>The juice is worth the squeeze

>Hey hey hey,

Glad you liked my recent cherry blossom pics. From what I’m reading, a lot of you are also experiencing some pretty crappy weather today. Booooo.

Hope this brought you a little sunshine.

Michael is sure excited for warmer weather.

* * *

Guess what? I broke in the my new juicer this morning! I choose one by Breville because it had great reviews and is supaaaa easy to clean (all parts are dishwasher friendly!)

It was simple to operate and actually quite a blast (side note: I’m clearly getting old. I now consider juicing a fun activity)!

My first attempt included:

– mango

– kiwi

– green apple

– carrot

– celery

– beet

– ginger

– garlic

-parsley

And a papple!

The label said Pear-Apple but my sis and I call it a ‘Papple’. It looks, feels, and tastes equally like a pear and apple. Perfect lil hybrid.

Sooooo good! I loved the garlic/ginger zingggg!

 (Made 4 servings)

Clean up was a easy-peasy. Scoop out pulp (rainbow-esq, eh?) and toss in dishwasher…

I can’t wait to experiment more!

* * *

Dinner tonight was reeeeeeeeally good! I bought fresh cod yesterday and whipped up a feast in no time 🙂

Baked cod topped with brown-rice & veggie crumbles (gluten & dairy free)

Ingredients (serves 3):

1 lb fresh cod

yellow onion, 1 medium chopped

tomato, 1 medium chopped

brown rice bread, 2 pieces toasted/chopped into tiny cubes

fresh parsley, 1 T finely chopped

garbanzo bean flour (~1/2 cup)

vegetable broth, 1/4 cup

3 T dry white wine

garlic, 4 cloves finely diced

honey, 1 t

olive oil, 3 T

garlic powder 1t, divided

sea salt, pepper, to taste

Directions:

(Topping)

1. Add 1T olive oil, wine, onion and fresh garlic to frying pan

2. Cook over medium heat until onions soften and brown

3. Add parsley, tomato, honey, broth, 1/2 t garlic powder. Cook until tomatoes soften.

4. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, flour, 1/2 t garlic powder, pinch sea salt/pepper. The inside of brown rice bread is naturally sticky so flour easily coats crumbs. If this isn’t the case for your bread, simply pre-spray bread with olive oil before mixing. 

5. Remove coated crumbs from flour and brown in 1 T olive oil in separate frying pan. Add to tomato mixture. Add salt/pepper to taste.

(Fish)

1. Rub fish with remaining flour (use same from crumb topping). Brown over medium heat ~1 min each side.

2. Remove from heat and transfer to tinfoil coated pan sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Transfer topping equally over each piece of fish.

4. Bake for 10-15 mins at 425F or until fish flakes.

I served the fish with a side of quinoa (cooked in vegetable broth and mixed in remaining topping)

* * *

Whelp, it’s officially waaaay past my bedtime. I leave you with this video I’ve probably watched 12 times today. Peeeee ma pants!

>Day date

>I had the day off today and planned to spend it as a couch monkey (termed coined recently by Seth) but the blossoms were bloomin and it was too nice to sit inside!

So I got off my butt and took a few pics for y’allll. That’s right, it’s all for you.

The Manfriend (who is feeling a lot better) and I made our way through Georgetown and along the canal…

And landed at our favorite coffee shop, Baked N’ Wired.

Take that, Georgetown Cupcake. 

Lil caffeine buzz and we were off to the Blossoms!

4 miles of walking and 10,000 pictures later, we were starved! We hit up JuiceZone for juice (clearly) and wraps.

Beet, green apple, carrot, spinach, ginger

Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, olives, grilled tofu, spinach wrap and side of balsamic vinegar.

* * *

Questions:

Are you a couch monkey on days off?

Have you ever been to the DC Cherry Blossom festival? 

I just bought a juicer! What’s your favorite juice combo? 

>Simple n’ sweet

>

Are you listening? (Whoa,oh,oh,oh,oh,oh)

Sing it back. (Ah,oh,oh,oh,oh,oh)

So tell me what do I need (tell me what do I need, uh oh, uh oh)

When words lose their meaning (When words lose their meaning)

I was spinning free (Whoa,oh,oh,oh,oh,oh)

with a little sweet and simple numbing me

Yeah, stumble til you crawl (Whoa,oh,oh,oh,oh,oh)

Sinking into sweet uncertainty
(Jimmy Eat World, Sweetness)

The song reminded me of the title. That is all.

* * *

Look what’s in bloom over our back deck!!

Sun may not be out much, but they’re still perdy!

Oh, haaaay! I need a haircut. Mmmm, k?

(FYI Washingtonians, peak bloom is Tues – Sat. Get out there!)

This morning I enjoyed a simple and sweet breakfast…

(Oats, chia seeds, banana, blueberries, tsp almond butter, tsp honey)

But c’mon, wouldn’t you rather hear about a simple-r and sweet-er skinny margarita I recently made?  It’s almost summer, y’alllll! Tons of calories and sugar and no excuse to give up the occasional Rita….Just make a skinny version. Duh!

Skinny (all-natural) Strawberry Margarita (on the rocks)

1-2 oz clear tequila (1-2 shots)

~0.5 oz triple sec (1/4 shot). I prefer this all-natural brand

3-4 frozen strawberries, thawed in microwave til soft

juice from 1/4 lime

stevia to taste (I like 1/2 – 1 serving)

ice

Combine ingredients & shake, shake, shake!

Or you can use strawberries and mangoes and add a little extra fruit..

(Raspberry + pineapple is also pretty fantastic)

 * * *

In less fun news, the Manfriend is sickkk. He had a little ER trip after the race (infected wound) and ended up with a fever, and a lot of wound draining. Delicious, right? Glad I told you this between food pictures? Makes you want to eat my recipes even more I bet, ha!

I’ve been a good little nurse girlfriend and making him vitamin-packed smoothies on call



vanilla protein powder (Sunwarrior brand)

strawberries

blueberries

raspberries

1/2 banana

fresh spinach

coconut water (electrolytes!)

splash orange juice
tsp spirulina

almond butta (promotes absorption of fat soluble vitamins)

ice

And the usual [cutsie] vitamins..

(Clearly I bought these babies. And I’m 5 years old)

Oh, and one more thing…

I made [Protein] BALLS!

1) I was inspired by Gina’s amazeballs

2) I’m sick of spending $3 per store-bough protein bar 

3) I need a quick high protein/healthy carb snack between lunch and dinner when I’m at werkk

Blueberry Vanilla Protein Ballz:

1/2 cup oats

2 scoops vanilla protein powder (or 4 SunWarrior baby scoops)

2 T nut butter of choice (I used PB)

1/4 cup thawed and mashed blueberries

1 T chia seeds

stevia, 2 servings

sea salt, 2 pinches

water to moisten (approx. 1/3 cup)

Combine and roll into approx. 5 balls, adjusting water amount as necessary. Chill in fridge overnight (or at least 1 hr)

*Note: The pictures above were taken before chilling in fridge overnight. They should be intact and slightly wet/slimy looking. The oats/seeds will soak up remaining liquid and balls will harden (twss) to protein-bar thickness. 

* * *

Are you a margarita lover like me?

If not, what the heck is wrong with you? jk 😉

What’s your favorite summa-time drink?

>#bloggersinvadedc

>What a wonderful weekend – one filled with good food, solid running, and a our wonderful city invaded with a ka-jillion food bloggers. Sorry if we crowded your Twitter with our #bloggersinvadedc Tweets 😉 It was a fabulous time. As you know, this weekend was the SunTrust National Marathon and Half.

Despite the race’s chaos (only 2 mile markers, tons of parking traffic), I ran a pretty solid half and finished in 1:44:04 (thought it was 1:43; beating last year’s time by 4 mins). I am pretty excited about this time considering I stopped to pee and waited for 5 mins at the 8th mile marker for the Manfriend (who was supposed to meet and run the last 5 miles). But yeah, that didn’t work out so well (he arrived 10 mins after I left and waited for another 30. Whoops.) Last year was super organized, I’m not sure what happened this year. But I’d still run it again. I thought the course was pretty great (I heard the next 13.1 of the full were pretty dull). There was one big hill in Dupont Circle but other than that smooth sailing, sun on my face, and surrounded by blooming cherry blossoms. I also ran into Anne somewhere around mile 4. Quick gab sesh and we we were on our ways!

* * *

Post race, the Manfriend and I grabbed lunch at J.Paul’s in Georgetown (M Street). They have the best crab cakes.

We split the shrimp cocktail

Crab cakes, and a salad

Slurp

Chomp

* * *

Then it was time to meet up with some crazy foodies! And LOTS of em 🙂 (Love this candid of Holly, haha)

Thanks to Emily for organizing such a fun event! We met Northside Social, a really neat coffee house and wine bar in Arlington, VA. The downstairs area is a cute coffee shop flanked by private rooms and cute nooks, while the upstairs wine room reminds me of tasting in Sanoma: Large wooden bar, white walls, and lovely artwork. I rolled with a glass of champagne (what? I needed to celebrate my half marathon, haha)and chatted up a storm then made my way back to DC, ordered organic Chinese delivery (yes, I said organic Chinese. Booya.) then hit the hay after an exciting yet exhausting day.

* * *

This morning the sun was shining and I wanted to stretch out my poor sore legs. A leisurely walk was in order before a killer Bikram yoga class.

(I think Michael enjoyed)

Legs feel bueno. Bikram does it everytime ❤

* * *

Something to ponder:

Seth and I always say to each other “What are you thinking about right now“? And the other has to respond with what’s going on in their mind at that exact moment. I’m not sure why/when we started this but it’s usually when we catch each other in a stare or at very random moments (like during a run, yoga, while eating, etc.). During bunch he asked me “What are you usually thinking about when you’re not focused on an exact task?”

This got me thinking. As much as I try to be in the present, I’m often planning tomorrow including what I’m going to cook, which workout I’ll do, etc. This is something that I struggle with and constantly repeat to myself “Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

One thing about food/health bloggers I’ve noticed is the amount of time they (myself included) spend thinking about food, running, lifting, yoga, etc. Yes, you may be physically healthy but if you’re constantly consumed by these thoughts and not thinking about real life, you may not be putting your mental health first.

Try making a mental note each time you think about exercise, food, etc. It may be a wake-up call. Healthy living should not be life -consuming.

>Hot n’ cold

>

Guess what? Saturday I completed my last long run (10 miler!) before the half marathon on Saturday. I didn’t train too much for this one (running wise) but I did do a lot more strength training and yoga. Last month I ran a half in 1:45 and my legs never felt better. No tight IT bands, no sore hip flexors – Nada. Thank yooooou, yoga.

After yesterday’s killah BodyPump class (I upped my weights. Wait, is ‘upped’ even a word?), I threw together a rather tasty meal, if I don’t say so myself. Don’t be fooled, this one required little cook time and no skill whatsoever. But twas delicioso, I assure you. Lately I’ve been really digging foods that incorporate both hot and cold combos. Think salad plus roasted sweet potato, quinoa with diced veggies, spiralized zucchini with tofu and steamed veggies. You get the picture.

Grilled tofu over a bed of hot & cold veggies

….And dressed in Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (Trader Joe’s brand)

The players

Firm tofu, pressed & diced (see below for cooking instructions)

Steamed then broiled bok choy & cauliflower (sprayed w/ olive oil before roasting)

diced carrots, tomatoes

dressing (chilled)

After pressing, toss in 1t olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat and mix occasionally (~7 mins).

Toss until browned

Yeeeee-UM.

* * *

Last night’s dinner was incredible. What? It’s my blog I can brag 😉 This one is for you meat eaters. Actually, you can just nix the animal and it would be just as tasty.

Bison benefits over traditional red meat:

– Lower in fat/calories

– Leaner, lower saturated fat

– Higher in iron, protein, and B vitamins

– Greater levels of omega-3’s and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

– Usually grass fed (look for this label) and free roaming

-Free roaming reduces susceptibility to illness and need for antibiotics

source

Bison & Quinoa stuffed peppers

Ingredients

peppers, 6, stems and insides removed

quinoa, 1 cup

bison (*optional, for the meat eaters), 1 package

sweet potato, 2 medium, cubed

yellow onion, 1 large, chopped

mushrooms, 1 package, sliced

black beans, 1 can

jalapeno, 1/2 t finely diced

veggie or chicken broth, 4 cups

garlic, 2 cloves, finely diced

chili powder, 1 T

cumin, 1 t

olive oil

sea salt, pepper

1) Lightly dust sweet potato in olive oil, sea salt and pepper and bake in oven for ~30 mins at 425F (on baking sheet), flipping cubes at least once during coking. Remove when browned. During step 1, prepare steps 2-5.

2) Over medium heat, cook quinoa in 2-3 c broth. Set aside.

3) Over medium heat, add 1 T olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, and onions to frying pan cook until onions brown and mushrooms become soft. Set aside.

4) Boil peppers for ~5 mins until soft. Remove from water.

5) Cook bison over medium heat (until browned) in 1/8 cup broth + 1/4 t jalapeno. Set aside.

6) Combine quinoa, bison, sweet potatoes, onion/mushrooms, beans, chili powder, cumin, half of diced jalapeno (1/4 t), and mix. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

7) Stuff peppers and bake for ~10 mins at 425F (to reheat stuffing)

Served alongside roasted green beans (Side is optional. These protein-packed babies are very filling)...

Bon Appétit!

What are your favorite hot n’ cold combos (besides Katy Perry)?

Have you tried bison?

>C’mon y’all, lets get woohoo!

>

Let’s get it started (ha), let’s get it started in here.

Let’s get it started (ha), let’s get it started in here.

Let’s get it started (ha), let’s get it started in here.

Let’s get it started (ha), let’s get it started in here.

Yeah.

Lose control, of body and soul.

Don’t move too fast, people, just take it slow.

Don’t get ahead, just jump into it.

Ya’ll here a body, two pieces to it.

Get stutted, get stupid.

You’ll want me body people will walk you through it.

Step by step, like you’re into new kid.

Inch by inch with the new solution.

Trench men hits, with no delusion.

The feeling’s irresistible and that’s how we movin’.

Runnin’ runnin’, and runnin’ runnin’, and runnin’ runnin’, and runnin runnin’ and…

C’mon y’all, lets get woohoo!

Lets get woohoo! (in here)

Lets get woohoo!

Lets get woohoo! (in here)

Lets get woohoo!

Lets get woohoo! (in here) Ow, ow, ow!

Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya…

1) Did you know those were actually the lyrics? Cause I didn’t.

2) Remind you of starting the week off on the right foot? Yes? Does for meeeee.

* *

I started the week off right fo sho. Woke up to a steaming bowl of…

 Honey & Pear Chia-Oats (Crock-Pot style)! 

Ingredients

3 c oats

3 T chia seeds

2 chopped pears

4 c h20

2.5 cups almond milk

stevia, ~7 servings

3 T honey

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t sea salt

Throw ingredients in pot

Add h20, milk, and mix

Cover and set on low. Cook for 4-8 hours. Whisk in more liquid in morning if too thick.

*To reheat: Store pot in fridge. After cooling whisk in additional liquid. Reheat individual servings in microwave.

Enjoy at the table or in bed with a side of puppy.

Have a great day everyone 🙂

>Mr. Super-Deep-Heavy-Breathing-Snot-Blowing-Yogi

>Thank youuuuu, Sunday! Thank you for finally arriving. I’ve been waiting on you for several days now. Why so excited, you ask? Because I’m off today!

You’d think I’d be completely exhausted and sleep til 12 (y’allll know me well), but I actually went to bed shortly after getting home from work last night (around 12:30am) and woke refreshed and ready for the day. I haaaaate sleeping in when I work the evening shift (3-11:30pm). I need some “me” time before work, ya know? The alarm buzzed (who am I kidding? It blasted country) and I happily made my way (in robe, duh) to the kitchen for breakfast and caffeination.

Speaking of caffeine, I have some horrible news..

Rest in Peace, dear friend ❤

Good think I have a back-up (reg coffee pot). I seriously sound like an addict, b.t dubs). But more importantly, anyone know what I should do?? I don’t have the box and bought it from BJ’s less than a year ago…Waaah.

In happier news, I enjoyed a Vanilla Almond Protein Cupcake on the deck.

Mix and microwave ~1.5 mins in evoo-sprayed mug

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (SunWarrior brand)

1 T egg whites

pinch baking powder

1/2 t chopped almonds

~1/8 t almond extract

pinch baking powder

h20, to moisten

stevia, 1 serving

Topping

stevia-sweetened fat-free Greek yogurt

Thanks to this new lil friend. 

Aaaand since my frother is still living, I topped steamed soy + cinnamon over brewed Peet’s coffee (my favorite drip at-home drip coffee).

With a side of sun and pup..

Post-digestion, I made my way (aka jogged) to a 90 min Power Yoga class at The Studio DC. This was my first power yoga class and I really enjoyed. It reminded me of vinyasa flow with an athlete’s touch. Right up my alley, don’t cha think??

My only complaint: Mr. Super-deep-heavy-breather-snot-blower two mats down from me. If I was Anna, I would have freeeeeaked (she was closer than me). Now I know I’m no master yogi – I try to focus on my breathing, even if I feel a little funny/embarrassed. And I get the whole breathing philosophy. Trust me, no judgement here. Sometimes one or two fellow yogi’s breathe louder than the rest of the group (combined) and ya know what, do your thang – I can usually drown you out.

But today was on another level. Mr. Super-deep-heavy-breather-snot-blower only breathed out through his nose (kudos to you), but blew snot all over his face and mat the. entire. time. I tried not to focus on him but I couldn’t help it! He had snot dripping from his nose to the floor. BARF.

Snot blower, I really hope we don’t meet again in another class (or he clears up that cold, STAT) because I really did enjoy the class – the parts that I could actually focus on. Moral of the story? If you’re going to snot everywhere in a heated yoga class with 30+ people crammed into a small room, please do one of the following:

 1) Breathe through your mouth

2) Keep tissues nearby

3) Wear a mask

4) Don’t come to class

I prefer numbers 3 and 4. Just sayin‘.

Moving on…

Post yoga and jog home, I was ravishing! I threw together this particularly colorful protein-packed salad. Salad monsters, you never do me wrong.

Spinach

cauliflower

cherry tomatoes

black beans

steamed sweet potato 

cucumber

nutritional yeast

1:1 mixture of Goddess Dressing and balsamic vinegar

* * *

Alright my friends, I’m off to enjoy my lovely day off…and sip a hearty Green Monster Smoothie. This one is particularly delicious (according to the Manfriend)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (SunWarrior brand)

frozen banana

5-6 frozen strawberries

1 t spirulina

hand full fresh spinach

ice

almond milk

teeeny but of fresh lime juice (it needed something tart)

stevia, 1 serving

pinch xanthan gum (optional; to thicken)

pinch sea salt

Sooooo…..what shall I do today??? Some ideas I’m throwing around:

– Long run (9ish miles)
– Farmers market
– Pick up laundry (boo)
– “Window” shop around Georgetown
– Cook dinnah (quinoa stuffed peppers?)
– Shameless <–New favorite show!!

Enjoy your Sunday!

>On the menu

>Hi kiddos. Happy Friday!!!! DCers, how amazing is this weather today? This week has been N-U-T-S! Work-wise (three 13-hr shifts), workouts, hanging with friends – I’ve been quite the busy bee. Despite the chaos, I’ve still been fueling myself pretty fabulously.

In an attempt to lower our grocery bill(s) and prevent throwing away uneaten veggies (nothing makes me more sad than throwing out uneaten produce. Such a shame.), we’ve decided to choose 3-4 meals at the beginning of the week and buy specifically for the recipes, creating our own pre-set menu. I would like to do this for all 7 days per week, but unfortunately I eat a lot of meals at work.

Enter meal #1:

Sesame-crusted tilapia & sauteed green beans

(15 min prep and cook. Adapted from Clean Eating magazine)

Ingredients:

1 lb tilapia (3-4 fillets)

fresh green beans (12 oz)

1/3 cup low-sodium veg/chic broth

2 T minced fresh ginger

1 T fresh lime juice

2 T soy sauce

2 t honey

4 tsp olive oil

1 T sesame oil

2 T sesame seeds

sea salt, to taste

pepper, 1/2 t

Directions (15 min meal):

Preheat oven to 425F. In a small bowl, whisk lime juice, soy sauce, 2 t ginger, 1/2 t sesame oil, 1 t honey. 2 tsp olive oil. Place fish on tinfoil lined baking pan and pour lime juice mixture over top, turning fillets to coat. Sprinkle sesame seeds (~1.5 T) evenly over top and bake for 8 mins or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Meanwhile, heat 2 t olive oil in a nonstick pan on medium. Add ginger and cook for ~1min or until fragrant. Add broth, beans, 1 t honey, salt, pepper, cover and cook for 5 mins or until beans are bright green and tender-crisp. Remove from heat, and 1/2 t sesame seeds.

Drizzle with pan juices and additional honey (~1/2 t) to taste (I added a teeeeny bit more honey plus sea salt to mine and it was perfect)

* * *

Other blog worthy (easy!) meals have included:

Blueberry Muffin overnight oats w/ coconut chia topping

(Night before)

1/2 c cooked oats (cooked in 1 cup H20)

1/2 mashed banana

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (SunWarrior brand)

stevia, 1 serving

sea salt, pinch

cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch each

splash milk (I used ~1/8 cup almond milk)

Chill overnight

Then add 1/4 c Light Coconut milk (I buy Whole Foods brand canned coconut milk) + 1 tsp chia seeds…

Love.

* *

Blueberry pancakes made from garbanzo bean flour!

(Topped with stevia-sweetened fat-free Greek yogurt, crushed walnuts, and teeny drizzle maple syrup)

Pancakes (makes 2 medium sized pancakes):

1/2 c garbanzo bean flour

1/4 c egg whites

1/2 mashed banana

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1 t vanilla extract (all natural version)

stevia, 1 serving

cinnamon, nutmeg, ~1/4 t each

sea salt, pinch

Spray non-stick a pan with cooking spray and cook over light/medium heat until bottom is browned and bubbles appear (~3-5 mins). Flip, cook an additional 2-3 mins and enjoy! Top with fruit, yogurt, nut butter or maple syrup.

^These are to.die. for. It’s crazy how the consistency is exactly like traditional (restaurant style) ones!

* *

Salad monsters w/ hummus salad dressing

Seriously people….

+

+

Beans, tofu, nutritional yeast, cilantro (optional), and balsamic vinegar

Yields the most incredible salad

And even better?

Protein-packed Garbanzo bean flatbread (socca) alongside..

Ingredients:
(Makes 3 small flatbreads)

3/4 c garbanzo bean flour

1 c water (Can add more if desired. Should resemble pancake batter consistency)

1 T olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely diced

small hand full fresh basil, finely chopped

1/2 t sea salt

 1/4 t black pepper

Directions:

Whisk ingredients, spray pan with cooking spray and cook over medium heat (~3 mins). Flip when bottom is browned and small bubbles appear. Cook an additional 2-3 mins.

* * *

I just realized I have two races coming up! The National Half Marathon and Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler – both here in DC!

Anyone else running? It’s funny because last year I ran the same half on a whim. I’m especially excited since my legs are feeling great due to more lifting and yoga and less repetitive cardio.

Speaking of yoga, I just purchased a promo package at a new studio ($35 for 5 classes!). I think heated vinyasa and power yoga are becoming my new favorites.

Q’s

Running any spring/summer races?

Do you also choose meals at the beginning of the week? Has this helped budgeting?

*Recipes coming up*

Buffalo chicken salad

Quinoa stuffed peppers



>I’m bacckkkkk

>Hi friends! I am quite relaxed after a nice lil vacay from all forms of communication. Well, not all forms – I haven’t had a phone for 4 days now and to be honest, I have a been loving and hating it all at the same time. I’ve relyed on the phone application in Gmail when I’ve needed to make a call and Verizon’s website for free texting. <—Good tools to know!

This morning I went for a leisurely walk with the pup and usually I’d be checking my phone, calling friends/family, texting, Tweeting – you get the picture. Without my lil friend, I was able to really enjoy the walk, soak up the sun, and be present. Next time you’re out of a walk, jog, etc. leave it home. You have a voicemail for a reason 🙂

So what have I been up to for the last few days? Well I’ve…

– Worked…..quite a bit .
– Shopped….quite a bit (mostly for food and other boring things. Well food is fun but it’s no clothes)
– Rested (!). Got 11 hours of sleep last night!
– Squeezed in some good workouts, including a long run (8.5) miles today
– Am sticking to my “I will lift more” promise

And best of all: Have had a blastttttt with my friends!

Here are a few pics from Saturday night.

(hehehe)

We ate at my favorite Thai restaurant, Mai Thai (affordable, trendy, and deeeeelish food) and enjoyed a few cocktails. I rolled with champagne while the rest savored their signature Mai Thai’s. Pretty tasty, but a liiiiitle too sweet for me.

Thai and Japanese are my favorite food genres before a night of dancing. No one feels particularly comfortable dancing the night away with a belly full-o-Mexican or Italian (or perhaps that’s just me). 

The weather was ahhhhamzing. We went to a local bar in Dupont Circle and danced the night away on their gorgeous rooftop. 

Spring is just around the corner…

 I can feel it!

* * *

With the arrival of this gorgeous weather, I’ve been craving cold breakfasts in place of my usual protein oats, pancakes, cupcakes, etc. Two very quick meals that I love to make are:

#1 Chilled overnight oats

Combine and stir:

1/3 cup cooked oats

1 serving protein powder (*see below)

1/2 c fresh or frozen fruit

1/4 c milk of choice (almond, soy, hemp, low-fat, etc.)

sweetener (1 serving, I prefer stevia or Truvia)

teeeny pinch sea salt

Spoon into glass/mug and throw in fridge

Next morning:

Add 1 t chia seeds and/or crushed nuts (walnuts, almonds) for crunch

Enjoy!

And quick breakfast #2 (I make this one when I have 0.25 seconds of time to spare the night before)

Yogurt & fruit bowl

Night before combine & refrigerate:

1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1/2 cup frozen fruit 

sweetener (1 serving stevia or Truiva)

Next morning:

Stir & add 1 t chia seeds for crunch and healthy omega fatty acids

*Attention SunWarrior Protein loverssssss*: The other day I ordered a new bag of vanilla SunWarrior protein from a company called Vitacost.com (was very pleased with price and quick shipping, btw). To my surprise the goods arrived in a shiny gold bag, quite different than the bags I’ve grown accustomed to. 

VS.

Since I was younger and heard about ‘food tampering’ I’ve always been super weary of questionable packaging. For some reason this new bag plus its press on nutritional info labels kind of freaked me out and I was unsure if I actually ordered a legitimate SunWarrior product. Plus the scoop was 1/2 the size of the traditional one. 

So being the nut-job that I am, I sent a quick email to SunWarrior.

Hello,

I recently ordered your vanilla protein through a company called Vitacost (http://www.vitacost.com/) and my protein came in a shiny gold bag. The green product labels were stuck onto the bag (in a professional way) rather than printed on the bag, like your green bags. Do you know whether I ordered a legitimate SunWarrior product? I am nervous to try it. Also, on the packaging it says one serving equals 1 scoop; however, the scoop is 1/2 the size of the traditional one. Does this mean one serving is actually two scoops?

And I received the following response:


Hi Lauren,


Yes, those bags are legitimate. We are upgrading to a stronger bag, and these stronger gold bags are temporary until our stronger printed bags arrive. The new scoop is the correct serving size. The old scoops were too big. I hope this helps.


Thank you,


Jennifer

This means I’ve been getting 2X as much protein as you thought. To think of it, there are 47 servings per bag and I don’t recall my bags everrrrr lasting that long. I don’t have a problem with the extra serving, but this stuff is a lil pricy so I will be cutting back to the true serving size.

* * *

In completely random news, I’m in lurrrrve with Black Cherry Berry Tea (with a splash of almond milk)

Aaaaand, I can eat Chop’t salads any day of the week…

* * *

Alright kidds, I’m off to BodyPump! Have a great night everyone ❤

>The healthiest pizza in the world.

>OK, the healthiest pizza I’ve ever heard of. I’m convinced this recipe has changed my life. Made from cauliflower, flax meal (ground flax seeds), garbanzo (chickpea) flour, egg whites, fresh herbs, and spices, I’ve gone to pizza heaven.

I know, right??! 

I’ve never said this before about a recipe, but if you try only one of my recipes – please try this one! I got the idea from Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers by her cauliflower, cheese, and egg pizza crust. Trying to nix the excessive dairy from my life (stomach issues) however, I tried my hand at a crust using flax meal and the new love in my life, garbanzo bean flour.

So here we go!

Ingredients (Makes 2 pizzas. Serves 4-5)

1.5 cauliflower heads, raw and chopped in food processor (or by hand)

1/2 c egg whites

2/3 c garbanzo bean flour

1/2 c flax meal

3 T olive oil

hand full fresh basil, finely chopped

1 T oregano

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 t sea salt, 1/2 t black pepper

1. Chop cauliflower and shred in food processor

2. Combine and mix remaining ingredients (save a third of garlic and basil for later)

3. Spray baking pan with cooking spray and spoon evenly onto two pans. The thinner the crusts the better, as long as there are no holes/spaces. Cook for ~35 mins at 375F (proceed to next step).

4. If making veggie pizzas, cook veggies over medium heat in a little water until soft then add 1T evoo and cook until browned. 

Remove from heat.

5. Remove crusts and broil for ~5 mins until tops are browned and crispy.

6. Add pasta sauce

7. Add your favorite toppings (1/2 pizza was sans cheese for me). I added the remaining garlic and basil, and sauteed mushrooms and peppers. And drizzled with pesto.

8. Broil for an additional ~3 mins until cheese is melted. 

Enjoy!

* * *

If you try this (please do!) tell me what you think! I’m in lurrrrrrve! 

*Update: Make sure crust is extremely thin and browned throughout (top and bottom of whole crust) before adding toppings.