raving out of pure love of the product:)

Technically, this powder is supposed to be added with just water for a quick and healthy shake on the go – I’ve been a little hesitant to try it, but I think I just might have to now!

On a different note, now that I’m working from home, I’m finding out some things about myself that I didn’t know before.

I really do like working at my desk better than on the couch
I have a lot more discipline than I ever realized
a good cup of iced coffee goes a long way with my mood and productivity
I really can control the urge to snack even though I’m 4 seconds away from chips and salsa at any point during the day
If/when I begin to feel lonely or isolated, I must book it to the coffee shop asap to avoid the downward spiral
I don’t feel lonely or isolated most of the time
I like to work in silence

I often feel the need to have music on in the house – especially when I’m there alone. It really does motivate me, and it’s nice to have some noise going on because unfortunately Olive doesn’t provide much good conversation.

At least she’s cute.

But I’m realizing more and more how nice it is to just work in silence. With the windows open and the sun shining in, it’s rather inspiring to just have quiet all around. I think it also helps me to focus better, and my thoughts have the freedom to take me wherever they want:) You should try it! You just might be surprised how nice it is to just be quiet.

Do you find that you work better with music or in silence? What about working out? That’s a whole different topic, but do you prefer to workout with music or enjoy the silence?

a really, really, really good dinner

Don’t forget to enter the chia seed giveaway!! Am I sounding like a broken record yet?

Last night I was a bit MIA.

Just a little word of advice for anybody who may be silly enough to go down the same path I did: Do not buy a DSLR camera, and then continue loading every giant sized picture you take onto your poor, unsuspecting little macbook.

I’m in the process of moving all of my photos from iPhoto to Flickr. My computer has become so slow that I can’t bear to work on it anymore. I spend way more time staring at that evil little spinning pinwheel (mac people you know what I’m sayin’) than I do working! So, I’ve transferred my working space to the husband’s desktop temporarily, and my computer is being used solely for the purpose of photo transferring. Unfortunately, at night the husband also has to work, so that leaves me computerless:( I should be able to have enough photos moved over by the end of today to be able to resume using it. Fingers crossed.

Last night that meant I spent my time doing non computer things, which was almost kind of nice:)

First order of business was dinner.

I promise I’m not going to start bombarding you all with tofu recipes every day, but after finally conquering my first tofu recipe the other night – I was itching to go at it again!

Orange Sesame Tofu from Eat Drink and Be Vegan

Ingredients
2 tsp arrowroot powder (cornstarch also works)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
3 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (I used jarred:)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 pkg extra firm tofu, sliced 1/4 – 1/2 in thick squares
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced for garnish
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

An hour or so before you’re ready to cook, cut tofu in half to make two thin slabs. Lay it on a cutting board, cover with a towel and place heavy books on top. This helps soak up the excess moisture.

time to get creative!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine arrowroot powder with 2 tbsp orange juice and stir until fully dissolved.

Into a 9×13 inch baking dish, pour arrowroot and orange juice mixture and then add remaining ingredients except for tofu, green onions and sesame seeds. Stir to combine.
Add tofu and turn to coat both sides.

Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour (highly recommended!) or bake it immediately.
To bake, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn over tofu, gently stir to cover tofu with sauce and bake again, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, or until sauce thickens and bubbles at the edges (sauce will thicken more as it cools).

If you like you’re tofu well done like I do, go ahead and turn on the broiler and broil for another 10 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn!

**I did not marinate mine and I didn’t broil it long enough. Next time I will definitely marinate it and broil it for another 5-10 minutes. I like it crispy!

This meal honestly was delicious. The husband had never eaten tofu before and was pretty skeptical, and he loved it! One of his favorite Asian dishes is sesame chicken, and he claims that this is a very close replacement. And he is always brutally honest (which I appreciate!).

I also want to say if you are anything like I used to be you may not have a few of these ingredients on hand. I used to never want to try new healthy recipes such as this because I didn’t have the ingredients, and I either didn’t know where to find them or didn’t want to spend the money. Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, but for those that can’t (arrowroot powder, toasted sesame oil etc), take a trip to your nearest health food store. It may be a tad pricey the first time, but you really use very little of these ingredients for each recipe, so you’ll have them for weeks/months to come. I felt so much freedom to explore new meals once I just bit the bullet and accumulated some of the ingredients.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for tonight! Hope you all had a lovely day:) G’night!

baby love

Look who made her debut today!

This is little miss Sophie, Jon’s boss’ new baby girl. She arrived late last night, so we stopped by to see her this morning. We don’t mess around when it comes to babies.

Isn’t she beautiful?

You know what else is beautiful this morning? The weather!!

I’ve been pining away for cool fall mornings. Isn’t fall such a wonderful season? This morning we headed out for a run, and my first step out the front door took my breath away! I didn’t check the temperature, but it had to have been in the upper sixties. My fingers actually got a bit achy cold during our run.

I soaked it up.

For our training run this morning, we ran 400 meters (.25 miles) four times (with a quick walk break in between) at the pace we would run a 5k. We normally run a 5k at about a nine and a half minute mile, but it was hard to keep that slow of a pace when only running 400 meters at a time. So, we ended up averaging about an 8:30 pace on each one.

We’re incorporating this type of run each week in an effort to improve our half marathon time. We ran our first half marathon in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 20 seconds. I was actually pretty proud of that, considering it was our first one. And considering Jon and I aren’t the speediest runners around, it will be a challenge for us to improve upon that. But we love a good challenge:)

Before we hit up the hospital this morning, we ran by Panera because the husband has been itching for a breakfast bagel sandwich. It’s a special treat for us to go grab breakfast or coffee together in the morning…and it totally makes my whole morning.

I went all out and got an iced half caf americano:)

Once I got home, I made up a quick Ezekiel english muffin with a smear of natural peanut butter and sliced banana. It paired perfectly with my iced coffee.

A cool, breezy morning + breakfast out with the husband + sweet baby time = the best morning ever. The rest of this day has a lot to live up to!

can’t help but love her

This girl has been very naughty today.

Doesn’t she look evil?

I had an Outbox conference call today, and she waited until 2 minutes into the call to decide that she absolutely could not wait another second to go outside and relieve herself. So, I’m sitting at my desk with the call on speaker phone, trying to learn a new program that we’ll be offering to clients. She comes prancing in, collar jingling at what seems an unnaturally loud decibel, and jumps up, putting her little paws on my leg.

Anytime she does this, she gets this very knowing look in her eyes that says “take me out NOW, or else!”

Sometimes I forget who’s the adult and who’s the dog.

Seeing as how there is no way for me to let her out right away, I reach down to pick her up (and make her stop staring at me) at which point she scoots back really fast, slipping on the wood floor and landing on her face. She immediately regains her footing and in is instantly back on my leg, staring me down. This routine ensues for another several minutes with me throwing her silent threats by motioning with my hands to say “no more treats!” and “I’ll spank you!” To no avail.

All I can say is good thing it wasn’t a video conference call.

Anyway, we’ve since made up…but next time there’s a conference call on the docket, somebody’s going to her kennel!

You know I can’t help but still love her:)

Today was a stretch and strengthen day per our training schedule – a perfect opportunity for PiYo! The Tuesday class at our gym is really challenging. The type of challenging where you’re swearing half way through that you’ll never go back. And yet you do…because you love the way it makes your muscles sore, but so strong.

I threw down a handful of grapes on the way out the door.

Apparently I should have thrown down a lot more because half way through the class my energy hit rock bottom and my body was begging for fuel. Oops.

By the time I got home, my body knew exactly what it wanted. I really didn’t have a say in the matter.

For the perfect egg sandwich – mix up one free range organic egg + one egg white, sea salt and black pepper, pour it into a small microwavable bowl and cook it for 2 minutes. Don’t forget to spray the bowl first! Not that I would know any other way;)

I sandwiched it between a toasted cinnamon raisin Ezekiel muffin – the perfect little sandwich in under 5 minutes flat!

Side note: I wouldn’t actually suggest using the cinnamon raisin muffin variety for this sandwich. My heart said yes, but my tastebuds said no.

Lunch today was simple as I was trying to get ready for my conference call and didn’t have much time!

Amy’s low sodium Lentil Vegetable soup

I also had a few tortilla chips with salsa and more grapes on the side.

I’m currently drying some tears – the result of a really emotional thank you/explanation email to one of my principals from last year. You know, sometimes I still miss my teaching job so much it hurts. So thankful to God that I know it was the right decision. Time to pull myself together, though, because I’ve got one precious little hour left in which to finish off my list of to do’s!

Don’t forget to enter the chia giveaway. These chias need a loving home!

Oh, and if you missed my PiYo guest post at the lovely A Side of Sneakers yesterday, go check it out!

lentil tacos + a guest post

Best.

Afternoon.

Snack.

Ever.

I found a coupon for a free 16 ounce Oikos greek yogurt in my HLS swag bag (love that swag bag:), so I had no choice but to pick it up at the store yesterday. Wait, did you catch that? FREE.

So today I decided an extravagant yogurt mess sounded like a pretty decent plan. I also used my coupon for a free box of Uncle Sam’s cereal at the store yesterday, so why not throw some of that in? There were also dried cranberries, sliced bananas, vegan dark chocolate chips, cinnamon and chia seeds!

Speaking of chia seeds, did you enter my chia seed giveaway earlier today? I am loving hearing about everyone’s adventurous side – keep ‘em coming!

In other news, please take a minute to click over to Heather’s blog and check out my guest post on PiYo! Heather and I met at HLS, and her blog is as adorable as she is. She’s one of those people who has a smile that literally lights up the entire room, and I was so excited when she asked me to share more about PiYo with her readers. I hope you’ll take a second and stop by there!

I spent the afternoon working on a special project in our office. It’s not quite ready to reveal yet, but it won’t be long!

I worked up quite an appetite, though, and by dinnertime I knew exactly what was on the menu. I had boiled a huge batch of dry lentils last week and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. It was kind of fun to switch it up from our usual enchiladas!

Spicy Lentil Tacos

Ingredients

whole wheat tortilla
2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 small can diced green chilies

Toppings

diced tomato
chopped green onions
chopped lettuce
salsa
homemade guacamole

Directions

sautee olive oil, garlic and onion in a skillet over medium heat until onions become transparent
add lentils and mix well
season with ground red pepper and cumin
add green chilies and heat through
heat tortilla for 10 seconds in microwave
spread lettuce in middle of tortilla
add lentil mixture
top with green onions, tomato, salsa and guacamole

I’m off to bed soon! I’ve been feeling really tired the last few days, so I really need to try and get some extra sleep this week.

I hope you all had an excellent Monday:) G’night!

giveaway time! spreading the chia love <3

Jon and I woke up bright and early this morning and headed out for a three mile run. It actually wasn’t too terribly humid and hot, and therefore was almost enjoyable. I said almost

Soon after we got back, I was starving for breakfast and was wasting time on twitter while trying to decide what to have when Evan tweeted an idea for the Vega Shake and Go Smoothie mix from the HLS swag bag. It sounded too good to pass up, so I went for it!

It may not look too appetizing, but don’t knock it ’till you try it.

First, I mashed a whole banana until it was fairly smooth. I then mixed in two heaping spoonfuls of Vega powder, 1/3 cup of raw oats and a splash of almond milk. It turned out like a thick chocolate pudding! My only complaint is that it was a tiny bit grainy from the powder. Next time I think I’ll go a little easier on the powder, but otherwise it was awesome! And full of protein!

The Vega mix is completely plant based and is corn, dairy, gluten, soy, wheat and yeast free. Per serving it has:

Two servings of veggies
2500 mg Omega-3-6-9
11 g complete protein
Only 100 calories
1 billion probiotics cultures

Pretty cool, right? I have yet to find a protein powder that I like, but I’m a fan of this.

This morning I had my first meeting with a new student that I’m going to be tutoring! She’s from Korea, and I’ll be tutoring her 3 days a week now. I’m pretty excited about it – something inside me just lights up when I work with international students.

After my meeting I had lunch with my friend Grace at Panera. I ordered a version of my favorite – Mediterranean Veggie sandwich, Garden Vegetable soup and a whole grain baguette.

And an Adora disc for dessert. Not sure what I’m gonna do when these run out – I’ve gotten kind of attached:)

Okay, now onto the good stuff. Sorry to leave you hangin’.

How about some chia seeds from ChiaSeedsDirect.com to make it up to you?

I don’t like to bombard you guys with giveaways, but I honestly just cannot pass up an opportunity to spread the chia love:)

The lovely folks at ChiaSeedsDirect have been gracious enough to offer a free 2lb. bag of chia seeds to one fabulous ChiaSeedMe reader.

There are five different ways you can enter (1 entry for each one you do):

leave a comment on this post telling me the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done OR something adventurous you want to do in the future
add ChiaSeedMe to your blogroll and tell me you did or if it already is tell me that
follow me on twitter (@chiaseedme) and tweet about the giveaway using the following: @chiaseedme enter to win free chia seeds!! http://chiaseedme.com/?p=2235
decide on one random act of kindness you will do sometime this week and tell me what it is (and you have to do it – honors system!)
mention the giveaway in a blog post and link to it in the comments

Please make sure and tell me which of the five you did in the comments.

The giveaway will run until Sunday, August 29th at midnight.

If you’ve never used chia seeds before and need some ideas – click here for tons of ways that I love to use them. Also, make sure and check out my post on why chia seeds are so awesome.

If you haven’t checked out ChiaSeedsDirect yet, you should! They are an awesome company that offers the highest quality chia seeds at very low prices with free shipping on all U.S. orders. You can’t beat that! Also, if you are interested, feel free to download a free 16-page booklet on chia seeds, chia seed uses and chia seed recipes by using the following link: http://www.chiaseedsdirect.com/frreonchsehe.html.

**giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Sorry!

See you all later!

1 down, 26 to go

Tonight we went out to this little old school house to get some photos for my homework assignment.

and then we ended up in the middle of nowhere on this dusty road.

It was fun. And hot. Very hot.

And then I came home to upload the pics, and the program wouldn’t work! I’m hoping my instructor will give me an extension…it’s crazy feeling like I’m in college again.

We also managed to get to the store and buy groceries, which I’ll be showcasing as the week goes on.

I’ve kind of strayed a bit from my straight laced eating habits, which inevitable happens to all of us from time to time. And while I don’t expect myself to be my best all the time, my body’s is not thanking me for it. So, tomorrow (my next meal) it’s back on track for me!

Also at the grocery store tonight I accomplished one of my 27 goals for my 27th year of life! At least I made a start toward it. I bought Burt’s Bees all natural facial cleanser and moisturizer. Lately I’ve been feeling more and more bothered by the fact that I put chemicals all over my face and don’t think a thing about it. I spend so much money and time on what I put in my body – what I put on my body should get the same attention and concern. This is just a first step as all my other makeup products are not all natural. But I must start somewhere! Anyway, I’ll do a full review on these products here in a couple of weeks!

Next in news tonight;) Jon and I have officially decided to drop down to the half marathon in November as opposed to the full. This actually causes me to regress on my list of 27 things:(

It has been a very hard decision, but we both feel that it is the best one. When I announced that we were going to train for the full, I mentioned that Jon’s work situation was going to make it difficult to get the training time in, but that we wanted to shoot for it anyway. Well, you’ve heard the quote – shoot for the moon and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. I guess our stars are going to be the half marathon.

I am so competitive that this has been a very hard decision for me to swallow. But with Jon taking on his boss’ responsibilities (on top of his own) for the next 3 months plus the demands that Outbox is putting on us, it just isn’t going to be feasible or healthy for us to train for the full. We know from our first full marathon that training is a huge time and energy commitment. While it’s one that we definitely plan to make in the near future, it’s not going to be right now. It’s taken me several days to accept the decision and to get excited about training for the half. But I’m all on board now, and I’m so ready! So, we’ll run it, and we’ll have a blast running it together:)

For the record, I did consider going ahead and doing the full on my own, seeing as how I do still have more time than the husband. But after discussing it, we decided that it’s much more fun to stick together throughout training as well as the race. Like I said this morning “it’s always better when we’re together“ We’ve run all our races together so far, and there’s no good reason to stop now.

So, since we had already started our full training a few weeks ago, we’re a little bit ahead of schedule. We’re just going to press on, and either run an extra run or two in the weeks preceding the race, or have a bit of flexibility if something comes up one weekend between now and then.

So, that’s all the big news for tonight. Hope you all have had an awesome weekend – time to get geared up for the week ahead!

Do you use all natural skin care products? Is that something that you think about/is important to you? How do you go about choosing a skin care system?

better when we’re together

Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon and evening cleaning the house from top to bottom! We did the basic cleaning of everything and then had to fix the closet explosion. While it wasn’t too fun cleaning all day – it was much more fun doing it together!

Especially when I walked in to see this

Gotta love the combination of a cute husband and some soft scrub:)

Anyway, we finally stopped cleaning last night in time to eat up some well deserved leftover enchiladas…followed by some froyo. Unfortunately I was so wiped out I forgot the camera, so no pics.

Breakfast this morning was made by the husband

Ezekiel english muffin with natural peanut butter and 1/2 sliced banana. I had this x2

I inhaled this on the way out the door to church. Somehow we run late to church every week! We only live 5 minutes away, but for some reason we always wait ’till the last minute to get up and then race around like crazy people to get there. And every week I swear I’m going to get up earlier, but it’s always the same story. Better late than not at all I suppose. It’s funny that I’m late so often, considering how much I hate it.

This past year, I got in the routine of leaving for school about a half hour before I really had to leave. It was awesome because most days it gave me extra time in the morning to grade/plan, and then on the days when I couldn’t find my keys or it was raining cats and dogs, I wasn’t late! It was a great system really…one that I need to reinstate into my life.

Right now we are seriously low on groceries. One of my top priorities for today is to make a grocery list and go stock up for the week. When we are low on groceries, there is one thing that tends to happen a lot.

Eating out. Hence today’s lunch.

Whichwich sandwich – avocado, tomato, lettuce, bell pepper, pickles, mushrooms and pesto on whole wheat

I’m not gonna lie – it was absolutely delicious. But I’m so ready to have our fridge stocked with fresh food and make home-cooked meals!

This afternoon is sure to be busy – I’ve got to buy groceries, work on Outbox, do my photography homework among other things.

I’ll be back tonight with an update on what our plan is for marathon training. I have mixed feeling about our plan, but I feel sure it’s the right decision.

Have a great and relaxing Sunday!

Are you a person who’s always late or always early? Do you early birds have any tricks up your sleeve on how to be more timely?

the small things

Hellllooo!

Hope you are all having an awesome Saturday!

Jon and I had a bit of a late night, so we slept in really well. A little too well actually:) Guess out bodies needed the rest!

We did end up seeing Eat Pray Love last night, but before that we saw something even better.

We decided to drive by my school so I could reminisce one last time

And then we happened to look up (and to the east)…

and the sky looked like this!

We looked to the west, where the sun was showing it’s last bit of light before sinking below the horizon, and saw this. Notice how you can faintly see the pattern of blue stripes coming up out of the clouds.

That stripe pattern was thrown from the western sky all the way up and over to the east, becoming more vivid as it went.

It was amazingly beautiful, and we could have sat in the parking lot, watching it all night. But within minutes it began to fade as the sun disappeared for the night.

So off we went for a different kind of entertainment!

Eat Pray Love was a great movie. Unfortunately I hadn’t yet finished the book, so I can’t really say which was better or how many crucial parts were left out of the movie. All I can say is that I really loved it. It was impactful in that it made me realize how strong we really can be if we are able to shut out the distractions of a busy and hectic life. It also reminded me that I need to relax and enjoy the small moments of life a little more. I get so caught up in what I need to do next, and I always find myself rushing through those small meaningful moments that really should be what gets me through. And of course it gave me the travel bug. Traveling is one of Jon and I’s deepest joys in life, and I itch to go again. I really want to go back to Thailand. But there are also so many other places I want to see. I’m thinking about making a travel page on the blog, with pictures and a little bit about our time at each place. I’m thinking reliving our past travels may help pacify me for awhile:) What do you guys think?

For breakfast this morning I had an awesome breakfast of soy yogurt, peanut butter Puffins, dried cranberries and Kashi U

I also had a Supercharge Me cookie and half of Jon’s You Got Peanut Butter in my Chocolate cookie:) Cookies for breakfast. Why not?

Supercharge Me recipe to come later tonight!

I’m off to clean our house seeing as how it has gotten out of control since I was gone last weekend. Also on the list for today is grocery shopping!

a cookie kind of day

So, today was just a cookie kind of day.

I woke up this morning and went to PiYo and then came home to do some more PiYo. I teach my second class one week from today. eek!

I am also going to go ahead and get my yoga certification. Yay! I signed up for the course on September 11th – 12th just outside of Dallas (sis – I need to crash your place that night:). I’m getting certified for level one yoga through YogaFit, and then we’ll see where I go from there! My first official PiYo class (not subbing) will start the week before that, as will the yoga class I’ll be teaching. So, I’ll be teaching one yoga class without my certification. oops! I plan on just making it very PiYo-esque for the first class.

Anyway, so after PiYo-ing it all morning long, I decided cookie making was definitely in order for the afternoon. The husband’s boss is going on maternity leave (today was her last day), and Jon and I adore her, so I though I’d make her some cookies to kick it off right!

“You Got Peanut Butter in My Chocolate” cookies from Eat,Drink and Be Vegan
wheat free and vegan

Ingredients

1/4 cup unrefined sugar (I used pure cane sugar)
1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup + 1 tbsp spelt flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2-2 1/2 tbsp agave nectar (or more maple syrup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1/4-1/3 natural peanut butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, combine sugar, chocolate chips, and salt, sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and stir until well combined
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, agave nectar, vanilla and oil until well mixed.
Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until just well combined (do not overmix).
With a knife, cut in peanut butter into batter, but just a little, so peanut butter remains in chunks and swirls in batter.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).
Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter onto baking sheet evenly spaced apart.
Bake for 11 minutes (no longer, or they will dry out).
Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 1 minute (no longer), then transfer to a cooling rack.

My only advice is to go make these cookies right now, then go buy this cookbook and make everything else in it too. It’s that good:)

I also made a batch of Super Charge Me cookies, but we’ll save those for later!

Jon and I are going to go see Eat Pray Love tonight, and I’m so excited! The last couple times we’ve planned to see a movie, we’ve ended up bailing at the last minute, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we actually make it there. I’m only halfway through the book, so I’m committing a major faux pas by going to see it, but o’well!

I’ll see you guys tomorrow!

Have you seen the movie or read the book? What did you think?

tofu redemption

So, last night I finally sat down to eat my long awaited tofu dinner at about 9:30pm. You guys already know – it was not good.

But I’m not the type who gives up easily.

My mom can attest to this story:

When I was a wee four years old, still using a pacifier mind you, I had a bike with training wheels. I would pedal that bike as fast as my little legs would go, trying to keep up with my big sister at all costs. Until one fateful day when one of my training wheels bit the dust.

I’m not one to give up easily, though. Despite my mother’s constant scoldings, I perfected riding the three wheeled bike. She would constantly be yelling out the door – “Candice, get off that bike! You’re gonna get hurt!”

I’d stop momentarily…but then I’d be right back at it.

Until the next fateful summer day when the other training wheel gave out on me.

My mom was so relieved. She sighed “at least now she won’t be able to hurt herself trying to ride that bike with broken training wheels.”

Like I said, though. I’m not one to give up easily.

Not many days later, my mom glanced outside to check on me, and there was little four-year-old me, flying down the road after my big sister on my two wheeled bike, with pacifier in tow.

To this day, determination is something I don’t take lightly.

As evidenced by this

So, you’re probably wondering what the heck happened right?

After I finished blog venting about my tofu fail last night, I walked back into the kitchen where my tofu was still gloating smugly atop the stove. In a moment of sheer rage frustration I grabbed the dish, punched the broiler button on the stove, and threw it back into the stove. Take that!

I honestly figured I’d be trashing those mushy little tofu cubes in less than ten minutes, but I figured “hey, it can’t get any worse, so I might as well make one last ditch effort!”

Ten minutes later I pulled out a sizzling batch of perfectly browned, crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside tofu.

And that my friends…is how it’s done;)

Apparently it just needed cooked longer, as I would have found out by reading all the awesome comments from last night’s post. Thanks for all the tips – with the help of them hopefully I’ll be able to get it right the first try next time!

Now I’m off to bake some vegan cookies – don’t wait up for this one;)

Well, I ate it…

…but that doesn’t mean it was good.

Ingredients

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1.5-2 tbsp agave nectar
1.5 tbsp tamari
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp curry powder
2-3 pinches chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 pkg firm or extra firm tofu (frozen or fresh) cut in half lengthwise then sliced 1/4 to 1/2 in thick squares, and patted to remove excess moisture
2-3 tbsp raw or pre-roasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an 8×12 in baking dish, combine lime juice, agave nectar, tamari, cumin, curry powder, chili powder, and salt and stir to mix.
Stir in oil.
Add tofu and turn to coat each side
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven to turn tofu over, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, and return to oven to bake uncovered for another 13-15 minutes, until tofu has soaked up most of marinade.
Serve warm, pouring any remaining oil and/or spices over tofu.

recipe adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

It’s not you, Dreena, it’s me.

Tofu and I have never gotten along.

We have a love/hate relationship. As in love when we meet at Pei Wei and hate when we meet anywhere else.

Not sure what went wrong to be honest. The flavor was not bad, but the texture was not good. Maybe I should have bought extra firm instead of just firm? Any suggestions? I need help!

This is not the last you’ll see of me, tofu. I’ll be back. And eventually I will win.

That’s all.

fingers crossed

Happy lunchtime folks!

I started this morning off with an ice cold green monster.

2 big handfuls of spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 tsbp chia seeds, 1/2 scoop Amazing Grass, 1.25 cups almond milk, ice

Have you tried a green smoothie yet? I know some are really intimidated grossed out by the thought of spinach in their smoothie. But you can take my word for it – you cannot taste it! So the questions isn’t “why put spinach in your smoothie?” The question is “why not?!”

A couple hours and pages of writing later, I was ready for a snack!

This yogurt bowl contained 1 container Whole Soy yogurt, a quarter of a banana, and some granola that was on sale at the health food store the other day – Bakery on Main Cranberry Maple Almond Granola.

I guess it was a little much for just a morning snack, because lunchtime has come and gone, and I’m nowhere near hungry. o’well! Guess I’ll fit lunch in later on if I get hungry.

I’ll be spending the rest of the afternoon fighting with iPhoto and Flickr as I try to transfer all my photos over. Does anybody want to volunteer to do this for me? Puh-lease???

One thing I wanted to mention is about a new site that’s totally worth checking out: Healthy Living Blogs.

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sounds Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. So, check it out when you get a chance!

I’ll see you all later. I’m planning on making a new tofu recipe tonight, and I’ve never had much luck in the tofu department, so I’ll be back tonight with either a great new recipe for you…or a catastrophic fail. Cross your fingers:)

hls – the gift that keeps on givin’

missed recap 1, 2 or 3?

Hey, hey!

It’s finally time for the fourth and final HLS recap!

After the last session on Saturday I had a really short break before yoga.

I was so excited about this yoga class! Confession: I have never been to a studio yoga class before. There isn’t a studio in my town, so I only go to our gym yoga. And let me tell you, it is NOT the same. Subway sponsored us to go to Exhale to attend a core fusion yoga class. Core Fusion Yoga includes a cardio element and is fueled by upbeat and inspirational music. Oh, and the instructor was cuh-razy. And I liked it:) A lot.

There are no Chinese gongs at Gym One. Nor are there any wall ladders use for stretching (perfectly normal).

Allison, Lauren, Lizz, me

Love my new yoga buddies! I was freakin’ out Saturday because I didn’t know anyone going to yoga.

Let’s be real. I didn’t know anyone going to yoga, AND I didn’t know anyone going to the Mexican dinner I had signed up for that night.

Hi, I’m Candice, and I sometimes get scared of being awkward and having no friends. There, I said it.

So, like any normal person would do – I tweeted out a plea for friends during one of the sessions on Saturday. And the angel above in the blue dress was my twitter hero:)

I loved this yoga class. Oh, and they gave us free mats!

Which we had no other choice than to cart around for the rest of the night at said Mexican restaurant. Classy.

JT and I before yoga

After yoga, we dried our sweaty hair, applied new deodorant and rushed out the door to dinner!

Sabrina had made reservations for a group of us at Mercadito, a swanky and fun mexican restaurant.

Jessie, Sabrina, Lizz

I sat with this awesome blogger and we hit off right away! I love this girl. Cannot wait to go to NY to visit sometime.

It was a fun night of chattin’ up a storm, takin’ photos of our food…and eating! All the plates were for sharing.

I was in heaven from the start – 3 different kinds of guacamole

chips fo dippin’

mixed greens, red cabbage, corn, jícama,
queso fresco, chipotle-balsamic vinaigrette

fried plantains with a ginger-jalapeño sauce

vegetarian tacos – black bean hash, rajas poblanas,
crema fresca, crispy potatoes

These tacos were the food highlight of the day for me. The flavors were fantastic, and the corn tortillas were homemade – so soft!

and dessert….

flan de cajeta – goat’s milk caramel custard

Flan! I’ve never had flan before – it’s always been a dessert that I’ve only seen in the movies, lol. This caramel one was to die for! There were two other flavors brought to our table, but I nearly gagged on one of them, so I tried to lure the caramel one back down to our end;)

This meal was awesome – so many different new flavors. And I loved that everything was shared. I got to try so much, but I was able to walk our rather than roll out, so that was a bonus!

We hung around the restaurant for quite a while and then walked back to the hotel about midnight. Still with our yoga mats in tow.

And that’s a wrap! About 4 hours later I was up and at ‘em, heading to the airport.

It was such a quick weekend…and I totally wish I could relive it! I’m so ecstatic about the new friends I made, and the twitter and blog fun that will ensue. HLS: the gift that keeps on givin’.

Hope to see ya at HLS 2011!

gotta love the swag

Friends, I’m in the midst of a crisis.

Since I got my Canon DSLR camera back in April, I’ve been uploading all my photos into iPhoto. Unfortunately the file sizes are huge, and they are overtaking my macbook! I’ve finally decided to start uploading to Flickr instead, but I also am going to have to move all my photos over from iPhoto as well.

This process is going to take forever. I’m just so deep in this hole. Not only is my computer moving slower than ever, but the process of transferring the photos is going to slow it down even more. Argh!

Okay, rant over. Thanks for listening;)

warning: if you aren’t a dog lover, just glaze over this next part:) and don’t think I’m crazy.

First things first – Olive wants to say Happy 1st Birthday to her cousin, Bentley!

We still love you little B, even though you chewed up 2 of my retainers this summer.

This morning has been so productive! Don’t you just love super productive days?

First, I went for a four mile run. I planned to go to the gym, but the second I stepped out onto the porch, I changed my mind. It had to have been about 80 degrees. And there was even a cool breeze. I couldn’t pass up the chance to run outside. Unfortunately my Garmin wasn’t quite as thrilled apparently and didn’t find its satellites until well in the run. I know I ended up at about 4 miles, but have no idea what my time was. O’well!

Before I went I had a piece of canteloupe, sans salt and pepper

Once I got back, it was still cloudy and breeze, and our scraggly yard was giving me the eye. I couldn’t resist the nagging and immediately changed shoes and revved up the mower!

About an hour later I finished, a sweaty, hungry mess. Seeing as how it was after 10:30, though, I opted for a little snack instead of breakfast to tide me over.

I got this herbal water in the HLS swag bag, and I am now obsessed. I must find a place to buy these. They have no added sugars or preservatives, and the water is infused with a perfectly subtle ginger lemon flavor.

These pistachios and dried pineapple are also from the swag bag, courtesy of Oh Nuts. The pistachios were great, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the pineapple. I don’t like added sugar on my dried fruit, and this definitely had some. I don’t know why companies always feel the need to add so much sugar to their dried fruit!

Anyway, I answered some emails and before I could turn around twice it was lunch time.

My sister bought me this garlic olive oil from The Olive Tap. It gives off just a nice, subtle hint of garlic. Judging from her description I really wish I could have visited the store too.

I mixed 1 tbsp+1 tsp of garlic olive oil + 1 tsp water to 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp seasoned salt and a sprinkle of ground red pepper.

I filled a gallon sized ziplock bag with sliced sweet potato rounds and asparagus, and after adding the oil and seasoning mixture, shook until I couldn’t feel my arms (it really is an exact scienceJ I then dumped it out onto a cookie sheet (don’t forget to spray it!) and roasted at 400 degrees for about half an hour. Don’t forget to stir and flip occasionally. I actually think the asparagus was a bit too soft, so you may want to take it out after 20 minutes or so.

I toasted a piece of Ezekiel bread and spread it with Earth Balance to have on the side. Plus, another piece of canteloupe with salt and pepper.

Dessert was an Adora Dark Chocolate Calcium supplement disk from the swag bag. Love these. lol. What did I eat before HLS?

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my awesome co workers from my teaching job. I stopped by the school for a visit yesterday and loved getting to see everyone. These people are a huge reason why it was so hard to leave, and I’m going to miss them dearly!

my best friend, Teri, Bryan, and me

two of our awesome librarians!

Meghan taught in the classroom next door to me and was a fellow first year teacher. This girl is a hoot!

And again, Teri:)

Well, I’m off to get some work done! I’ll be back tonight with my fourth and final HLS recap! If you missed ‘em, here is recap 1, recap 2 and recap 3.

hls – the fun continues

Did you miss recap 1 or recap 2?

Picking up where I left off earlier this morning…

After a fantastic HLS lunch, I made my way to the Time Management session. As soon as I saw this topic would be discussed, I knew I had to go.

Believe it or not, since I left my teaching job I have had a harder time than ever with time management. Yes, I’ve had more time since I’m not working outside the home everyday, but I’ve taken on so many new projects. I’ve upped my time spent on CSM considerably, started teaching (and planning for) PiYo classes, taken on responsibilities with Outbox, started a photography class, taken on students for tutoring, started freelance editing and much more! I have to say, I love wearing so many hats! They are all very cute, stylish hats that make me feel good, but it’s been a challenge to manage my time and stay on top of everything.

Needless to say, I hung on every word of this seminar. The first activity we did was to list out our priorities in order of importance. Here are mine:

1. Quiet time/Bible study
2. Spending time with Jon
3. Sleep
4. Exercise
5. Work (including all the projects listed above)
6. grocery shopping/ preparing meals
7. time with friends and family
8. Leisure time/ relaxing (reading, going for walks etc)
9. Housework (it is now clear why you can’t see the floor under our bed due to all the dust bunnies)

BTW – loving on Olive happens simultaneously with numbers 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9. Just so you don’t think I’m neglecting her on my priority list;)

Once your priorities are listed out, it’s a lot easier to plan your day around them. Because of my perfectionist tendencies, I tend to get frustrated when I don’t get to the housework or time with friends/family every day…or even every week. So I appreciated the following tips that were given:

1. Think outside the box. For example, if I’m running low on time, and I realize I’m not going to have time for everything, try and combine two things, such as exercise and time with Jon by going on a power walk or run together.
2. Look for conflicts. Recognize that there are conflicts. I probably will not be able to get to everything, every day. I know…it makes me cringe too, but I need to recognize that fact and accept it.
3. Compromise. Be proud of the things you are achieving. When I don’t have time for everything, compromise by saying “Well, I didn’t get to the housework today, but I’m really glad I got that run in.” I tend to only focus on the things I didn’t do, and I’m going to make a concerted effort to start focusing on the things I did accomplish.
4. Plan ahead. For example, plan in the morning what you want to fix for dinner. That way if you need something from the store, for instance, you can get it while you’re out during the day, rather than wasting another 20 minutes later on.
5. Underschedule yourself. Ooooohh. I am the world’s worst about this. I think I am often in denial about how long something will take, and I way overschedule myself. Then I feel frustrated when I don’t get to everything. Tasks always take longer than you think they will, so plan an extra 10 minutes or so for each task on your list.
6. Think about your choices. What is valuable for you? Make sure you are prioritizing the things that are most important to you. Then you won’t feel as regretful about the things you didn’t get to.

I really enjoyed this session!

After my time management problems were all solved I headed to the next seminar: The Five W’s of Strength Training. Unfortunately, my laptop was dying at this point, so I didn’t get very good notes. But I did get inspired to start making more time at the gym for strength training, and I learned the difference between super sets, circuits and split sets (Heather, correct me if I’m wrong on this!:)

Super sets: 2-3 exercises, back-to-back. Then repeat. Then break.
Circuit: 8-10 exercises back-to-back. Break. Then repeat.
Splits: different muscle groups on different days.

I think I may have to listen to this session on audio again once it’s posted!

Our last official HLS snack break of the day was sponsored by Athenos. Hellooo hummus!

watermelon, feta and basil skewers

blue corn chips with a hummus/feta dip (definitely going to have to get this recipe). These were out of this world delicious.

cucumbers filled with hummus and topped with raisins and almonds

all together now – with the addition of whole wheat pita chips, broccoli, carrots and more hummus

Jennifer came over and asked if I wanted to run over to the Athenos booth and get our picture made. Did I ever?!?! I look a tad bit awkward because I was trying to balance that olive on my head – you wouldn’t believe how heavy it was!

I also got a chance to hang out with these beautiful bloggers during the break – JT, Me, Dorry, Freya and Jessie. These girls were seriously so cool and so fun!

And the last session, The Ups and Downs of Blogging, was led by Caitlin and Gena. This session was focused on something that I think most bloggers and readers deal with at least on some level. There was a lot going on in this session, so I’m just going to give the highlights. Here are some tips to consider in regard to reading healthy living blogs:

Different doesn’t equal bad. For example, if you can’t run or don’t enjoy running, then blaze your own trail by focusing on your own unique type of workout. Don’t like the gym? Be a unique voice for outdoor workouts. Essentially, be yourself. Gain inspiration from blogs, but don’t let them make you feel bad for your own unique preferences and talents in fitness and in eating.

Fight superwoman syndrome. Don’t feel like you have to do everything perfect all the time. Keep in mind that all of us have weaknesses, bad days, even bad weeks. On some blogs, the blogger only shows the things that he/she does well and is proud of. That doesn’t mean that they don’t mess up, it just might be that you don’t see it.

Look internally not externally when setting goals. Don’t base your own goals and aspirations solely on what other bloggers are doing. Think about who you are and what you love and want to do. Just because one blogger is participating in a triathlon, doesn’t mean you should too. It also doesn’t make your 5k any less amazing!

Only read blogs that inspire you, not the ones that make you feel bad. If a blog makes feel negative about yourself in any way, don’t read it! If a blog doesn’t lift you up and make you feel more motivated and inspired, then it’s not worth your time to read it.

After the last session of the day, it was time to rest up for yoga and dinner! But first, I had to get a good pic with the best roommates at HLS – Amy and Paige. They put up with my antics of staying out late and getting up before the sun. Thanks for being so sweet you two:) I am so happy to have gotten to spend time with these girls.

Okay, looks like there will be one more final recap going up tomorrow! I’ll see ya then! G’night.

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