Cuts and Curves

Now Eat This! Diet

2011-03-24T14:36:00.000-06:00

I have a secret I hardly share with anyone. So why I'm sharing it on a very public blog, I don't know, but... I love The View! I like hearing all the ladies share their, often, varying opinions.

Watching The View has kind of become a morning ritual for me. I wake up, put on a pot of coffee, make my breakfast and snuggle up on the couch to watch the show.

Well getting to the whole point of this confession, on today's show they had Rocco Dispirito on to share his new book Now Eat This! Diet.

It seemed like any other diet (claiming the book offered food that tastes good and makes you lose weight at the same time), until he said (paraphrasing) it's medically proven that if you eat more you'll lose more weight. That got my attention!

The funny thing is, the woman's plan only lets you eat 1200 calories a day!!

Does anyone else have a problem with this??

Food Post :)

2011-03-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

I promised you guys a food post. So here it is!

These are meals that I've been eating almost daily for the last couple of weeks. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit!

1/2 cup steel cut oats, 1/2 cup egg whites, cinnamon, and almond butter.

1 serving plain Greek yogurt, grapes, and cashews.

Vegetable frittata with salsa.

Smoothie with vanilla protein powder, spinach, unsweetened almond milk, strawberries, and ice.

Protein muffins with cream cheese frosting. I keep a batch of these on my counter, and a tub of light cream cheese in my fridge at all times! I crave them daily.

Chicken breast with green beens (I barely cook them at all. I like my veggies to be crunchy!) and teriyaki sauce.

Cajun chicken breast with salsa and avocado.

Hope this gives you guys a little inspiration. I'm loving these right now.

I also made these granola bars a few days ago. They're incredible!! I can't stop eating them.

I'll talk to you guys soon. Thanks for the comments :)

Bad, bad blogger

2011-03-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Sorry for being MIA. I was away from home for a few weeks visiting family, and now that I'm back I'm playing catch up with school - doesn't leave me much time to blog.

But any ways... I've made a few changes to my workout plan and diet plan I can share today. Tomorrow I'm planning to post meals that I've been eating a lot of lately. I know the food post are always my favorite!

So I've made changes to my plan because I'm trying to cut out about 4-5% of body fat. I never wanted to gain a ton of muscle, in fact, I'm more than happy with how much muscle I have now. I just want to trim off the fat. So I'm trying new ways of doing that.

Workout plan: I've added lots of intensive interval training to my current plan. Bodyrock.tv has been amazing site to get my workouts!

I love Zuzana's approach to fitness. The short workouts are super tough and often times leave me feeling shaking and sick to my stomach. So don't try them thinking they're too short or easy.

Eating plan: I've dropped my carbs significantly! I've taken on the "earn your carbs" approach. This means that I have to complete a workout before I can eat oatmeal, bread, and most fruit (excluding berries and green apples).

(I just love this picture haha)

If you haven't noticed from my blog, I get bored easily. I need to keep on changing things to keep myself interested in fitness and eating right. There's nothing wrong with trying new things (I encourage it!). Go out there and try something new today! It's the best way to get out of a rut.

Why I Do Cardio

2011-02-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is the post I was telling you all about. Dane -- a trainer in Seattle -- wrote this post. He's the one who has convinced me cardio should remain part of my program, and you know what? I've actually really enjoyed it. I like the feeling of pushing myself to the limit, and cardio is a great outlet for that.

________________________________________________________________________

I can’t tell you how hard it is for me, as a fitness professional, to read all the hate mail that has been put out there against cardio in recent years. I hate cardio as much as the next guy and have tried to find a good bit of evidence, that can be studied out and maintain its standing as a valid argument against cardio, that well let me feel good about ditching it from my workouts. Unfortunately, I don’t think substantial enough evidence exists to convert me to that camp.

Granted I do not hold a Ph.D. in physiology, but my research and humble knowledge of fitness and the cardiovascular studies done throughout my certification process, as well as continued education, shed light in my mind on holes in the arguments against cardio. Frankly, I think there is a demand to acknowledge the importance of cardio in any fitness regiment.

(Source)

I do not dare refute the fact that that traditional cardio is not the most effective overall calorie burner, it is absolutely not. If you are simply trying to burn calories do a good leg workout. You will definitely burn more overall calories during and after your workout and for a longer period of time post-workout.

I would like to take this time to draw your attention to some benefits of incorporating cardio into your workouts. I had thought about writing this in such a way as to cover a more broad view on cardio but on second thought I am going to keep it focused on how it can benefit you as a bodybuilder/weightlifter.

I think it’s safe to assume that we all understand what cardio is. Doing anything that gets your heart rate up and increases circulation. But not all cardio is the same. Increasing your intensity on the weights definitely counts and can be greatly beneficial in the overall consumption of calories and in the end burning fat, getting lean, etc. but its important to understand why. Basically, the number one consumer of fat in your body is muscle. The more muscle you have the more fat you will lose. But just like any other muscle in the body, your heart must be trained and exercised as well. If you are seeing all the gains you want in the gym and looking lean and mean, but, you get winded walking up the stairs in your house, there is need for a change.

(Source)

The heart is exercised with cardio. But the increase in heart rate experienced during a set of any particular lift is not sufficient enough to actually increase the strength of your heart. You must sustain the increase of demand on your heart, by getting into your target heart range and staying there for 20-30 minutes.

The heart is so important to your bodybuilding aspirations too. An improved heart means improved performance. When you train with cardio, cardio actually forces your body to develop more capillaries. These capillaries are microscopic delivery paths big enough for one red blood cell to squeeze through and are delivery pathways for nutrients to be delivered to your body. The better conditioned your heart and circulatory system is, (lungs too. Also improved with cardio), the harder you can lift and the faster you can make gains. Furthermore, cardio can decrease your recovery time as well. After a hard lifting session doing a few minutes of cardio exercise will help carry away some of the byproducts produced during your workout and reduce your D.O.M.S.,(delayed onset muscle soreness). Cardio strengthens your body’s ability to send oxygen rich blood to your recovering muscle group, aiding in the rebuilding and recovery process, letting you get back quicker.

(Source)

Because of its affect on the metabolism, cardio will also help you maintain weight as well. Or lose depending on what the case may be. As for the “getting lean” aspect of the world of bodybuilding, I still swear by traditional methods of cardio as well. I know I touched on muscle being the largest consumer of fat in the body, it still is. But cardiovascular exercise actually imposes a stress that creates an environment for utilizing fat as a means of energy. The University of New South Wales in Australia recently put out a study showing that interval training such as interval sprints burns three times more fat than slow consistent cardio.

Finally, cardio is cardio, yes. An increased heart rate is an increased heart rate. But, it is not all created equal as it relates to benefiting your results in the gym. The cardio method I signed onto for a long time was increasing my intensity in the weight room. Active rest, abs in between sets, supersets, burnouts. Whatever I could do to keep my heart rate going. The problem I ran into, was being so sore! It would take me a full extra day of rest to recover from a workout because my body was so traumatized by the stress I imposed on it. The problem I was running into was the over-exertion of my muscle groups. Yes, technically I was doing cardio and it was burning calories. But I was further increasing muscle fatigue, increasing my DOMS. Traditional cardio allows the same burning of excess calories, but without slowing recovery time. Thus, enabling the more frequent working of the same muscle groups, bringing about bigger gains!

Catch Up

2011-02-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's about time I blogged the rest of my workouts this last week! Sorry it's taken so long, but I didn't have time to blog until now.

Shoulders and Arms:

Superset 1:
Upright Rows: 20 pounds (each arm), 12 reps, 12 reps; 25 pounds, 8 reps, 8 reps
Barbell Curls: 22.5 pounds, 12; 32.5 pounds, 10, 8, 8

Superset 2:
Push Press: 30 pounds, 12; 40 pounds, 12; 50 pounds 10, 10
Preacher Curls: 30 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 3:
Bridge Press: 32.5 pounds, 12; 45 pounds, 9, 8, 8
Reverse Grip Barbell Curls: 32.5 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Superset 4:
Barbell Front Raises: 20 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Skull Crushers: 30 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 5:
Machine Shoulder Press: 40 pounds, 8, 8, 7, 7
E-Z Bar Tricep Extensions: 30 pounds, 9, 8, 6, 6

Stats:
Time: 53:23
Calories: 269
Max HR: 158
Average HR: 122

Legs and Abs:

Superset 1:
Barbell Squat: 50 pounds, 14, 12, 12, 12
Leg Raises with swiss ball: 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 2:
Barbell Front Squat: 50 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Crunch on swiss ball: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 3:
Leg Press: 130 pounds, 12; 145 pounds, 12; 160 pounds, 12, 12
Decline Sit Ups: 12, 12, 12, 12

Superset 4:
Quad Extensions: 115 pounds, 12; 130 pounds, 10, 10, 10
Flutter Kicks: 30 seconds each set (4 sets)

Superset 5:
Lying Hamstring Curls: 55 pounds, 12; 70 pounds, 6, 6, 6
Crossover Sit Ups: 10, 12, 12, 12

Stats:
Time: 1: 03
Calories: 420
Max HR: 170
Average HR: 139

On my leg days, I never go heavy on squats. 50 pounds is very light for me, but I'm worried about my hips and my knees (I have issues with them, and need physical therapy to keep them pain free), so I tend to go for more reps than more weight.

The rest of workout days this week (two other days), I'll either do yoga, or cardio. My cardio has either been incline walking or the stepmill. I love the stepmill. It feels like I'm working really hard, and my heart rate is always super high.

I hope this gives you all an idea of where I'm at, lifting wise.

Please, if you have any questions send my an email, or ask in the comment section and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

I'm no expert on lifting or fitness. It's really just a hobby for me at this point. I like to be healthy, and have active goals I can work towards. This goes for fitness, school, and my personal life. I think to be healthy as humans we need to be continually growing and bettering ourselves.

Back and Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-01-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

I slept in today. It was wonderful, but left me feeling pressured for time. Considering how long my workouts have been lately.

So I shoveled in breakfast. No picture, but it was 40 grams oats, 1/2 cup egg whites, and 90 grams of apple, with splenda and cinnamon.

My workout this morning was not easy. Day 2 of week 1 is a back workout. Just like day 1, I do each exercise in the compound sets back to back with 1 minute rest in between each set, and I do 4 sets of each compound set.

Warm up: 5 minutes on the crosstrainer.

Compound Set 1:
Wide Grip Lat Pull Down: 50 pounds, 12 reps; 70 pounds, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps
Seated Wide Grip Cable Row: 50 pounds 12; 70 pounds, 8; 60 pounds, 10, 9

Compound Set 2:
Reverse Cable Grip Pull Down: 70 pounds, 12; 80 pounds, 8, 8, 8
Neutral Grip Row: 60 pounds, 8, 7, 7, 7

Compound Set 3:
Neutral Pull Down: 80 pounds, 8, 6; 70 pounds, 10, 10
Underhand Row: 60 pounds, 8, 8, 8, 8

Compound Set 4:
Bent Over Barbell Row: 45 pounds, 8; 40 pounds, 10, 10, 10
Straight Arm Pull Down: 30 pounds, 10, 10, 10, 10

Compound Set 5:
Straight Leg Deadlift: 60 pounds, 12, 12, 12, 12
Shrugs: 60 pounds, 10, 10, 8, 8

Cardio: 15 minutes on the stepmill at the end (this is all I had left in me, I would have liked to do 20 plus minutes, but I didn't have time for a second workout today).

My heart rate monitor wasn't working for the first 15 minutes and a few other shorter times throughout my workout, so these stats aren't accurate, but it gives you some sort of idea.

Time: 1:14: 04
Calories: 441
Max HR: 172
Average HR: 147

Post Workout Smoothie:

Same as always:

1 banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
5 grams glutamine
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
ice

About an hour later I ate some leftovers for lunch.

4.5 ounces salmon with a dill yogurt sauce on top
1/4 cup (measured uncooked) wild/brown rice
1 baby zucchini cooked with garlic and olive oil

I also made these Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting today.

I found this recipe somewhere online (I don't remember!), but tweaked it.

Muffins:

Ingredients:

2 Eggs, beaten1/2 cup pumpkin1/2 cup almond breeze1/4 cup applesauce1 1/2 cup oat flour2 scoops vanilla protein powder1/3 cup splenda (could use more, if you like things sweet)3 tsp baking powder1 tsp cinnamon1/4 tsp nutmeg

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix first four ingredients together, add splenda, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add flour and baking powder together

Pour into greased muffin tins

Bake for 20 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting (for two muffins):

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons light cream cheese

1 tsp splenda

1 tsp almond milk

What to do:

Mix the ingredients really well and spread them on top of the muffins.

Stats for 2 muffins with the frosting: 214 calories, 8.3 grams fat, 32.6 grams carbs, 16.2 grams protein

Shortly after I gobbled these two muffins up, it was time for dinner.

Another chicken stir fry. I'm not going to post the ingredients, cause they are the same as always.

After I ate this it was time for class. During my class I ate this.

After class I had another one of April's protein cake:

I ate it with a serving of plain yogurt and 80 grams of strawberries.

Well there you have it! I'm gonna finish watching the Bachelor (yes, I watch the Bachelor. I love it!), and call it a night.

Chest and Abs (AGAIN)

2011-01-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well I got a couple comments the other day about posting my workout details. Sooooo I've decided to redo week 1 of my program and post the details for you guys!

Day 1 of week 1 is chest and abs.

I try to only rest for 1 min in between supersets and I do each superset 4 times. It gets tiring quickly!

Superset 1:
Dumbbell Bench Press: 20 pounds (each arm), 12 sets; 25 pounds, 12; 30 pounds 8, 8
Leg Raise with Swiss Ball: 15, 12, 12, 12

Superset 2:
Dumbbell Incline Press: 22.5 pounds (each arm), 12 sets; 25 pounds, 9, 8, 8
Bicycle: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 3:
Dumbbell Flyes (machine was broken at the gym): 15 pounds, 12, 10, 8, 8
Russian Twist: 20, 20, 20, 20

Superset 4:
Machine Chest Press: 55 pounds, 12; 70 pounds, 7, 7, 7
Machine Crunch: 55 pounds, 15, 15, 15, 15

Stats:
Time: 54:41
Calories: 323
Max HR: 147
Average HR: 128

So there you have it. I'll try to be diligent and post every workout I do this week. Thanks for reading :)

Wake Up Call

2011-01-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time in the semester where things start to become real again. I have a plethora of projects with deadlines looming that need much attention, so I thought I'd do one of those traditional posts for you guys.

Breakfast was blue (kinda fun):

Egg white oatmeal:

40 grams oats
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup egg whites
1 cup frozen blueberries
splenda and cinnamon

I then went to the gym and killed myself in a shoulder and arm workout. My shoulders were burning the entire time! Seriously, these are some of the toughest workouts I've done in a loooong time. I've had to break my cardio (post coming on why I'm choosing to keep cardio in my program), and my weight workouts into two-a-days. If I don't, I just have zero energy.

Post-workout smoothie:

1 banana
1 1/2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
5 grams glutamine
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
lots of ice

This has been my favorite post-workout meal lately.

Shortly after I drank this and cleaned up, I went to active release. I don't know if you guys know about active release, but it can be pretty painful. I have trouble with my hips and now my knees (as a result of the problem with my hips), and if I don't go to these appointments it shuts down my workouts from pain. Today's appointment was pretty brutal. My left knee is still sore, but I know it'll make things better in the end.

As soon as I came home I made lunch:

1 serving tortilla chips
5 ounces extra lean ground beef with cajun spices
1/2 cup salsa

This is UNREAL! Seriously, I would eat this several times a day if I could.

Homework, homework, homework and then snack:

The Muscle Cook's protein bars.

Homework, homework, dog searching (I want to buy a dog. Cross your fingers that my man will let me :)), and more homework and then supper:

Teriyaki Shrimp:

20 medium sized shrimp, cleaned
90 grams green beans
1 cup broccoli
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
garlic powder and ginger powder to taste

Cook everything at the same time. Once the shrimp have curled into circles, it's done!

Homework, homework, homework, snack:

April's protein cake with plain yogurt.

Daily stats: 2033 calories, 62 grams of fat, 181 grams of carbs, 201 grams of protein.

After this last snack, I did a little bit more homework for my Criminology class and then made an inspiration board. I got this idea from The Fitnessista. Since I'm a visual person, and wanted to find a way to keep myself motivated throughout the year, I thought this would be the perfect way to combine the two!

Have a great night everyone, chat with you all soon.

Chest and Abs

2011-01-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

The very first day of my new workout cycle was completed today. And let me tell you... it was a dooseee!

Chest used to be an easy day for me, not any more. Thanks Dane!

As I mentioned earlier, Dane, a trainer in Seattle made this new program for me. The next few paragraphs I simply copy and pasted out of the email Dane sent me.

Week 1 is "Fixed Motion and Power." This is any movement or workout that keeps both sides of your body "tied." Pretty much barbell lifts and machine lifts.

Your focus: breathing, your core, and form form form!

Rest: 60-90 sec between each set/superset/compound set

Sets: 4; superset with accompanying muscle group

Rep range: 8-12. Always work to the top of your range. Start at 12, if you reach 12 reps easily increase your weight by a comfortable increment and again try for 12 reps, or failure, which ever you reach first. Every time you reach the top of your rep range, increase your weight.

Day 1: Chest and Abs

Barbell bench press

Reverse grip barbell incline press

Standard incline press

Pec-deck machine flye's

Machine press
*Build Your Own Abs (choose from list below)

Day 2: Back and Posterior Chain (compound sets)

Wide grip Lat pull down
-> seated wide grip cable row
Reverse close grip pull down
-> seated neutral grip mach row
Neutral grip pull down
-> seated underhand cable row
Bent over barbell row
-> straight arm pull down
Straight leg deadlift
-> smith machine rear shrug**

Cardio 20 min. Moderate intensity.

Day 3: Shoulders and Arms

Power snatch
-> barbell curls
Push press
-> preacher curl
Bridge presses***
-> reverse grip barbell curls
Barbell front raises
-> skull crushers
Machine shoulder press
-> O.H. E-z bar tri extensions
Shrugs

Day 4: Legs and Abs

Barbell squat
Barbell front squat
Leg press
Quad extensions
Lying hamstring curls

Build your own abs.

Day 5: Free Day, Core and Cardio

I will leave this day up to you. Whatever you feel has been neglected through the week go ahead and work that. Do some core/ab work and then do some light to moderate cardio on the bike to loosen up the legs.

Day 6: REST

Day 7: Cardio

Moderate to high intensity.

Build Your Own Abs:

Upper abs: crunch, weighted crunch, cable crunch, decline cable crunch, machine crunch, roman chair sit-up, supported crunch, exercise ball crunch, medicine ball throw.

Lower abs: reverse crunch, hip thrust, scissor kick, exercise ball roll out/in, reverse incline crunch, hanging run in place, hanging leg raise, hanging knee raise.

Obliques: oblique crunch, bicycle, jackknife, decline medicine ball twist, crossover crunch, standing oblique cable crunch, Russian twist.
________________________________________________________________

So this is what my workout looked like today. I did make a few adjustments to Dane's plan.

Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 sets of 27.5 (each arm) of 12, 12, 10, 8 reps
Roman Chair Straight Leg Raises - 4 sets of 15 reps

Incline Press - 1 set of 27.5 (each arm) of 8 reps; 3 sets of 22.5 of pounds, 11, 10, 10
Scissor Kicks - 4 sets of 40

Pec Deck machine Flyes - 2 sets of 55 pounds, 10, 10; 2 sets of 40 pounds, 12, 12
Decline Sit Ups - 4 sets of 10

Machine Press - 4 sets of 55 pounds, 12, 10, 10, 10
Russian Twists - 4 sets of 10 pounds, 20, 20, 20, 20

Stats:
Time: 55:59
Calories: 364
Max HR: 163
Average HR: 134

Home Gym

2011-01-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

WARNING: The following pictures use flash and are just plain terrible. These images may be offensive to some viewers (mainly professional photographers). Viewer discretion is advised.

Well we got a home gym this week! My husband has been scouring the city, looking for the best deals around. He did a great job people!

This is part of it. The most I could capture in one shot.

Starting from the left: kettle bell, power blocks, and free weights.

Our yoga gear. Power blocks and mats. I like to do yoga about once a week, just to keep my muscles loose.

This is our squat rack. There is a lat pull down and a seated row (there are different handles that go with the cable machine. So you could do bicep curls, tricep extensions, etc.).

Not sure what this one is called. But you can do a hanging back extension and hanging sit ups. This machine is killer!

Here is where we do pull ups. I love working on my pull ups. I can do about three in a row, then I have to switch to jumping pull ups.

There is a roman chair on the other side of the pull up machine. There are also handles that you can use for tricep dips.

Starting on the left: rower, bench, and Drew's bike that he has on a stand, so he can ride it inside during the winter.

Things that went unmentioned so far: punching bag, plyo boxes, medicine balls, and swiss ball.

We're moving to a home we're building now. It won't be ready till October, but in our gym there, we're planning to install mirrors on most of the walls. Can't wait for that. It's so nice to see your form when you're doing an exercise. I would argue that it's vital.

I am still going to keep a gym membership. I like having the variety of all the equipment a commercial gym contains.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Gotta get some school work done now.

Food Log

2011-01-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

My post today is another adventure in my daily eats.

I don't know what's up, but for about a week my hunger has gone through the roof! About a month and a half ago I upped my calorie intake from 1500 calories per day to 1800 calories per day. Even with the added calories, I wake up at night to my stomach growling, and all throughout the day I can hardly go two hours without being hungry.

Any idea what's up? I'd love to have some advice!

Breakfast this morning was a little different.

I didn't add any fruit to my bowl of oats, so I added... cover your ears... splenda (I know... very bad. Tisk on me).

30 grams oats
1 tablespoon chia seeds (gelled overnight)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup egg whites
1 tablespoon almond butter

Lunch was pretty plain-jane.

Just a piece of whole wheat toast with 3/4 tablespoon peanut butter, and a serving of 1% cottage cheese.

Snack 1 was a Muscle Cook's protein bar. LOVE these bars, even though they are pretty sticky.

Snack 2 (consumed maybe an hour later) was leftover turkey meatballs.

Supper was really good. Usually I get super sick of eating stir fries, but tonight's was awesome.

5 ounces chicken breast
1 cup broccoli
1/3 cup green beans
1/4 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

Lastly, dessert.

My sister has me hooked on greek yogurt and honey. Perfect combo! Eaten with this, Jamie Eason's carrot cake protein bars.

All in all, 1,787 calories, 58g fat, 150g carbs, 177g protein.

I have some exciting posts coming up! One of them is a guest post written by a trainer out of Seattle, and the other is my new workout cycle, Dane (the trainer from Seattle), has made for me. So stay tuned!

Turkey Meatballs

2011-01-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

Another recipe!

Hello friends. It was a busy weekend... filled with morrrrre snow!

Anyways, before I go off on another tangent about our terrible weather, let me tell you about our dinner last night.

It was another tomato sauce based recipe. Turkey meatballs with tomato sauce.

For the meatballs:

32 ounces ground turkey breast
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
3 tablespoons tomato paste
basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder (all to your taste)

Mix all the ingredients together (with your hands works best), but don't over mix. Mix just until everything is combined. Form the mix into meatballs. I got 17 out of this recipe, and they were pretty big. Bake them on a greased baking sheet at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

For the tomato sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
big pinch of red pepper flakes
1 28 ounce can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and let cook until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook for about a minute more. Then add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Don't skip out on the vinegar! It adds a great depth of flavor. Again, the longer you cook the sauce, the better it will taste. If it gets too thick, just add a little water.

You can serve this meal with spaghetti squash, pasta, or a salad like we had.

Here's what our backyard looks like with all the snow. They say we've had more snow this year than we've had in 20 years!

Makes me wanna cry looking at it....

Shrimp Soup Recipe

2011-01-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

I love answering questions on my blog. One of the commenters from my last post, asked me if I could share my recipe for Shrimp Soup.

It's the simplest recipe I can think of!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
half an onion
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ground basil (didn't have fresh, but it's better)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1 28 ounce can of tomatoes
40 medium sized shrimp, cleaned and shelled

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the onions and cook until they are soft.
Add the garlic and spices. Cook them for a minute.
Add the tomatoes. The longer you cook these ingredients the more flavor will be developed.
When you are about 5 minutes away from serving the soup, add the shrimp and cover the pot. Shrimp take hardly any time at all to cook. You'll know they're done when the curl up and turn pink.

Nutritional Info: 286 calories, 27.8 grams protein, 18.1 grams carbs, 9.3 grams fat

If you make it, let me know what you think. I love it. It's one of my stand by recipes actually. We love shrimp, so I have it on hand always.

Stuck in the Snow

2011-01-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

You know you're dedicated to working out when you get stuck in the snow twice trying to get to the gym!

This is the view outside my front door. If you can see those tire tracks, it's on that very road that I got stuck. BRUTAL conditions here in Alberta, Canada. We got about six inches of snow last night. That plus the snow we had before last night, goes past my knees when I step in it! There's still a heavy snowfall warning in effect, and it's supposed to snow until tomorrow night.

I think it's probably pointless to say that I'm missing Hawaii more than ever! Being locked up in your house, with zero groceries is less than ideal. My diet has consisted of oatmeal, egg whites, and smoothies. That's about all I can make with the food that I do have in my house.

I wanted to talk a bit about post vacation meals today. After I travel for more than a week, my body is usually craving homemade food, protein, and green tea. This vacation was special because we had a kitchen to cook healthy meals in, so my body wasn't really craving anything at all when I came home. Never the less, there was plenty of cheating in Hawaii (think oreos, wine, and nacho chips). So I've been making a special effort to get my meals back to normal.

Pumpkin Oatbran with egg whites and almond butter

Berry Oatmeal with egg whites and almond butter

Green Tea (trying to stay warm here!)

Toast with peanut butter and cinnamon

Smoothies

Tomato Shrimp Soup

Scrambled Eggs

That's about all it's been for the last few days. Can't wait till the roads are good enough to make a Cosco trip.

Hope the weather is better where you are!

Pictures from Hawaii

2011-01-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back in freezing cold Canada, and missing the warm sun in Hawaii! Seriously, I could move there so easily. If only I could just pick up my life (as it is now), and move it to Hawaii.

But I did miss the blog world. I'm catching up on all your posts!

Let me share a few pics from the vacation. There were 10 of us (family members and close family friends) there renting the house. Renting a house is SO much better than staying in a hotel. We had a kitchen so I could make clean meals. It was also nice to have the freedom to stay at our own pool instead of going to a crowded beach.

Views from the house we rented in Honolulu.

Pics of the house:

This is the pool. On the other side of those four rectangular windows was our bedroom.

The other end of the house.

The hallway to the front door. There were fish in those ponds!

The living room.

The kitchen. We were probably cooking after hanging out in the pool in this pic.

We went to Pearl Harbor.

My sister and I at a Luau on News Years Eve.

On our way home.

We did many more things while in Hawaii, but I didn't take pictures of most of them. I'm terrible at keeping my camera with me. Sorry about that.

I'm sad to be home. It was amazing to be somewhere new and exciting. But looking towards the positive. It'll be nice to get back to my old workouts. For the last ten days I've been mostly doing cardio and plyometrics because we didn't get to a gym more than once. We went one day, but the charge was outrageous. So I took it as a nice break for my muscles. We also tried out a Bikram studio while we were there. It was nice to stay active and try new things.

Look forward to more upcoming posts!

Christmas Woes

2010-12-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I should check in. I'm still here, have no fear! Just spending time with my sister while she's still here (she's on Christmas break from school in Seattle and will be going back in a few weeks). On Boxing Day (the 26th), we're going to HAWAII! So excited to see the sun again and the ocean.

Are you all ready for Christmas? Presents bought? We're all done at our household. Usually I'm the one buying presents on Christmas Eve, but not this year! I don't even know what to do with myself.

With Christmas looming I can't stop thinking (worrying) about the food that comes along with it. I've already been to two Christmas parties, and I have to admit, they were both major cheat meals. Do you guys worry about the same things? I know in the long run meals like these won't make much difference, but I'm going to Hawaii in less than a week! BIKINIS!

Any ways, I really hope you all have an amazing Christmas!

Recording Workouts

2010-12-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

I thought I'd take a moment to ask you about how you record your workouts, or if you even do!

Mine looks something like this:

I like to keep a record of exercises I've done, how many sets, and many reps. This is an easy way for me to keep track of my progress.

This was a different workout for me. I usually don't do chest, shoulders, and biceps on the same day. I missed my bicep workout last week, so I added it this one.

As you can see I use a chart. I find this is the easiest format to read.

Column 1: exercises
Column 2: set 1
Column 3: set 2
Column 4: set 3
Column 5: set 4

The numbers in the columns are the weight and the reps (ex. 30 lb/15 reps). When you see the ", that means that I did the same amount of weight or reps as the last box.

Do you guys use something similar?

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

On another note, I'm picking my sister up from the airport today! I'm so excited, I hardly slept at all last night. She's been in Seattle since the end of August. I miss her so much. We're planning to finish up our Christmas shopping together, and then meet the rest of the family for dinner at my parents house.

Best Cardio Workout!

2010-12-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

I know I said I was cutting cardio out, but I don't know if I can give up this one workout. I'll probably change my mind again, but I just felt like I needed to do cardio tonight. I really wanted to get my blood pumping! It was an intense 40 minutes.

A few years ago, when my husband and I were dating, we used to do Crossfit for date nights. He was in the military back then, so we'd truck on over to the base and get an intense, supercharged workout in. This workout brought me back to those days!

It's called The Card Game. There all types of card games used for exercise. This one is super simple.

What you'll need:

A deck of cards (jokers in)
Good pair of running shoes
A mat
And a bottle of water (trust me, you'll need it!)

There are 9 exercises (feel free to pick any plyometric exercises):

Mountain Climbers (double the reps)
Bicycle (double the reps)
Push Ups
Swill Ball crunches
Burpies
Reverse Crunches
Dips
Spidermans (double the reps)
Jumping Jacks (double the reps)

The rules:

For each exercise flip over three cards.
Add the numbers up on the cards (Some cards don't have numbers. Kings, Queens, and Jacks are all 10 reps. Aces and Jokers are 11 reps.) The total is the number of reps you will do for each exercise.
Keep going until there are no more cards to be flipped.

I did three rounds, a deck and a half of cards. I think I might make plyometrics part of my weekly workout plan.

If you try it out, let me know. If you have tried a game like this before, what exercises do you like to throw in?

A Day of My Eats

2010-12-12T20:49:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd do a little bit more of a regular post. I took pictures of everything I ate today - just to give you all an idea of what my new eating plan looks like.

As an overview, I like my macros to be around 45 protein, 30 carbs, 25 fat.

My breakfast was my favorite bowl of oatbran right now and a coffee with almond milk.

30 grams oatbran
1/2 cup almond milk
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup egg whites
35 grams pumpkin
1 tsp splenda
lots of cinnamon
1 tablespoon almond butter

I worked out after breakfast. My post work out snack was:

I love these protein shakes. They taste like a really good chocolate milk, with 30 grams of protein no less!

Lunch was less than stellar, but I eat it for the nutritional stats:

1 can of tuna
1 tablespoon miracle whip
3 pickles, chopped
lots of pepper
2 cups spinach

After lunch I got to work on some homework, finishing up the semester and all. A few hours into work, my stomach started grumbling - time for my next snack.

This is 1/4 of Jamie Eason's recipe for Carrot Cake Protein Bars. I love to eat them warm. They'd be great with a dollop of greek yogurt on top too.

A few more hours of work, and it was time for dinner.

(This is obviously where I lost all the light! Sorry, the pics go down hill from here)

These are turkey muffins, very similar to meatloaf. Tonight I ate them with a little mustard. I also like to have them with steamed spinach and spaghetti sauce.

For dessert I tried making a protein cake recipe. It did not turn out. I ate about half and finally stopped. So to get my calories up, I ate two of my Pumpkin Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies. I'd say it's a good way to eat calories ;)

This is what the stats looked like today:

Calories 1668, fat 55.3, carbs, 119.5, protein 189.4

I ate more fat that I would have liked, but there are worse things in the world. Hope this paints a clearer view of what I mean when I talk about my macros.

Have a great night everyone!

Sloppy Joes Recipe

2010-12-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
Hope the last few days have been good for you. I've been busy wrapping up the end of my semester and getting ready for Christmas. Needless to say, it's been a busy few weeks.

I have a new recipe to share!

Sloppy Joes with or without the Bun
Nutritional stats: 257, 14.8 fat, 14.4 carbs, 15.9 protein

(adapted from this recipe)

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 onion (chopped)

2 carrots (chopped)

2 celery stalks (chopped)

4 cloves garlic (chopped)

1/4 cup ketchup

2 cups tomato sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoons hot sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef in a large pan and set aside.
Add the spices. Cook them with the beef for about a minute.
Add the onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, and hot sauce and simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with sweet potatoes, any bread you prefer, or just straight up!

Number of Servings: 6

I made this tonight for dinner. I was craving ground beef, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. Even though this meal is much higher in fat and in carbs than I would like for dinner, it covered all of those bases! It has a great balance between sour and spicy flavors. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did.

Speaking of carbs... now I know why I don't eat them for dinner any more! I felt completely exhausted right after we were finished eating. Good thing I hardly ever have carbs past 3 p.m. any more.

Have a great night everyone.

Leg Circuit

2010-12-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd share a little about this "new workout plan" I've mentioned.

After lots of research, and talking with people like April, I've decided to switch my workouts from a lower weight, higher rep and cardio based to lifting heavy and doing minimal cardio.

About a month ago I finished P90X. I did really enjoy P90X. Tony Horton's videos are entertaining, and even more challenging. Although P90X is incredible to work your butt into shape and build endurance, I'm ready to start working towards my specific goals.

So after doing much research I've come to the conclusion that lifting heavy is the best course of action to build lean muscle mass to create the "toned" look so many of us are after.

This is the leg circuit workout I've been doing for about 3 weeks now:

Reverse lunge with back foot on a bench - 25 reps on each leg, one leg at a time
Calf raises - 15 slow reps, 10 fast reps
Sumo squats with a swiss ball behind my back, against a wall (I couldn't find a video to show the use of a swiss ball. The swiss ball keeps my back straight.) - 25 reps
Walking lunges - 25 reps
Wall sit - 45 seconds

Repeat 3 times.

Try not to rest in-between exercises until you have completed a whole round. Then allow yourself 2 minutes of rest and go again.

My leg workout is going to have to change now. Time to start lowering those reps and upping the weight!

Thanks for reading.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies

2010-12-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Something to cut the cravings!

Last night I made these cookies. They were by far the best "healthy cookie" I've made.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies
Nutritional stats per cookie: 128 calories, 7.7 fat, 11 carbs, 7.3 protein

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup oat flour (simply blend rolled oats in a food processor until they are a flour-like consistency)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 scoop protein powder

2/3 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup liquid egg whites

1/4 cup splenda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients (the batter will seem too runny, but it's not).
Spray two cookie sheets with Pam and scoop about a tablespoon and half unto the sheets until you've made 15 cookies.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 15 cookies

Not bad eh? Give them a try. They were awesome!

Back AGAIN

2010-12-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

It's been a long time! I missed having an outlet to share new ideas, and a way to record past ones.

Let me update you on what you can expect to get from the blog this time around.

Less meal-to-meal updates - meaning I won't be posting every single meal I eat. It's just too time consuming.
Less posting - since I won't be posting every meal, I won't need to post 3 times a day. I'm going to aim for at least one post every 3 days.
More recipes - lately I've been focusing on high protein, low carb options.
More workouts - I've just changed up my workout plan. Continue reading for more info!

My goals have a changed slightly since I last posted. I'm working towards lower body fat and eventually putting on muscle. I know realize this is the only way I'll achieve a "toned" look.

New Goals:

Get down to 15% body fat. Right now I'm at about 19%.
Once I've reached goal 1, start putting on lean muscle.
Eat clean daily with 1-2 cheat meals monthly.

These goals have proven to be challenging. Probably the most so is the last one. My craving have been off the charts lately! Usually it's for ice cream or cookies, but for the past few days I've been dying for salty chips. So strange. I'm assuming it's my body's response to my sudden shift to low carb meals.

Anyways. I think that's enough for one post.

I'll be posting again soon,

Shayna

Two Last Things to Go

2010-04-19T19:14:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,

Today has been another productive day!

As soon as I got out of bed, I got to work on my breaky.

Pumpkin Oatbran

In the pot:

40 grams oatbran
1 cup water
1/2 cup UVAB
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 egg whites
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves

Toppings:

70 grams strawberries
1 T natural PB
stevia
cinnamon

After I ate this, I loaded up my books and drove to school to work on a project that's due tomorrow. My project took me way less time to finish than I thought it would. So at around 1:00 p.m. I left the library to get some lunch. I wasn't even hungry when I ate my lunch, but knew it had been 5 and a half hours since breakfast.

I decided on Pita Pit, since it's so close to our home. This is their chicken breast pita with lots of veggies and honey mustard dressing.

I was going to go to the gym soon after I ate my pita, but I fell asleep on the couch! Craziness. When I woke up I had to push myself off the couch and into my workout gear. I had a pretty good workout too! I love it when those are unexpected.

I did 30 minutes on the stepper, 15 on the treadmill, and then I did some abs and stretched.

Here are the stats:

Time - 58:35 minutes

Calorie burned - 555

Max heart rate - 187

Average heart rate - 162

I came home and snacked on this.

1/2 cup cottage cheese
100 grams of blueberry yogurt

Dinner came quick.

The same tomato shrimp dish I made a few weeks ago.

I love the spinach in it.

I know I'm gonna need something else tonight - I'm only at 1048 calories today... hmmm.....

Can't Wait

2010-04-18T20:19:00.000-06:00

Hello - thanks for stopping by :)

I can't wait for this week to be over. Then I'm free for the summer! Whoot!

Before church this morning, I ate this beauty for breakfast.

30 grams oats
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/2 banana
1 T UVAB
1 T natural PB

It's been awhile since I've had a breakfast cookie with banana in it. It was SO sweet! I almost went back to the fridge to put some plain yogurt on it to mellow it out, but I wanted to keep my breakfast calorie-light because I knew we were going out for lunch after church.

I didn't bring my camera with me to the restaurant, I was just going to use my iphone to take a few pictures, unfortunately my iphone was dead. So I'm sorry to say, I have no pictures of my lunch. I had a poached egg sandwich with tomato and herb mayo with hashbrowns. It was face rockin.

When we came home I got to work on a final project and snacked on this.

1/2 cup cottage cheese
100 grams strawberry yogurt
4 small strawberries

I kept working on my project, and then it was time to go to church for the evening service.

I was starving by the time we got back to house, so I whipped up this salad.

1 Italian chicken sausage
1/2 cucumber
1/2 tomato
2 cups romaine
1 cup mixed salad greens
balsamic dressing

It hit the spot. D's out riding his Harley around town with some of his friends. Time for me to get back to my books.

Have a great night everyone! :)

Pumpkin Crazy

2010-04-17T19:02:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,

Today has been one of those quietly busy days. D and I got so much done, but it felt so relaxing at the same time!

My breakfast didn't stay with me very long. About 3 hours after I ate my breakfast cookie, I chowed down into a small bowl of cottage cheese, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

I poured a little sugar free maple syrup over the top.

Then lunch came about an hour later.

Leftover potatoes (102 grams) with ketchup (1 T)

and the same lunch I ate yesterday.

It was pretty darn tasty. Right after this, D and I got going on our errands. We went to Sears to get a fan for our bedroom. Then we dropped D's car off to get new tires put on. And after that, we hit the gym. I did a biceps and back workout.

21's - 30 pounds, 3 sets
bent over row - 40 pounds, 3 sets of 12
hammer curls - 12 pound dumbbells, 3 sets of 20
lat pull downs - 70 pounds, 3 sets of 12
back extensions - 3 sets of 25
seated close grip row - 50 pounds, 3 sets of 12

My stats looked something like this:

Time - 40 minutes

Calories burned - 169

Max heart rate - 142

Average heart rate - 110

Usually I would be disappointed with the lack of calories I burned, but I didn't want to push too hard with my hips in the state they're in.

As soon as we came home, I devoured this bowl of food.

1/2 cup cottage cheese
2/3 cup plain yogurt
2 T pumpkin puree
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
cinnamon
nutmeg

Can you tell I love pumpkin?

Dinner was alright tonight - not amazing.

Chicken Caesar Salad

4 cups romaine
5.5 ounces chicken breast
7 grams croutons
1 1/2 T caesar salad dressing
lots of lemon juice

I usually don't even like caesar salad, but I've been craving summer foods lately (e.i. burgers last night).

I'm still hungry... what shall I eat, what shall I eat? I'm not sure yet.

Have a great night everyone :)

Hip Issues (again)

2010-04-17T10:08:00.000-06:00

Well, it seems I did a number to my hip yesterday during my workout. I even did hip opening yoga last night to prevent this from happening, sadly I've been limping around all morning. I hate my hip problems. I think it may be time to seek out some physio therapy.

__________
On a lighter note, I enjoyed another awesome breaky this morning.

Chocolate Pumpkin Breakfast Cookie

30 grams oats
2 T pumpkin puree
1 T almond milk
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 T almond butter

Mix it all up, spread on a plate, and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

In the morning add any toppings you like. My favorite right now are strawberries (50 grams this morning) and yogurt (1/3 of a cup).

__________

I was supposed to go on a 14 km run this morning with a few friends, but my hips aren't letting that happen. I'm thinking I'll do biceps and back instead.

Have a great Saturday :)

I Almost Forgot!

2010-04-16T19:50:00.000-06:00

Hi friends,

How was your day? Mine was amazing. I worked out!!

So let's talk about that first, my workout.

I ran to the gym, which is barely under 2 miles. It took me about 17 minutes (it was pretty windy this morning, so I'm happy about my time).

When I got in the gym I did an arm workout:

push ups - 3 sets of 12
shoulder presses - 30 pounds, 3 sets of 12
bench dips - 3 sets of 12
chest flies on a stability ball - 24 pounds, 3 sets of 12
chest press - 30 pounds, 3 sets of 12
front raise - 20 pounds, 3 sets of 12
lateral raise - 20 pounds, 3 sets of 12
crunches - 3 sets of 15

Then I hit the sidewalk, and ran the other 2 miles home.

My workout was an 1 hour and 30 minutes. I burned 801 calories. My heart rate peaked at 188 bpm, my average heart rate was 158 bpm.

I came home and wasn't really hungry, but I knew I hadn't eaten for about 5 hours, so I ate lunch.

Italian chicken sausage
3 cups cabbage
1/2 cup brussel sprouts
1/2 T worcestershire sauce
hot sauce

THIS hot sauce.

My favorite hot sauce.

After I gobbled up my lunch, I went and got cleaned up. My stomach started growling while I was in the shower.

Hence lunch part 2.

1/2 cup cottage cheese
100 grams of strawberry yogurt

I almost forgot to take a photo of my dinner for you guys. Luckily I stopped part way through!

I made D and I burgers (mine's buried under that white sauce, which was a spicy mayo), roasted potatoes, and a mixed green salad.

It was pretty amazing. I've been craving red meat, and I have no idea why! It was delicious.

Right now I'm not sure what dessert will be, but I hope it's as good as all my other meals.

Have a great night everyone :)

Blogger Fail :(

2010-04-16T09:10:00.000-06:00

Hello bloggers!

It's a beautifully sunny morning where I am. This makes me so happy because I'm going on a run outside today!! Yes, that's right. I can workout again! Yesterday was the last day of my no-working-out for a week plan. I feel great. I did some stretches before bed last night to make sure I'm all loose and ready for a hard workout.

I have to say, I'm sorry for not posting yesterday. I was planning to do one big post last night, but I COMPLETELY forgot to take pictures of my dinner party last night :( I realized it after all our plates were cleaned off, and the food was gone. I'm sorry - blogger fail.

I do have photos from all my other meals though.

For breakfast I had another breakfast cookie (courtesy of the Fitnessista).

(chocolate pumpkin breakfast cookie with plain yogurt and strawberries - stay tuned for the recipe)

Lunch was cottage cheese mixed with yogurt and a few blueberries, veggies, light laughing cow cheese (I'm addicted to these), and an oatmeal to go bar.

I packed it all up to take to class with me.

When I got home, I snacked on this tasty treat. Half and banana with half a tablespoon of peanut butter.

I haven't been eating bananas much lately. I'm watching how much sugar I'm eating, so I usually only eat fruit once a day, if I eat it at all.

Dinner was just what I told you guys it would be. Lemon chicken, yam fries, and a green salad with goat feta, cranberries, and pine nuts. It was so good! I just wish the lemon would have absorbed more into the chicken (I used this recipe, but I changed up the chicken things for chicken breast, and only cooked it for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees).

This morning I made the same thing as yesterday.

Pumpkin Chocolate Breast Cookie

40 grams of oats
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
2 T pumpkin puree (any more and the cookie is still soft the next morning)
1 T UVAB
1 T natural peanut butter

Throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Once it's all combined, spread it evenly on a plate, and place it in the fridge over night.

The next morning I like to put plain yogurt and strawberries on top.

Please don't be scared of the combination of chocolate and pumpkin. It works, trust me!

Ok... enough blogging. I'm itching to get active and workout! See you all soon :)

Thankful

2010-04-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,

You cannot even believe how happy it makes me to be blogging again. I really missed taking pictures of my food and documenting my day. Is that weird? Probably...

I ate lunch at 10:00 a.m! I know... ridiculously early. I was starving, and couldn't wait the extra hour (11:00 a.m. is usually when I eat my lunch).

Tuna wrap!

1 can of water packed tuna
capers
light mayo
dill
pepper
1 whole wheat tortilla
2 cups spinach

It really hit the spot! It wasn't till after I was finished stuffing my face that I realized I forgot the pickles! I love pickles in my tuna salad.

Well, I think my final went pretty good this afternoon. Right before I started writing it, I ate an oatmeal to go bar. I didn't take a picture, but I'm sure you all know what those look like any ways.

I came home and chowed down this snack.

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese
148 grams of strawberries

Simple and scrumptious.

I spent my afternoon searching out recipes for tomorrow night. D and I are having my parents over for dinner. I'm thinking lemon chicken and yam fries with dill sauce. Mmmmmmm....

Dinner time came quickly.

Tons of veggies and 5.7 ounces of tilapia.

Lemon Tilapia

1 tilapia fillet
2 lemon slices
dill
garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 tsp coconut oil

Pile all of the ingredients on the fillet of fish and wrap it in foil. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve along side your favorite green veggies (mine are broccoli, asparagus, and brussels).

It was a good dinner, but I'm still hungry. Hmmm.... what shall I eat? Yogurt maybe...

I'll talk to you all tomorrow! Yay! Have a great night everyone.

I'm Back! :)

2010-04-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

I got my camera working!! I'm so excited. Turns out, all it needed was an update. Silly me ;)

This makes Shayna happy.

So what can I update you guys on...

Workouts

I'm taking a few days off. I felt like I was on the verge of overtraining, so I stopped before it was too late. I'm on my third day of "taking it easy," and I have two more to go. I'm itching to get sweat all over me! The first few days I was loving not always wearing my hair in a ponytail or having to shower sometimes twice a day, and I was getting worried I wouldn't be motivated to start training again. I'm not worried about this anymore!

Food

Although I don't have pictures of all the meals I've missed documenting, I do have this morning overnight oats.

Sorry, this picture is terrible! Where I live there's no sunlight at 6:30 a.m. Sucks - that's all there is to say about it.

Overnight Oats

In the bowl last night

30 grams oats
1.5 T chia seed
2/3 cup skim milk
1/2 banana
1/4 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
cinnamon
nutmeg

Toppings

Peanut butter
4 grams unsweetened shredded coconut

Today's Plan

Study
Write my editing final

Those are the only two things on this girls mind.

Have a great day everyone. It's great to be back :)

Problems

2010-04-07T14:29:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,

Sorry for the long absence. I was away from Internet access for Easter. D and I went with my parents to my mom's family's ranch. They all live on farms, which are located an hour away from any city. This makes it really hard for them to get consistent Internet access. It was so much fun being there with them - lots of good food and company. The only problem was that while we were there, my camera broke. I don't know how it happened. All my photos from the weekend were deleted, and it won't let me take any new ones. Needless to say, this is a problem when your blog revolves around pictures... so please be patient with me while I have to go get it fixed up!

Thanks everyone. Hoping to talk to you all sooner rather than later...

A Great Day

2010-03-31T07:51:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-30T08:14:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-29T07:22:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-27T15:46:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-27T08:02:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-26T07:41:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-25T19:50:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-25T07:16:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-24T18:53:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-24T08:57:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-23T07:11:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-03-22T08:06:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-21T20:39:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-21T14:57:00.000-06:00

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!

Slurp and Gulp Come Back

2010-03-21T07:09:00.000-06:00

Morning!

D got up early to go to work this morning, and it was just not possible for me to go back to sleep. I hate it when that happens... my stomach started growling while I was still laying in bed, and I knew I had a breakfast cookie waiting for me. LOVE that.

For the cookie:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 scoop protein powder
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp PB
1/2 banana
splash of enriched rice milk

All you do is mix everything up in a bowl, lay it out on a plate, and stick in the fridge over night.

Then all I have to do in the morning is make coffee, and I'm ready to eat!

I still have a few more hours till I have to get ready for church.... what shall I do?

My Way of Procrastinating

2010-03-20T20:23:00.000-06:00

... is blogging of course!

I hope your evening has been fantastic thus far. Ours has been laid back, but right after I finish writing this post it's time to hit the books.

Pretty much right after my last post I had this to hold me over till dinner.

I love this flavor. Mmmm Mmmm good.

Then I scanned YogaDownload.com for a while, and bought the deal of the day. I didn't even see they had those! I'm planning to try it tomorrow.

D came home from work, and I made dinner.

For him - chicken ravioli and tomato sauce

For her (me) - vegetarian chili taco salad

I made it using the vegetarian chili from a few days ago, mixed greens, 1/4 green bell pepper, and nutritional yeast. It was pretty good, but it wasn't nearly enough calories to keep me full all night.

Soooooo, D and I hit up Superstore for a little frozen yogurt.

We usually just get the chocolate flavor, but today we decided on Cappuccino. AND we're SO glad we did!

It's yummy yummy. And yes, those are flakes of chocolate.

Alas, I must leave... I have a 3000 word paper to write.

New Gear

2010-03-20T14:38:00.000-06:00

Finally, I get a chance to spend some time with you!

Sorry I've been away, and missed a few posts. It's been a little busy over here.

We had friends over for dinner last night, and then this morning I left early to go to a wives get together for D's work. I gotta keep this top secret for the time being, but all will be revealed in time ;)

I did manage to scarf down a bowl of overnight oats before I left for the get together.

In the bowl overnight:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1/3 plain nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup enriched rice milk
a few raisins
cinnamon

Toppings added in the morning:

a little honey
1 tbsp natural PB

It was tasty. My favorite overnight oats ingredient is raisins. They make everything so sweet - naturally.

Like I said, my meeting today is top secret, but I can't wait to tell you all about it! So I couldn't take any pictures of the lunch... my apologies, but I couldn't help it.

Yesterday I bought shoes!! I'm so happy about them too.

Aren't they gorgeous! Brand new asics. My old pair were over a year old, and I found these new ones on sale.

Sale on shoes = happy happy Shayna

I also found a pair of these on sale.

Nike Tempo shorts.

LOVE these. They are my first pair, and I couldn't be happier with them. It's so tempting to go back and by one in every colour!

All this new running gear called for a great run! So I hit the gym for a 4.5 mile run.

I did 4.5 miles in 41 minutes. Not too bad, eh? I was pretty proud of myself :)

1 cup enriched rice milk
2 cups spinach
1/2 scoop protein powder
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup mixed frozen berries

This is what I drank to refuel myself. I didn't make the mistake I made a few days ago. Liquids are so much better than protein bars after a tough workout! Lesson learned.

I think we're all caught up now. Time to study...

A New Bowl!

2010-03-19T08:02:00.000-06:00

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts yesterday, and I don't even have pictures to show you. Shameful! I know... gotta do better by carrying my camera around with me!

D and I did go to The Bay last night. We had a few leftover items to pick up from our wedding. I fell in love with a bowl. I know... go figure Shayna. It is really beautiful. I used it today for my breakfast.

I was right, wasn't I? It's pretty.

Ok, Ok, Ok... Back to breaky - steel cut oats! YUM

In the pot:

1/4 cup steel cut oats
1 cup water
1/2 banana
2 egg whites (whisked in at the end for about 2 minutes)

Toppings:

1 tbsp natural PB (that sunk to the bottom haha!)
few tbsp maple granola
cinnamon

I love this combo.... never fails me people, it never does....

We're having a few new friends over for dinner tonight. I've decided on making butternut squash soup, chicken (and mushroom - for me) quesadillas, and a D's favorite salad. Kind of a mixture of foods, but we love all of them, so hopefully our guests will too!

On today's to-do list:

Run 4.5 miles
Get groceries for tonight
Tidy the house
Work on a paper

It's gonna be a busy one!

Creamy Dreamy Oats

2010-03-18T07:50:00.000-06:00

I'm enjoying one of the best bowl of oats I've had in a while. But before I talk about those, I'll go over what happened last night.

Let's start at the gym. I went to the gym really early in the afternoon, and banged out an hour on the stair climber. I almost fell over when I stepped off the machine. That workout took everything out of me.

My post workout fuel should have been a smoothie, since liquids absorb into the body so much fast than solid foods, but I didn't want to make one, so I went for a protein bar.

I did some homework, and then took off to go to my night class. Rhetoric is actually my favorite class I'm taking, so I don't mind going into school at night.

I packed these two dishes for dinner.

In the cottage cheese container:

about 1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 pear

In the tupperware container:

2 cups spinach
1 serving raw "rice"

Twas a lovely portable dinner.

When I came home from class (an hour early! I love it when teachers let you out early), I made a snack.

Chia pudding! Before I stuck the bowl in the fridge for about 40 minutes I added:

2 tbsp chia seeds
2/3 cup almond milk
cinnamon

It hit the spot.

Finally, onto this morning's meal.

In the pot:

1/3 cup oats
2 tbsp oat bran
1 cup water
1/2 banana
2 egg whites (whisked in after the heat is turned off)

Toppings:

1 tbps natural PB
sprinkling of chia seeds

This bowl of oats is pretty much the simplest I'll make, but it was so creamy. I loved it!

D just got home, and we have plans to make for dinner tonight. We're going out for Indian food! Yay! I love Indian food.

Have a great day everyone.

Best Quesadilla EVER

2010-03-17T11:37:00.000-06:00

Hi gang,

I've been busy this morning finishing up a paper that's due tonight. I feel really good about it. It's the one on body image I was telling you about. I think my teacher is gonna like it.

I took a break to make the best quesadilla I've ever had.

1 portobello cab
2 cups spinach
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
30 grams brie cheese
whole wheat tortilla shell
sriracha hot sauce (everything tastes better with a healthy dose of this stuff)

I sauteed the mushrooms and oil in a nonstick skillet for about 10 minutes, then added the spinach and continued to cook for about 3 more minutes.

In another pan I heated a whole wheat tortilla shell for about 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms and spinach. My cheese of choice was goat cheese brie. It's one of my favorite cheeses because it's mild and melts beautifully. I topped the mushroom spinach mixture with the cheese and folded the other half of the shell over. I flipped it once to brown on both sides, then took it out of the pan, cut it up, and squirted hot sauce all over it.

I'm gonna hit the gym soon. D backed out of the run we were supposed to do tomorrow because the weather is just terrible. So I couldn't blame the guy. I'm still undecided if I'm gonna do it yet. Stay tuned to see ;)

Have a great afternoon everyone!

A Mixed Up

2010-03-17T07:58:00.000-06:00

Morning blog friends,

How was your night? I hope everyone got enough sleep to function for the day (ahem...Karlie...).

I wanted a breakfast cookie when I woke up this morning... unfortunately there wasn't one waiting for me in the fridge today. So I decided to mix up all the ingredients for one and just eat it like that. I mean, I always enjoy looking my spoons after I make one the night before!

1/2 cup oats
1/2 tbsp chia seads
1/2 scoop protein powder
1/2 mashed banana
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
splash of almond milk

This was so yummy. The oats were obviously a but chewier than they normally are, but I gulped it down just the same.

That's coffee to the right of my oats. I put a little stevia and almond milk in it this morning. MmmmMmmm

I haven't decided when I'll hit up the gym today... I'm gonna take it easy and make sure I get some yoga in because D and I have our 8 mile run tomorrow. I'm not gonna lie, I'm super nervous for this one. I'm praying my hips don't act up, especially if we're running outside.

See you all soon :)

There's Gotta Be a Better Recipe!

2010-03-16T18:44:00.000-06:00

Good evening!

I just came back from a killer biceps, back and abs workout and a trip to the grocery store. Let me just give you all a piece of advice. Refrain from carrying bags full of canned goods right after you've worked your biceps to their last curl. It's a little unpleasant, but especially so when you park far away from your house.

I made something I've been craving since I started experimenting with vegetarian cuisine. Chili!

I grew up eating this stuff. It's been on my favorite meal list for a long time, so I decided if I'm going to be a vegetarian, I need to find a recipe for vegetarian chili!

I wasn't blown away with this chili. It hit all the notes I love about chili, but it is just missing something! I'm really hoping I'm not missing the meat and can recreate a chili recipe I love.

I just realized I didn't record my lunch or snacks of today. Let me back up! Terribly sorry for the reversed order here...

This is a picture of my lunch. About two cups of spinach and my last bean burger. :( sad... I'm gonna have to make more of these babies soon!

When I was in class, I also ate a protein bar. Sorry - no picture. But it was a thinkProtein bar. It had a whopping 20 grams of protein! You know I loved that :)

We were let out of class super early today. I love it when that happens! I came home and made a snack.

half an apple
1 tbsp natural PB
lots of cinnamon

This is one of my favorites.

Time to hit the books... again. One.Month.Left. One month left. ONE MONTH LEFT!

Night gang.

My Plea: If anyone has any vegetarian recipes they'd like to share, pass em my way! I need some inspiration. Thanks :)

Overnight Mediocreness

2010-03-16T07:30:00.000-06:00

Morning!

I woke up earlier to welcome D home, but he still isn't home, so I thought I'd write this post quickly before he gets here.

I made overnight oats last night.

In my bowl went:

1/2 cup of oats
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
goji berries
cinnamon

This morning I added:

1/3 banana
1 tbsp peanut butter
more cinnamon
1/2 tbsp honey

This wasn't the best bowl of overnight oats I've ever made, but it was decent.

Today I have class at 11 a.m., a paper to finish, a book to finish, another paper to start, and I gotta squeeze in a strength workout. We'll see how it all unfolds!

Have an awesome morning everyone :)

Portobellos and Body Image

2010-03-15T19:06:00.000-06:00

Good evening!

I hope everyone had a great day. The day went by so fast again. I feel like I missed some hours or something.

Class was ok. We had an in-class assignment. They are never fun, but I feel pretty good about this one.

Here was my post workout smoothie.

1 BIG handful of spinach
1/2 scoop protein powder
water

At this point I blend it. Just to make sure all the spinach gets dissolved (for lack of a better word).

1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
ice

Blend it all up again, and it's ready for inhalation!

It was the perfect way to fuel my body after my 4 miler. It felt so great to get my sweat on this morning! I'm trying to convince D to come with me for my 8 miler on Friday. I want to run in our city's river valley and I'm not a huge fun of running there alone. So we'll see if I can budge him. I'm nervous about this 8 miler. That's quite possibly the farthest I've ever run! I'm trying not to doubt myself. Running is all about the mind games, well at least for me it is.

Next up, lunch.

Half a cucumber
5 dried apricots
1/2 cup granola
1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese
3 strawberries

I packed it all up to take to class with me.

My appetite has been cranked up over the last couple of weeks. I'm pretty certain it's due to my ramped up workout routines. So it was no surprise that I was hungry around 3 p.m. and ate a protein bar I found in my bag. Sorry - no pic.

Dinner was marvelous tonight!

1/4 cabbage head
1 BIG handful of spinach
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I like things spicy)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
tons of cracked black pepper

I sauteed these ingredients for about 15 minutes. While they were cooking, I got to work on the pretty portobello.

1 portobello mushroom
1 minced clove of garlic
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tbsp olive oil (I'm not quite sure why I used two kinds of oil...)

I baked the mushroom until I could smell the garlic, give or take 15 minutes.

I plated the veggies and poured about 1/2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar over everything. It balanced out the heat of the red pepper flakes.

And walla! You have an amazing dinner.

I gotta finish a paper tonight. It's on a topic that I'm actually excited to write about -- the media as a source of women's body image issues. I'm looking forward to all the dirt I can find on the subject!

Have a great night :)

Question: does anyone have anything topics/points that they think are important to address when talking about the media and women's bodies? I'd love to hear about them!! Thanks :)

Back to the Grind

2010-03-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Morning blog friends!

How was your weekend? Let me just say, I wish it wasn't Monday already. I'm not looking forward to this busy week in front of me. Happy thought, right?

I was a little MIA last night. We went out for dinner with my parents. My mom and I both had a quesadilla explosion salad with no cheese, dressing, or tortilla chips. We also subbed the chicken breast for the restaurants black bean burger. It was heavenly. No pictures though - sorry...

I do have two snacks from yesterday afternoon though. I don't know what it was about yesterday, but I starved all day! Weird.

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
0.2 cup granola
2 strawberries

1/2 banana
1/2 tbsp natural PB
sprinkling of granola

The snacks were so good.

Now, shall we get back to today? Here was my breaky.

Coffee with almond milk and banana PB oatmeal.

In the pot:

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 banana (cooked in with the oats)

Toppings:

0.2 cup granola
1 tbsp natural peanut butter

Time to hit the gym! I'm scheduled to do 4 miles today. Then I have class at 11 a.m. and another class at 2:00 p.m. I'm not looking forward to since I won't get to see Drew till tomorrow morning. He's working a day shift and a night shift back to back :(

It's a good thing I have lots of work to keep me busy.

Have a great day everyone!

A Protein Packed Dessert

2010-03-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

Good Afternoon,

It's time to recap some of my food. I didn't post last night's meal or sensational dessert.

Here was my dinner.

It was the same as the other night. I cut up about 1/3 of the veggie pancake and served it over a bed of sautéed cabbage with the spicy mayo sauce. It was so good. I can't get over how good cabbage is!

Here was dessert.

The banana soft serve has been frequenting the blogosphere lately. I made one attempt at it months ago, and was less than impressed - the texture was off for my liking. It wasn't until I saw Angela's recipe that I knew I needed to make a second attempt.

Her recipe:

1 frozen banana
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
splash of almond milk

My addition:

1/4 scoop protein powder

Blend everything in a food processor or blender until it becomes the consistency you like. Easy peasy, right?

Now to today's eats. You already saw what I had for breaky in the post before this one. It was so yummy. I love apples in my oatmeal.

After church I came home and made this quesadilla.

I filled the quesadilla with one of my leftover black bean burgers and goat cheese. Twas scrumptious, and was devoured in about 30 seconds flat. I was pretty hungry.

I forget if I told you all about my new coffee discovery. When I was at the grocery store a few days ago, I picked up vanilla cream flavored coffee. It's so good! I'm not sure if it's a good thing I discovered this coffee, since it has almost doubled how much coffee I drink! I figure that as long as I stay hydrated what's the harm? Or at least that's what I'm telling myself to ease the guilt ;)

A How-to in Oatmeal

2010-03-14T12:20:00.000-06:00

Morning!

Why is switching your clocks forward as terrible as it is? When my alarm went off this morning I felt like I could have slept at least another couple hours.

A few days ago, I got a comment asking me the steps to making my steel-cut oatmeal. I was so excited to get this question! So here is the answer.

Steel cut oats take about 45 minutes. This is much too long if you want a bowl of them on a weekday. This is what I do to speed up the cooking time.

Step 1:

I weigh out 40 grams of steel cut oats. This turns out to be a little less than 1/4 cup.

Step 2:

Next I measure 1 cup of water.

Step 3:

Combine the oats and the water in a pot. Cook the oats on high, with the lid on the pot, and boil for about 3-4 minutes. Watch the oats as they boil, the oats may boil over if unsupervised (something that happens to me almost every time I make them). After 3-4 minutes is over, turn of the heat and leave stand over night with the lid on the pot.

Step 4:

In the next morning the oats should look something like this.

Turn the heat to medium, and add in whatever you like in your oats! This morning I added half an apple.

Other options could be pumpkin puree, half a banana, or berries.

I also added a little water to slow the cooking process so that the apples would have enough time to get soft.

Step 5:

When the oats absorb the rest of water it's time to shut off the heat, and to add the remaining ingredients that need much less time to cook. Today I added cottage cheese and cinnamon.

You could also add egg whites (make sure the heat is off before you pour them in and whisk very quickly for about a minute), other spices like nutmeg or cloves, or nuts.

Step 6:

Pour the oats into a pretty bowl and add your favorite toppings. Today I added a few more apple pieces, granola and a scoop of ultra creamy natural peanut butter. So simple and delicious.

The Best of Times

2010-03-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sooooo... I didn't run the full 10 km. I only ran 5 km. I feel so guilty. I hate this feeling... I'm gonna pick up the running next week. I only ran 8 miles out of the 18 I was supposed to run this week...

The run was so much fun though. It flew by! There were over 20 of us running. Everyone broke into groups depending on the pace they wanted to keep during the run. My mom, one of the trainers at Prime and her husband, another gym member and myself all ran together. The conversation was lovely, which is probably why the run went by so fast.

However, the brunch was better than the run! My mom made some wonderful food. It was in.credible.

Just look at this table. Just look at it.

Amazing, no? She's such an amazing hostess.

Now, the food.

I took this picture right before the masses hit the food. There was roasted tomatoes, roasted asparagus wrapped in purcuto, veggie hashbrowns, frittata, turkey saucages, candied bacon (with brown sugar and pepper), fruit, and raisin toast. AND my favorite, Amish oatmeal = YUMO

Every time I run I want to eat this meal afterwards :)

Here's my plate.

There was the smoked salmon frittata, veggie hash, grapes, a roasted potato, and a Baby Bell cheese. The crystal bowl had the Amish oatmeal, which is a version of baked oatmeal, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries. I don't even remember the last time I ate a fresh berry. This makes Shayna a happy girl :)

My mom also used her juicer for this creation.

FRESH orange and grapefruit juice. It was so tasty. I love her juicer and the creations it creates.

It was a great gathering of people, complimented by scrumptious food. It doesn't get any better!

Pre-run Fuel

2010-03-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

I tried to recreate that amazingly fluffy bowl of pumpkin oats I made the other morning.

Doesn't look quite as fluffy as this one

....or maybe it does after looking at them side-by-side. Hmmm... I'll let you all be the judge.

This bowl was good, but not as good as the oats from the other day. I didn't have as much pumpkin to add today, that might be the reason.

1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup spelt flakes
2 tbsp oat bran
1/2 tbsp chia seed
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 banana
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
cinnamon
cloves
nutmeg
1 tbsp natural PB
1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup

I'm now on my way to my parents house for a little running party meet-up and brunch. This is my first time running with the Prime gals and guys. Prime Fitness is the place I go to for my two hour workouts about every two weeks. We were supposed to be going cross country skiing this morning, but there's no more snow! Shucks (well not really, I'm happy the snow is gone), but it would have been fun to try out cross country skiing.

Different groups of people are running different distances. I'm gonna try to go for 10 km. If I do, that'll be the longest I've run since my hip injury. I'm hoping I can do it!

I'll see ya all later with the recap!

Deceivingly Delicious

2010-03-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

How was your Friday? Mine was so laid back. I always feel guilty after Fridays for wasting my time, but they are my Saturdays, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad.

I had this smoothie as my afternoon snack.

It tasted just like dessert.

1/2 frozen banana
1/2 scoop vanilla whey
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
cocoa powder
3 ice cubes

It was amazing!

I drank this and hit my yoga mat for a little hip opening flow session. It made my hips feel so much better! I love YogaDownload.com

Dinner time. I made myself the pictured items, and made D some white chicken enchiladas. He liked them.

My dinner was not so much aesthetically pleasing, as it was completely delicious.

For the cabbage:

1/4 head of cabbage
worcestershire sauce
tons of black cracked pepper

Saute all three ingredients till cabbage is soft.

For the veggie pancake:

1 carrot shredded
1 zucchini shredded
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg
3/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Heat oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Cook the batter just like you would a pancake. This recipe makes 2 servings.

I made this sauce to go along with it.

1 tbsp mayonnaise
tuong ot sriracha sauce (hot sauce)

I spread this sauce over everything. It was amazing; my tongue was on fire the whole time! I'll be using this a lot from now on.

D and I rented Up in the Air. It's ok. I'm glad we waited for it came out on DVD. It's not worth $25 dollars to see it in a theater.

Chapman's chocolate frozen yogurt
3 chocolate covered almonds
1/2 tbsp granola

Ok. This is the last bowl I'm having for a while. That's mostly due to the fact that it's all gone now. So until I buy another tub, I'm done with the Chapman's. :( I've had frozen yogurt three days in a row - I could use the break from the sweets.

Amy is the Best

2010-03-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hey gang,

My morning has been so laid back; I almost feel guilty. I watched 2 movies.... I know.... there are more productive things to be doing. One of them was The Rainmaker. I've never seen it before today, I'll be raving about this movie for years to come! It's right up there with the Pelican Brief.

While watching the movie, I ate a little snack.

I got this coffee on a grocery trip I also made tis morning. It's flavored coffee. This is the first time I've ever bough flavored coffee. It's Vanilla Cream. Why have I never bought this before?? It's amazing! I don't think I can go back to my regular medium roast ever again.

1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese
1 tbsp granola

It held me over for about two hours. I was shocked! After the movie, I cleaned up our kitchen a bit, and hit the books.

Here's my work station/lunch.

Amy's Vegetarian Lasagna. I love that there is no soy in it! Look at that ewwwwwy gewwwy cheese. So yummy. I love Amy's products. It tastes like you're eating something terrible, but it's so good for you.

3 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cucumber
1 tbsp organic balsamic dressing

I love ending my meals with a salad. It feels so good, and that's really what foods supposed to be for.

Time to hit the books! Have a great afternoon guys :)

I Could Eat Another One

2010-03-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Morning Bloggers,

Happy Friday!! It's the start of the weekend. I can't believe how fast this week flew by - Thankfully.

Chocolate Chai Tea with a Cinnamon Goji Berry Breakfast Cookie. Bliss :)

1/2 cup oats
1/2 banana
1/2 scoop whey protein powder
splash of unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp natural PB
4 gram goji berries
cinnamon

I'm still nibbling on it. It's good.

I'm surprised I'm not more sore after last night's power workout. My muscles were burning for most of the workout, but I'm only a little stiff this morning. Huh. Maybe it's still coming...

So sleepy

2010-03-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Group power was really good tonight. It was three senior ladies, a couple who were probably in their late twenties and then myself. I got a kick out of the weight the seniors were lifting - we're talking about two pounds here. It was cute.

Before I left, I ate the best snack I could think of.

whole wheat toast
1 tbsp natural PB
1 tsp honey
1/4 banana

So yummy. This combination = party in my mouth

Then I hit up the gym, came home and made this for D.

Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe from The Pioneer Woman (LOVE her). D really liked the recipe.

I had something much lighter for dinner.

4 egg whites
1/4 cup mushroom
1/4 cup brussels sprouts
1 tbsp organic balsamic vinaigrette

It was small. It left room for the unpictured bowl of frozen yogurt I just ate ;)

I'm pretty much off to bed. I'm so tired. Night friends.

Pretty Purchases

2010-03-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon-almost evening to all of you!

I packed up a taco salad to take to class with me.

Plus a bag of cucumber and green peppers, salsa, and a protein bar.

My class went by so fast today, which is awesome. Then I went SHOPPING! I went shopping with gift cards - so much better than spending my own money.

I got four of these mini-casserole dishes. They were under $5 each!

Aren't these so cute! I love the skinny handles. I got them at Anthropology.

I also got these from Anthropology.

They make me wish these flowers were blooming in my backyard. Summer time is coming!

These bowls are my favorite purchase. I love the color turquoise, one of my favorites.

In about an hour I'm going to a group power class at my gym. I'm excited for a whole body weight workout.

See you all soon :)

Are Bigger things Really Better?

2010-03-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ummmmm yessss....?

Let me tell you about the amazing bowl of oats I had this morning.

It was wginormous! Surprisingly it didn't make me feel overly full.

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup spelt flakes
2 tbsp oat bran
1/2 tsbp chia seeds
1 cup water
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
2 egg whites
1/4 banana
cinnamon
cloves
nutmeg
1 tbsp natural PB

All the volumous (my computer is telling me this isn't a word, but I just need to use it. I once had a professor who told me "If you love using a word, that makes it a word."), ingredients like pumpkin, egg whites, and chia seeds made this bowl huge!

So in conclusion, I've learned - when it comes to oatmeal at least - bigger is better.

Finally Home

2010-03-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a long night. I had my evening class tonight. It was a heavy class. Thankfully my teacher split up the class with a little group work.

I packed up my dinner.

about 2 cups of mixed greens
1/2 cucumber
1/4 cup roasted brussels sprouts
1/4 cup roasted cauliflower
1/4 cup roasted mushrooms
organic balsamic dressing

1/2 banana
1/2 tbsp natural PB

It hit the spot, and I as starving by the time I got to eat it.

I may or may not be snacking on this bowl of frozen yogurt as I type out this post.

An awesome treat after a long class. Time to hang out with my hubby. Night everyone :)