Adjusting and Adapting
Posted: June 8, 2011 Filed under: Breakfasts, Snackage 7 Comments »Adjusting to a morning workout routine is hard!
I want no part in this, mommy. Just let me go back to sleep.
If you can move beyond the minor matter of being awake before the sun is, you still have to deal with the “get everything done before work” debacle. I’m still trying to figure out how to offset some of the rush by handling as much as possible the previous evening.
Make-ahead breakfasts help, but this morning, I was in the mood for something savory rather than the overnight oats I’d prepped last night.
In about three minutes, I’d defrosted some frozen kale and plopped it onto a Whole Foods whole wheat English muffin with a sprinkling of cheddar Daiya. It hardly put a dent into my time budget, but it definitely put a dent in my post-workout hunger!
I grabbed a few snacks for later down the road:
The promise of a warm cup of coffee after settling in at work sounds incredibly appealing right now!
How do you adjust to a change in your routine? How long does it usually take you to feel “solidified” in the new schedule?
These Pumps Weren’t Made for Walking
Posted: June 7, 2011 Filed under: Beauty and Fashion, Dinners, Snackage, Sweet Fixes 6 Comments »
But that’s just what I did…
It’s been so overcast here in Orlando today that I had to infuse a little color into my life with my new fuschia Tracy Reese pumps! It’s not my fault that I was so excited about dinner that I forgot to switch into flats before walking home!
I rocked out even more color with a huge Mexican-inspired salad. This beast included romaine, roma tomatoes, fresh avocado, 365 chili lime refried beans and Daiya cheddar!
My sweet tooth promptly kicked in and I snagged a trio of fresh summer berries for dessert:
Off to rest my feet! See you tomorrow!
Chocolate Wheat Bran Breakfast Cookie
Posted: June 7, 2011 Filed under: Breakfasts, Running, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes 8 Comments »Good morning!
After months of setting my alarm for six a.m. and successfully snoozing through my morning, I finally dragged my sleepy behind out of bed for an a.m. workout.
Short and sweet was the name of the game! I hopped straight onto the treadmill for a quick and dirty interval run.
| Distance | Speed |
| 0.00 – 0.10 | 3 mph |
| 0.10 – 0.20 | 6 mph |
| 0.20 – 0.30 | 7 mph |
| 0.30 – 0.40 | 5 mph |
| 0.40 – 0.50 | 6 mph |
| 0.50 – 0.60 | 7 mph |
| 0.60 – 0.70 | 5 mph |
| 0.70-0.80 | 6 mph (incline level 2) |
| 0.80 – 0.90 | 7 mph (incline level 2) |
| 0.90 – 1.00 | 5 mph (incline level 2) |
| 1.00 – 1.25 | 8 mph |
I did a short cool-down on the elliptical before high-tailing it back to my apartment, where a new breakfast idea had been “cooking” since the night before.
Even though I’d never tried the Fitnessista’s original breakfast cookie, I knew I wanted to whip up a similar stir-and-chill breakfast for after my workout.
Ohmahdear.
New. Favorite. Summer. Breakfast.
Chocolate Wheat Bran Breakfast Cookie
Vegan, high fiber
Serves one
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup vegan milk of choice
- 1/4 cup wheat bran
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 2 tablespoons chocolate-flavored protein powder of choice
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 1 tablespoon finely sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon apple sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Toppings of choice (I used chocolate chips and blueberries)
Directions:
- Stir all ingredients (except for toppings) together.
- Spread evenly across a medium-sized plate.
- Place in refrigerator overnight.
- In the morning, add toppings and eat!
I polished off the “cookie” and went back for a second serving of fruit.
Looks like I ended up with 20 extra minutes at the end of my morning routine – duly noted for tomorrow morning!
When it comes to workouts, are you a morning person or a night owl?
Like Time Never Passed: A 2010-Style Weekend
Posted: June 6, 2011 Filed under: Breakfasts, Running, Snackage 5 Comments »Oh, Monday, how you flew here! I spent a glorious weekend in Lakeland reliving 2010 – one of my favorite years of my life (so far!) Where has the time gone – and how did it go so fast?
I’d driven back to Lakeland to see old friends, and on the way, I passed the school where I used to work. (For new readers, when the blog began I was a teacher at an after-school and summer program for our inner city kids.)
Even though it was exactly the way I remembered it, it felt so strange seeing the playgrounds deserted. I seriously missed my munchkins!
I grew SO much with those children, and I had some of the most amazing experiences with them. I never thought I would miss teaching, but for a moment, I actually did! I can’t believe it’s been a year since the most amazing summer of my life.
After a seriously nostalgic moment at the school, I headed to my old foodie stomping ground to grab some fuel for a run.
Random Trivia Tidbit: that Publix was in the Southgate Shopping Center, where Edward Scissorhands was filmed. That’s Lakeland’s Claim to Fame!
I snagged the very first “nutritionally-conscious” food I’d ever bought: a chocolate brownie Clif Bar.
In all seriousness, when I’d started the blog in 2010, these chocolate Clif Bars were one of my daily foods. My university cafeteria sold them as their version of “healthy food”, and I started purchasing them for snacks instead of Butterfingers. Little did I know it would be the first of many little healthy swaps!
In keeping with my 2010 throwback mindset, I cranked a Rise Against Pandora station as I headed out to Lake Hollingsworth for a run (and walk – hello, humidity!)
Aside from the people, jogging the lake is seriously one of the things I missed the most!
After the run, I headed over for some much-needed friend time. We snuck in a stop at BD’s Mongolian Grill (insanely awesome), a screening of X-Men (insanely odd) and a Sunday boating and tubing on the Chain of Lakes (insanely serious unexpected workout!) I tucked away the camera and decided to just live those experiences rather than photograph them…
But I busted the camera back out first thing this morning to catch breakfast!
Since Whole Foods was right on the way as I drove home, it was only logical to stop in and purchase a few supplies for the week 
One of the picks was 365 Organic Honey Crunch & Oats cereal. It seemed like it would be similar to my favorite Kashi Honey Almond Crunch (another favorite meal choice in my dorm circa 2010!)
I was on board with the 5g of sugar per serving, but because the protein was a little lower than I’d have liked (only 2 grams in 3/4 cup), I bumped it up with the addition of a few slivered almonds and chia seeds – plus a few flax seeds for those Omega 3’s.
Boom. And that’s how it’s done.
Since it’s not 2010 anymore and I don’t get to mosey into work at 2 p.m. after my classes get out, I better get my behind off to my “grown-up” job. Catch ya later!
Do you ever go back to places you used to live, work, go to school, etc…just for “old time’s sake?”
The One Dish You Must Make This Weekend {Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese}
Posted: June 4, 2011 Filed under: Dinners, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: comfort food, dinner, healthy recipes, vegan comfort food, vegan cooking, vegan food, vegetarian cooking 9 Comments »I don’t trust people who don’t like macaroni and cheese.
If tender, chewy, noodles and warm, gooey, cheese sauce don’t appeal to you, then you, my friend, are beyond my help.
Before you attempt to justify your macaroni hate by telling me that it’s bland, artificial, low in nutrients and loaded with animal products, heavy ingredients and “bad fats”…allow me to shut down your excuses. This bowl of goodness is entirely vegan and all-natural, and it comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Now do you understand why I insist that you make this macaroni dish this weekend?
Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
Serves Four
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces Mozzarella-style shredded Daiya (1/2 package)
- 4 ounces (1/2 tub) Tofutti vegan cream cheese
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups (dry) whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 1 cup vegan milk substitute (I used unsweetened plain almond milk)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- In a small pot, bring water to a rolling boil and add macaroni. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until pasta is tender.
- In a small pan, warm olive oil and lightly sauté the red pepper for 5 minutes or until slightly tender.
- In a large saucepan, bring almond milk to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium high and add in vegan cream cheese and Daiya, stirring continuously until cheeses are completely melted. If your sauce is too thin, add an extra dash of almond milk; if sauce is too thin, increase heat one level and continue stirring until it thickens.
- Add pasta, sautéed red pepper and spices to the sauce. Stir until evenly combined.
- Serve warm; drool over the absolute gooiness of this vegan comfort food.
This will be the richest, creamiest vegan macaroni ever to pass your lips – and that’s a statement you can trust!
Did I mention that it qualifies for Vegetarian on a Budget, costing less than $2 per serving?
| Ingredient | Cost |
| Daiya shredded “mozzarella” | $4.49/8 ounces = $2.50/4 ounce serving |
| Tofutti “cream cheese” | $3/8 ounces = $1.50/4 ounces |
| Whole wheat macaroni | $3/4 cups = $1.50/2 cups |
| Almond milk | $4/8 cups = $0.50/1 cup |
| Red pepper | $1.00 |
| Olive oil | $0.25 |
| Cayenne pepper | $0.25 |
| Jalapeno powder | $0.25 |
| Salt | $0.05 |
| Total Budget Breakdown: | $7.85/4 servings = $1.97 per serving |
Happy taste buds, happy wallet…Happy Weekend!
The Arnold Schwarzenegger of Coffee Makers
Posted: June 3, 2011 Filed under: Breakfasts 5 Comments »Do I ever have exciting news for you!
It’s something we can all appreciate (and no, it’s not that peanut butter and chocolate chip steel cut oats are the best breakfast ever – however true it may be!)
Drumroll please…
It’s Friday!
The short work week felt amazing!
We’ve been adopting a lot of changes at work, and even though I’m very excited about the new challenges, I’m still in a learning curve and doing my best to make it through!
Enter the new love of my life:
Is that not huge? Tell me it’s not the Arnold Schwarzenegger of coffeemakers!
Their cafe mocha – half coffee, half hot chocolate – is a Godsend! A sugar-loaded Godsend, I’m sure, but fairly miraculous nonetheless!
So tell me – what do you do to make it through long workdays? And what are you looking forward to the most about the weekend?
June: A No-Weigh Month
Posted: June 1, 2011 Filed under: Banishing Insecurity, Beyond the Disorder, Breakfasts 14 Comments »Good morning! Welcome to June!
I ushered in the new month with a quintessential summer breakfast – a smoothie in a bowl!
I used the same winning combo from yesterday:
- 1 banana
- 2 large handfuls spinach
- 1 scoop bourbon vanilla Tera’s Whey
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon flax meal
- 1/2 cup rice milk
- 3 ice cubes
Cocoa powder may be my absolute favorite smoothie ingredient – it actually helps lessen my chocolate cravings throughout the rest of the day!
Gave her a good ol’ sprinkling of flax seeds and Nature’s Path Blueberry Optima and she was good to go!
No-Weigh June
Whenever I hear a blogger {or a real-life friend} mention not owning a scale or not knowing what they weigh, I can’t help but wonder: How do they do it? How do they not hop straight on the scale as soon as they wake up?
If you want to put it like it is, weighing myself has been my last hold-out from my eating disorder. I’ve established healthy eating habits and no longer use restriction as a coping mechanism; I’ve learned how to stop a binge in its tracks and I exercise for strength and stamina, not to burn calories. I’ve been very blessed to move beyond those disordered eating habits…yet I still hop on the scale daily. While I can honestly say that I don’t allow the number to influence my eating habits, I still have been a slave to the number.
In reality, I understand that it’s just that – a number. A silly, ever-changing number that doesn’t change how I look, who I am or how hungry I am. Unfortunately, what it has the power to change is my mood. A “low” number always makes me feel victorious, as though I’m proving to myself that I can eat when I’m hungry and not gain weight. A “high” number can turn a good day into one where I wonder what I did “wrong.”
Healthy? I don’t think so. Acceptable? Definitely not.
That’s why I’m packing my scale into the trunk of my car for the entirety of June. I’d love to throw the contraption over the side of my balcony, but I’m not sure that my apartment manager would be thrilled with that idea. In reality, I’m also convinced that without weighing myself every day, I’ll gain twenty pounds without knowing it. Rationally, I understand that it’s impossible, but irrationally, I’m terrified that it will actually happen.
By getting rid of my scale {albeit temporarily}, I’m hoping to distance myself from the number and learn even further how to listen to my body. If that means I lose weight, then I lose weight. If that means I stay the same or gain, than that too will be in response to the needs of my body.
I’m ready to break my dependence on this stupid scale!
What’s your position on weighing yourself? Do you own a scale? How often do you use it? Have you ever made a conscious decision to ignore the number?
