For instance, the burrito salad I had last night didn’t leave me feeling bloated.

Not at all…

Hypothetically, had the burrito left me waddling around with a food baby, it quite possibly would have been worth it for the mounds of guacamole, sour cream and the pillowy pocket of refried beans and Daiya…

Hypothetically, of course.

While I’d never admit to a burbling belly after a huge dinner, I’m not one to hide the delightful grossness that accompanies a good gym sesh!

I woke up this morning freakishly excited about foot blisters and chafing that appeared after last night’s successful 2.5 mile run!

Only a runner would be excited about a raw patch of skin on her foot and thigh!

No pain, no gain…right?

Besides, I see them as badges of honor – badges that represent me finally getting off my tush and back into the running game! Running with blisters, chafed patches and shin splints isn’t horrendous…just as long as those are the extent of my running “injuries”

Oh the joys of training!

I finally had the chance to rest and tackle some of the big things on my months-old to-do list. It’s seriously amazing what some much-needed sleep and some attention for the neglected areas of your life can do!

One such neglected area: a night out with my man!

Minor detail that I’ve neglected to mention: After several months of a working through a really complicated situation, The Coach and I got back together.

There are some things that I just don’t feel compelled to broadcast on the blog, but at the risk of sounding ridiculously gushy, I think that if two people are really good for each other, they can get  through the bumps and rough patches to move beyond the complications that any relationship is going to have. We seem to be doing a pretty good job of working through them, and at the end of the day, we’re both happy and in love.

Can’t get much better than that

Since this weekend was his last weekend before moving to Jacksonville for a coaching position, we went out for an uh.mazing dinner and a few shenanigans. The two hour distance really isn’t a lot, but with both of us juggling massively busy schedules, I wanted to get in at least one more night of quality time before we have to deal with the semi-long-distance factor!

The next morning definitely called for drive-thru breakfast.

I slept through Burger King’s breakfast hours, so I had to settle for Dunkin Donuts – even though a bagel sandwich is never really “settling” in my book!

As I brought myself back to a human state, I flipped through the post-trial news coverage of the Casey Anthony case. Things were crazy here on Thursday as Judge Perry announced her sentencing!

Is it terrible that if, in the event that Casey (or anyone involved with her case) published a book, I’d be the first in line to buy it – even knowing that it would probably be more fictional than an issue of the National Enquirer?

The Other Big Move

After more than a year of blogging at Lovely as Charged, I took a good look at what the blog, its “vibe” and what direction it was going, as well as the direction that I want to see it go in.

I came to the decision that I wanted a clean start, and although I’ve transferred over the posts and pages from this blog, I reworked the layout, developed new pages and am finally ready to launch For the Health of It,where I intend to keep blogging permanently.

What you’ll continue to get:

• Healthy vegetarian and vegan recipes
• Workouts and workout playlists
• “Life” posts
• Reviews and giveaways

What I’m hoping to give you more of:

• More thoughtful and creative posts
• More positivity
• More “community”
• More humor

Thank you all for all of your support and readership. Hopefully you’ll continue to read over at forthehealth.com! (Please be sure to update your RSS feed if you’d like to keep receiving posts through Google Reader, Bloglovin or email!)

No, seriously, I’m awful.

Birthdays? Oh hey, is that today? Mother’s Day? Oh shoot, I’m supposed to be chilling with my madre, not running off to a concert…I thought today might have been something important!

I’ll probably even forget my own wedding day. Sad but true.

It’s no surprise to me that with my date-confusion, I skipped all of the patriotic-themed meals on the weekend of the 4th but busted out a red, white and blue breakfast today instead.

Kashi GoLean + strawbs and bloobs

Could someone kindly pass me a firecracker?

I will always remember yesterday, though, as the day that the entire Casey Anthony fiasco drew to a close.

It definitely felt like watching history as all of my office filed into the CEO’s office to watch the verdict be handed down.

It was so surreal looking out of his window at the actual building where the live action was going down. The whole city was abuzz after the final judgment had been passed! Sirens even went off a few minutes after the decision had been read, and we all wondered if a riot had broken out! (Thankfully it hadn’t.)

What on Earth am I going to do with myself at work now that the trial is over? You mean…I should actually…pay attention?

Do you remember dates and times well? I swear, my brain just isn’t designed to keep track of numbers like that!

Mine kicked off with an awesome Saturday night trip to Derby Lane, a dog racing track in Saint Petersburg.

I had no idea what was going on for the first several races, but I caught on to the basics pretty quickly: you eat, you drink, dogs chase a mechanical rabbit, you peruse a program and attempt to understand the barrage of numbers and you toss a few bucks down on the dog you think has the best chance of winning (or the one who has the coolest name).

Got it? Good.

Me neither

The buffet was mainly seafood, but I still managed to get my fill of asparagus and roasted veggies.

Since I’m not a big gambler, the $2 buy-in was the perfect way to try my hand at betting without wagering anything I would be majorly upset to lose.

I lost a few, but I lucked out on one quiniela – a choice of two dogs to come in first and second (in either order).

I walked away with a whopping thirty bucks. Heck, I tripled what I came with – that’s good enough for me!

The next two days were spent chillin’ out, maxin, relaxing all cool…and eating some more traditional 4th of July fare with the Coach and his family.

You’ll be seeing plenty of that salad around here for the next few days – I grabbed several more bags of it at Publix after falling in love with it on Sunday!

Time to toss back a quick smoothie and get Hales downstairs!

Welcome back to the real world!

Are you a gambler, or are you more financially conservative like me? What are your thoughts on trying your luck?

I woke up bright and early this morning to have time to take Haley for an extra-long walk.

The Ivanhoe district in Orlando is pretty gorgeous – and peaceful – early in the morning!

Or rather, it was peaceful until 70 pounds of puppy came storming in…

Only my goofy dog would ignore the ducks but head straight for the long grass that was blowing in the wind and decide to further investigate by shoving her face in between the rails!

I was so afraid her big old noggin would get stuck!

So afraid that I whipped out my camera and started shooting pictures while laughing hysterically. Mom of the year right here. But that’s neither here nor there.

Since we’ve got a work potluck this afternoon, I wanted to keep breakfast light.

I decided that an English muffin (half peanut butter and chia, half strawberry jam) would be enough to tide me over until noon without making me too full for all of my coworkers’ treats!

Time to get this Friday on the road!

I’d whipped together plain Greek yogurt with a scoop of Acai powder for a sweet/tart flavoring, thrown on plenty of toppings and photographed away…

…Only to dream of yesterday’s dessert as I was eating it!

I may or may not have “sold” my contact information to SunTrust bank in exchange for the goods…but oh how good it was!

The moment of ecstasy from the free chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness will be worth the countless phone calls and fliers that I’m sure I’ll receive in the near future!

Also in the {very} near future: Chelsey’s vegan egg salad!

I stole a few spoonfuls from the batch I made last night as I was assembling my sandwich, and I can already vouch for its deliciousness.

Is it lunchtime yet?

And more importantly, will CookieTrust be back in my building’s lobby anytime soon?

Before you even ask, I have a LONG time before that even comes into play!

That’s not to say that during certain times of the month (ahem), there’s nothing I want more than a briny, salty and crunchy snack.

Enter my new favorite summer munchie: raw balsamic zucchini “pickles.”

All of the tang with none of the actual pickle-ness? (And none of the babies, thank you very much?) I’m in love!

Raw Balsamic Zucchini “Pickles”

Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free

Makes two servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini
• 1/8 cup light balsamic dressing (such as Newman’s Own)
• Sprinkle of sea salt

Directions:

• Slice zucchini in half, then into slim spears.
• In a shallow dish, arrange zucchini slivers and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle salt over the top, cover and allow to marinate overnight (or longer).
• Snack your face off (side of ice cream optional)

I wonder what would come of a zucchini relish…

Do you ever get random cravings for foods you know you dislike? Do you go with it or try to find an alternative?

I’m a bit of a…klutz at times. I missed the coordinated gene, but I got more than my fair share of the clumsy one.

I’ve been dying to make my own sushi for ages, but, psychic that I am, I realized that any roll I tried to wrap would likely fall apart before making it to my mouth.

Why not go for the preemptive strike and deconstruct it before I even get it together? 

I took all of the elements of my favorite sweet potato and avocado sushi roll and plopped them into a one-dish dinner! Salty and chewy seaweed, deliciously sticky rice, creamy fresh avocado, lightly crisped sweet potato slivers, zippy wasabi and earthy, tangy soy sauce came together for perfect quasi-Japanese entrée.

Sticky rice is the key here – it makes the dish more than just a grain topped with veggies and soy sauce. Sticky rice requires a lot of rinsing and pre-soaking, and neither step can be skipped without sacrificing the starchy texture. It’s a bit of a pain in the arse to make, but the end result is worth the bazillion steps.

I love that you can play around with the ingredients to replicate your favorite roll. I designed the recipe as a vegetarian sushi bowl, but crab, salmon or any other sushi ingredient would be equally impressive!

Sweet Potato and Avocado Deconstructed Sushi Bowl

Vegan, Gluten Free, Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) sushi rice. DO NOT sub any other type of rice – it won’t get sticky!
• 2 cups water (plus more for rinsing)
• 1/2 large sweet potato
• 1/2 large avocado (Haas is my preference over California for this dish)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup Mirin
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 large strips dried seaweed (I used Lavash)
• Wasabi and soy sauce to taste

Directions:

• Pour your Japanese sushi rice into a small bowl and fill to the brim with water. Stir the rice until the water becomes cloudy; drain and repeat 3-4 times until the water runs clear.
• Fill the bowl up one last time with water and allow the rice to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes (up to 2 hours is ideal).
• After rice has soaked, bring two cups of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Drain rice from soaking water and pour rice into boiling water. Cover tightly and cook for one minute.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes, leaving the lid tightly on the pot.
• Turn heat to very low and continue to cook until all of the water is absorbed.
• Once the water is absorbed, remove pot from heat, remove lid and loosely drape a towel across the top. Allow to cool for 10-20 minutes.
• Peel, dice and boil your sweet potato. Once boiled, add sesame oil to a small saucepan, stir in sweet potato chunks and lightly brown until the edges begin to crisp.
• Cube avocado.
• In a small dish, stir together mirin, sugar and water. Once your rice is room temperature, gently pour mirin mixture over rice (half at a time) and fold into rice.
• Stir sweet potato and avocado cubes into rice. Plate and garnish with seaweed strips.
• Serve chilled, room temperature or warm with your choice of sushi condiments.

Even though the directions sound slightly complicated, the entire process took me no more than an hour to an hour and a half.

Holy wasabi, was the payoff ever worth it – and so much simpler than wrapping a roll!

What is your absolute all-time favorite sushi roll? I think I’ve made abundantly clear which one mine is!

Is it really already Monday?

Yep, sensible breakfast…it must be the workweek again!

It’s Not Me, It’s You

Last night, I re-read the comments that past readers have left on my About Me pages. I haven’t looked at either of those posts in quite some time, and re-reading the outpouring of encouragement and support absolutely floored me.

When I started my blog, I had been reading Oh She Glows for several months. I identified so much with Angela’s story and was so inspired that I decided to launch my own blog in the hopes that even one woman could find a little piece of herself in my own story and know that she was not alone.

Pouring over the comments you left over the last 16 months, I felt like the luckiest blogger in the world. Not due to my technology, my writing skills, my photography or even my blog setup – but because of my readers. It’s not me that makes this blog interesting – it’s you all.

Without your empathy and understanding, I’m just a crazy lady who bakes with flax eggs and photographs her yogurt before she eats it. Without you, this would just be a collection of jumbled words, thoughts and recipes. It’s only because of your continued support and kindness that Lovely as Charged is a place of positivity and love within the blogging community. Thank you so much for all of your comments, emails, comradery and readership – I love you all and am continually grateful for all of the conversations that we can have!

The first Living Social deal to hit my inbox – an unlimited month of Boot Camp classes – instantly MINE.

With that price, I feel like I couldn’t turn it down. Even if I only go once a week, it will average out to $5 a class. Oh, it’s gonna hurt so good!

Cold, sweet, extra-chocolatey breakfast? MINE.

My grabby hands couldn’t make my favorite healthy chocolate smoothie fast enough!

• 1 large banana
• 1 handful kale
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 3 ice cubes

It’s probably good that there was only a smidge of cereal left over in the box – I’m not sure how restrained I would have been if more goods were available to me!

When lunch rolled around, I enjoyed the leftover Chinese food that I finagled away from my mother after our weekend together.

Leftover Buddhist’s Delight, not quite as good as the first time around, with a scrambled egg beater to freshen it up.

Of course, greedy snackage also occurred:

Fun fact: I hate raw carrots plain! I only eat them raw if I have a dip to smother them in!

Even after I escaped the florescent lighting, I still hadn’t escaped the MINE mindset!

Oh hai, happy hour. When you advertising my favorite draft for $2 right in front of the path where I usually walk Haley…of course I have to swing in! Bam – MINE!

Since I was right next door to my favorite sushi restaurant, it would have been a crime not to grab dinner, no?

Definitely MINE. All mine.

Are you a “see it/have to have it” kind of person, or can you resist your urge to make everything yours?