A Great Day

Morning!

I hope everyone's yesterdays were fantastic. Mine sure was! J and I went to our big mall in town and shopped till our hearts content. We both walked away with some fantastic purchases. Before the mall, we went to the gym. It was an awesome workout. I wish J lived here! She pushes me so hard. We did 30 minutes of cardio, and just under an hour of an arm and ab workout. Faaaantastic.

When we got back from the workout we ate this AMAZING lunch.

This was my plate.

I made the smoothie that's in that bowl.

• 1 cup berries
• 1 cup water
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 T cocoa powder

(serves 2)

It was so good! I've been making all my smoothies in the food processor lately; it makes them so frothy! I might never go back to a blender. 

J made the salad. 

• lots of spinach
• red bell pepper
• mushroom
• tomato
• cucumber 
• leftover turkey sausages from last night
• balsamic dressing

It was just as good as the smoothie! Such a great lunch. 

We hit up the mall till around 6 pm. We were starving by the time we left! We went and picked up take out for dinner. 

J and I got the same thing - chicken teriyaki with sauce on the side, no rice, and extra veg. We picked D up a beef and chicken dish (similar looking to this one), and california rolls. 

Now, to this morning. 

(sorry the pick is so dark)

Pumpkin Oat Bran with "Baked" Apples

Pumpkin Oat Bran

• 30 grams oat bran (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup pumpkin
• 2 egg whites
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• cloves

Baked Apples 

• 92 grams (half an) apple
• cinnamon

Place the ingredients in a bowl and microwave for about 40 seconds. 

It was so yummy. It fixed my grumbling tummy problems. 

I have two classes today. One is Intro to Lit, the other is Intro to Rhetoric. I love rhetoric! 

I'll chat with you all soon :)

A New Recipe for Pizza Crust

Morning gang,

We've been bussssy over here.

Let me quickly recap the eats from yesterday.

This was J and mine's lunch.

Check out how big it is! I named them veggie mountains instead of pizzas!

I made their crusts using this recipe. J cut up all those veggies, and we topped the pizzas with nutritional yeast and goat cheese.

I ate all the veg and cheese, but could only get through half of the crust. It was filling! 


The crust was more like a pancake. I don't know if I'll be repeating it, even though it is low carb.

Dinner was just as filling last night.

• 1/4 head of cabbage steamed with water, and sprinkled furiously with pepper
• red bell pepper
• onions
• tons of garlic
• chicken sausages 
• pickled veggie salad (I picked this up at the deli department in my grocery store)

This dinner had tons of spice. I'm so happy to have company over who loves spicy food as much (if not more) than I do. 

Last night I taught J how to make breakfast cookies. She's not out of bed yet, but I can't wait to see if she likes it! 

How could you not like this? I mean really... I'll let you know how it goes. 

Have a great morning folks! I'll try to get my updates coming in sooner.  

Pumpkin Delight

Hi folks,

Sorry I've been gone so long. I've been entertaining our company. D's cousin is back! She's staying with us for a week now. Exciting stuff! Plus my camera died. So I couldn't take photos for a good portion of the day yesterday, so I decided to take the day off from my camera!

J (that's what we'll call D's cousin) and I had an awesome workout yesterday. I brought my study notes, since I have a test today. We both spent about 45-50 minutes on the elliptical. My incline got to 20(!) and my resistance got to 15(!). Then I ran for just under a mile on the treadmill, but by then, my legs were already so tired. Awesome, awesome, awesome workout. 

Here's my breaky this morning.

Pumpkin Oat Bran 

• 50 grams oat bran (1/3 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites
• packet of stevia
• cinnamon
• cloves
• nutmeg  
• 1 T natural PB

and... COFFEE - much needed on a Monday. 

I gotta start studying. Talk to you all sooner than later I'm hoping! 

I Need to Cheat

Hey friends,

Hows your Saturday?

I can't stop thinking about cheat foods... gahhh! I might have to have one (besides the mac and cheese you're gonna see) soon. I'm thinking a burger... 


I waited for that oil change I mentioned earlier for 2 hours! ugh.... not my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning. I did finish my paper while I waited though! :)

I came home and cooked up this yummy bowl of goodness (by cooking I mean I turned on the microwave).

- not exactly low carb, high protein. But it sure was delish.

This was Amy's frozen mac and cheese. I added nutritional yeast for more protein and paprika for spice.

Then I enjoyed a lovely carb induced two hour nap. I don't like napping because I always end up sleepier after, but I decided I'd just make a pot of coffee - does the trick for me!

Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie (umm... YES PLEASE!)

• 1 cup UVAB
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 5 ice cubes 

I'm taking a day off from the gym today. I think this is a good plan since tomorrow I'm supposed to run 6 miles - we'll see how that goes. 

I Don't Wanna

Hi everyone,

I hope your Saturday has been going really well thus far. If you're like me, you've just had a chance to eat breakfast.

Chocolate Breakfast Cookie

• 40 grams oats
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 T natural PB
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1/4 banana 

It was good stuff. If you still haven't tried one of Gina's breakfast cookies, I implore you! Try one! 

I gotta go get ready to go to my oil change, across THE OTHER END OF THE CITY! I hate driving far... 

Have a great day gang :)

I Need a Rest

Evening to all,

Today has been quietly productive. By that I mean, I've checked off about half of the things that were on my to do list. I still have that horrible paper to finish.

One of the things I checked off my list, was my workout. About an hour after my breaky I headed to the gym for light cardio, abs and lower back.

My cardio was 20 minutes of the stairstepper. It got my legs burnin!

Then I hit the mat for abs and lower back.

• long arm crunches 
• reverse crunches
• supermans
• crunches on stability ball
• knee tucks 
• russian twists 

2 sets of 20 

Not bad... but I didn't get through all of the exercises I wanted to, and I wanted to do 3 sets of 20. I think my day off is really needed. I need to get back some energy!

Food

Post workout was the usual. 

• 1 cup UVAB (unsweetened vanilla almond breeze) 
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 4 ice cubes

See that red make on my wrist. That's a burn. I ALWAYS burn myself when I make quesadillas. I have a few other burns on my right arm. I might start wearing oven mitts for all cooking techniques! 

In a few hours it was time for lunch. 

Ingredients sauteed together:

• 4 oz chicken breast
• 3 brussels sprouts
• 3 oz mushrooms
• 1/3 cup brown rice 

Vinaigrette to pour over everything:

• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/2 T olive oil
• 1/2 T white wine vinegar 
• stevia
• pepper 

Nestle everything over 2 cups of spinach and enjoy!

So yummy, and so good for me. 

I decided to try a new recipe as a snack. 

This is April's recipe. It was so good! Moist and rich. Mmmmmmmmmm...

Here's dinner. 

I can't believe it was just a few days ago that I wasn't eating meat! I love not having that restriction over my head. 

This was a canned tuna dish. 

• Chop of 1/4 green bell pepper and 1 clove of garlic. Saute them in 1 tsp of olive oil. 
• In a medium size bowl add 1 drained can of tuna (packed in water), 1/2 T mustard, 1 tsp capers, 1/4 lemon's worth of juice, and pepper. Mix these ingredients well. 
• Add the cooked bell pepper and garlic into the tuna. 
• Add the whole mixture back to the pan. Cook till it's all heated through. 

I served asparagus on the side. In my opinion this was the perfect side dish. It was still crunchy, which added a needed textural element to this dish. 

Now, I really need to get this paper down. Tired of hearing that yet? I'm tired of saying it... 

Pumpkin Power

Hey gang,

How was your night? I had the strangest dream. In it, my sister had a helicopter that she kept parked on my balcony at out parents house. Weird, right?

This is the pumpkin power breaky.

In the pot:

• 40 grams oats (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• 1/3 pumpkin puree
• 2 egg whites
• cinnamon 
• cloves
• nutmeg 

Topping:

• 1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese 

I'm going to hit the gym in about an hour. My arms (and legs - I have no idea why) are sore. So I'm just gonna do some cardio, and maybe concentrate a little on the abs. Until then, I have a paper to finish. Yippy! 

See ya soon :)

A Better Day

I'm so close to perfect with my macros today! Whoot Whoot.

After I gave my breakfast a few minutes to settle in my tummy, I hit my yoga mat for about 40 minutes of yoga. I did a yogadownload.com sesh... no surprise. Thanks to the Fitnessista, I got 35% off my purchases. Can't beat that :)

It was killer today. My body has felt super tired these last few days, and this workout didn't help make it feel any more perky. I did the Yoga for Runners download. It's their daily deal - quick go buy it! It's awesome.

Here are the daily goods.

Salmon Salad

• 4.4 oz salmon (leftovers from last night)
• 2 hard boiled egg whites
• 1 T light mayo
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/2 celery 
• 1/4 cup cooked brown rice
• dill 
• pepper

So yummy... especially since I cooked the salmon with lemon the night before. :) 

This was my before class lunch. After class I ate this grapefruit as a little pre workout snack.

Then I hit the gym for some triceps and shoulders. It was killer. I was so tired afterwards. I really wanted to do at least 30 minutes of cardio, but I just didn't have it in me. 

Workout:

• Pushups 
• Overhead Press 4 sets of 10
• Upright Row 4 sets of 10
• Bent Over Lateral Raise 3 sets of 12
• Skull Crushers 3 sets of 12
• Bench Dips 15 slow reps

Now that I'm writing it out, this seems so short. Maybe I need to take  rest day tomorrow to get back my energy.

Post workout smoothie:

D's beer cups are perfect for the size of my smoothies. I'd take a smoothie over a beer any day!

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 frozen banana 
• 4 ice cubes

Perfect and filling! 

Not long after this it was time to think about dinner. I made D this turkey ragu. 

Wow... sorry about the lighting here.

This was my dinner. 

The only thing new here is the added chicken breast. 

• 4 oz chicken breast
• 1 cup broccoli 
• 2 cups cabbage 
• worcestershire sauce 
• tons of black cracked pepper
• hot sauce

So good. My lips were on fire by the time I was finished - gotta love that hot sauce. 

So by the end of the day my macros looked like this - 46% protein, 28% carbs, and 26% fat. I'm getting better! 

Time to start writing for my school work - bla, bla, bla. I just wanna be done! 

Protein Packed Breakfast

Yesterday I decided to change my macros. I wanted to get as close to 50% protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat.

My macros yesterday were 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat. 

Not perfect, but it was my first day. I feel good that the protein was the highest percentage out of the three.


Here's breaky.

Overnight Protein Oats

• 30 grams of oats
• 1/8 cup TVP
• 1/2 almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 1/2 natural PB

I mixed all the ingredients in the bowl last night, and left it in the fridge overnight. In the morning all I have to do is stick a spoon in it and enjoy!

This breaky has 40 grams of protein, 31 grams of carbs, and 16 grams of fat. 

I'll see you all after class. Have a great morning :)

Fish for Dinner

How's everyone's day been thus far? Mines been good.

I have a few more things I've been thinking about today. My brain just doesn't stop ;)


More Changes

So you all know how much I adore seafood. I've been missing it oh-so-much. The new macro combination has been crazy hard to do (as I suspected it would be), with my experimental vegetarian diet. I think you can tell where I'm headed with this...

I wanted to try out vegetarianism to see if my body would feel any better, not that I was feeling poorly to begin with. Perhaps this is why I haven't seen the results I thought I was going to. People say that it affects their skin, they feel less lethargic, and lighter when they don't partake meat. To be honest, I didn't see these results. It was easy for me to give up meat, especially red meat, since I'm not a fan to begin with. As of late, I've really been missing the fish and the chicken breast. So I've decided to start adding lean protein (from meat) back into my diet. I think this will help balance out my new macro requirements.

If you can't tell, I'm all about experimenting with what works best for me, and I'll keep experimenting until I find the perfect balance!

Now! Let's get to the good stuff - the food.

My pre workout snack was new for me.

• 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/3 cup Kashi puff cereal 

For my workout:

Eliptical:

1-10 minutes at level 6

11-20 minutes at level 8

21-30 minutes at level 10

Stairmaster:

30 minutes at level 4 

My legs were burning by the end of my workout. It was great! 

My post workout snack was a smoothie. 

• 1 cup spinach 
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 

It was SO good. I loved the change of protein flavor. Chocolate is so much better than vanilla. I made the smoothie in our food processor, since both our blenders are broke. :( 

An afternoon snack

A hard boiled egg. Love these, I forgot how much till this afternoon. 

Can you tell I'm trying to keep my protein levels up? 

Dinner looked something like this. 

Tons of greens and SALMON! Oh how I've missed thee fish.

5.5 ounces of salmon:

• wrapped in foil with coconut butter, lemon, and pepper
• baked (for far too long, it was over cooked) at 375 degrees

Broccoli and asparagus - steamed 

Green salad with about 2 cups of mixed greens, 1/2 cucumber, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

It filled me up to the brim. So much good filling food. 

So what do you guys think of my diet changes? I welcome all of your thoughts!

New Plans

Hey gang,

I have a few things on my mind regarding fat loss. But before I get to them, let's discuss breakfast.

Pumpkin Oats

In the pot:

• 30 grams oats (that's a little less than half a cup. Half a cup is the equivalent to 40 grams in theory, but I weigh the oats, just to be sure I'm not getting more than I need)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree 
• 2 egg whites
• cinnamon 
• nutmeg
• cloves

Topping:

• 1 T natural PB
• 1 T 1% cottage cheese 

And coffee.

I had enough coffee to make half the amount I normally do. SUCCESS! 

The Few Things on my Mind

Carbs, Fats, and Protein

I've heard so many different things about carbs and fat loss. Some people forbid carbs in their diets, other eat them limitlessly. So I've decided the only way to see if less carbs are effective for fat loss is to try it out myself! 

Right now I eat about 55% carbs, 20% protein, and 25% fat. 

I'm thinking of switching to this combination - 30% carbs, 50% protein, and 20% fat. 

I'm not exactly sure if it's possible to do this as a vegetarian, without eating half a tub of protein powder a day. But I'm gonna give it a go! 

In a Rush

Morning!

This has gotta be super quick, since I have to be at school early to finish a project.

Yesterday's lunch and afternoon snack looked something like this.

That protein bar made me feel so sick.. yuck.

That was dinner. It as SO good. Love Amy's mac and cheese.

Here's dessert.

Grapefruit and chia pudding.

Breakfast this morning was so good.

Pumpkin oats - using the usual recipe.

Bye Bye :)

Snow - Go Away!

I woke up this morning to this view.

Snow....

I was less than impressed. Last night I was wearing flip flops, today is back to the uggs.

I made a breakfast cookie last night.

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tbsp PB
• splash of rice milk
• goji berries

It's pretty darn tasty. Unfortunately I'm outta coffee, so it's only the gulp this morning. I might have to make a run to Bucks (a.k.a. Starbucks) to pick up my daily cup of joe. 

Time to hit the books... I'm going to be so happy to not have to say this in closing! Less than a month to go! Whoot Whoot.  

Veggie Feast

Did you notice that the only fruits and veggies I ate today were one banana - not ideal.

So I loaded up on veggies for dinner.

• iceberg lettuce 
• cilantro
• veggie chili 
• jared jalapenos 
• nutritional yeast

Yummy stuff. AND stuffed full of veggies. 

Check out D's meal.

Cheese bun sandwiches and salt and vinegar chips. A healthy meal?

And pop... 

Well... like I've said before, I can only really control what goes in my body... If only I could eat like he does and look like that! Sexy hubby ;)

Night all. Sleep tight. 

Fantastic Five

Hey gang,

I just got back from an awesome run. 5 miles done! I ate lunch before I took off on my run.

An egg white quesadilla: 

• 1 whole wheat tortilla 
• 4 egg whites
• 1 oz goat cheese
• hot sauce drizzled on top

It was so good. I love really spicy food. 

A little while later I snacked on this bowl of cereal. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to get through a longer run.

I think it worked!

My run so awesome. I love those runs when you just get into the right vibe, and meet your goal. I ended up doing 5 miles in just under 50 minutes, that includes my 5 minute walking warm up. 

I came home, and I tried to make a smoothie. BOTH of my blenders weren't working, so I made chia pudding instead. 

• 2 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt
• splash of rice milk
• 1/4 scoop protein powder
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 tbsp natural PB 
• cinnamon

It was soooo gooooood. I want to make another bowl... but I won't. Dinner is going to have to be loaded with veg! I just looked back at my pics, and I haven't eaten ANY yet. Not good Shayna. 

Time to study!