>Crack caffeine

Posted on April 16, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Hiii y’allll,

Happy Friday! Hope your weather is as beauuuutiful as it is over hurrr! 😎

As I mentioned yesterday my run put me in kind of a stinker mood. That combined with working late and missing out on some sweet happy hour Indian food. So what’s a gal to do? Move on, get yo productivity on (aka scienceland for me) then meet your Manfriend for a late-night delish and romantic dinna!

And that, I did. We went to Cafe LaRuche, a cute little French restaurant in downtown Georgetown. Food had a very “home cooked” feeling.

^My dish: Grilled chicken seasoned with various herbs, side salad with house dressing.

^His meal (much better than mine): Grilled trout with veggies in a garlic tomato sauce.

Even better than the food, was the ambiance:

^Adorable outdoor patio (picture doesn’t do this place justice)

^music man

And even better than the ambiance….

“At La Ruche, ordering dessert is about as inevitable as death and taxes, and infinitely more satisfying than either.” -Washington Post

SOLD!

His:

^Totally forgot what he had. I assure you it was delicious however.

Hers:

^Chocolate mousse

Mmmm.mmm.mmmm

This morning I woke eyes-glued-shut and warmed up some oats I made (in da jah) the night before:

^Love getting one last meal out of a practically licked clean jar of PB! In the mix: 1/4 cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior vanilla protein, 2 tbsp egg whites, 1/2 frozen banana, raisins, cinnamon, stevia, dash sea salt. Perfection.

Eyes stilll glued shut, I made my way to Caffeine Heaven. While waiting for the metro to arrive (about 3 mins) my Venti iced coffee w/ soy went from this:

To this:

^Can’t slow down with that crack. ha.

Well I’m about to analyze today’s experiment and get the heck outta here. Have a great weekend!!!

QUESTION: What are your wake-me-up morning rituals???

xx,

Lauren

>Food staples and sleepy days

Posted on March 25, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Heellaaaa,

Happy hump day! How has your week been?? I’ve been soooo tired this week I don’t know what my problemo is. I’ve spend more $$ on these lately:

^Coffee w/ steamed soy + cinnamon

And less time in the gym in the past few days. Eh, oh well guess I need it??? I plan to run home from lab today (~7 miles) so we’ll see how that goes! ha

Speaking of Starbucks, I took this pic the other day because I think it’s awesome how many restaurants, coffee shops, etc. are becoming healthier and *more natural*…

I am in desperate need of a grocery run so my eats have been pretty standard lately, at least in the breakfast department.

Oats of champions:

^1/3 cup oats, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Protein, 3 tbsp egg whites, cinnamon swirl PB, raisins, cinnamon, stevia, dash sea salt.

BEST. TOPPING. EVER. <– I may or may not have finished that bottle in less than a week 😛

And “Green” Monsters:

^1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 scoop Sun Warrior Protein, 2 tsp Sun Warrior Supergreens 1 tsp flax seed oil, H20, and stevia….Clearly need to consult color wheel before aiming for a green one! ha

PS…I LOVE the SunWarrior Greens:

More snacks:

^Diced honeycrisp apple w/ cinnamon, mesquite, and cinnamon swirl PB (yes I know I’m obsessed, ha)

^Does Sangria count as a snack when consumed on a Saturday before 12pm?? 😉

Okeeey before I head back to the land-of-science, here are some more pics of the new pup, Michael:

Cutie.

Have a great day!!

QUESTION: When in desperate need of a grocery run, what are your food staples?? And, do you take a few days off from working out when you’re just too tired??

xx,
Lauren

>Sushi, shopping woes, and Marathon 2010!

Posted on March 9, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Hiiiii,

How are yaa? I’m doing swellll. My legs are starting to feel more like legs (and less like bricks) after Sunday’s 15-mile run. I’m hoping to get in one more 7-mi training run before heading to Quebec on Wednesday for a wedding!

Usually I have my outfit picked out weeeeks before but this time shopping kinda slipped ma mind. Last night Kels (sistah) and I had sushi then hit up the mall to find a dress. The shopping (but not sushi) was completely unsuccessful. At least we had a good meal, right??

I had miso soup:

Edamame:

Salmon sashimi:

And split this aaaaaa-mazing “Cherry Blossom Roll” with Kels:

^Salmon, yellow tail, tuna, avocado, seaweed salad a cherry on top!

Side note: If you are planning to visit DC in the near future, come during the Cherry Blossoms! It’s absolutely gorgeous!

So back to shopping, we didn’t have much time so I just checked the two closest stores, Nordstroms and Macy’s. I found nadda! I’m not a frequent Macy’s shopper but I figured they might have some dresses. Baah, was I dead wrong.

Soooo, that leaves tonight to find a dress before we leave on Wednesday. Where should I look??? I’m thinking BCBG, J Crew, and Anthropologie. Any other suggestions????

This morning I woke up late (9am, whoops) and cured my rumbling stomach with a bowl of this heaven:

^1/3 cup oats, 3 tbsp egg whites, 1 tbsp cinnamon, agave, raisins, dash sea salt, blob Cinnamon Swirl PB

Again, this stuff is AHH-MAZING:

Buy. some. immediately.

A few hours later I was staaaaavin again, so I whipped up a Green Monster:

^1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein, 1/2 cup FF Greek yogurt, nanner, 1/2 cup frozen spinach, 1/4 cup mixed berries, 1 tsp flax oil, H20, stevia.

Alright, back to scienceland. Have a great day!

QUESTIONS: Where should I buy a dress??? Are you planning to run a marathon someday?

xox

Lauren

Oh and PS, I am OFFICIALLY REGISTERED for a MAY 2ND MARATHON!!!!!

>Will run for wine

Posted on March 7, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Hellooooo,

How was your weekend??? I had the laaaaaziest yet most productive weekend everrrrr…..Lazy as in I slept til at least til 1pm each day the watched tons of TV. And productive as in I went grocery shopping, lab each day, did a good core workout, and ran a 15-miler today! Wooooop.

Here are some eats from the weekend:

^Diced honey crisp apple, diced nanner, Kashi go lean, coconut Kefir, cinnamon, stevia

LOVE this new find:

^Any other recipe suggestions for this???

Green monster:

^My recipe is featured on the Green Monster website!

Tuna salad:

^Tuna, 2 tbsp. red-fat mayo (made w/ EVOO), diced yellow onion, diced celery, diced pickles, dill, parsley, pepper, dash sea salt.

Margarita pizza:

^Could have done with 9/10 less cheese. But still dece.

Shriaz (Peter Lehmann):

^Soooooo good. And affordable!

Organic “Oreos”:

^How is that even possible???? Lol.

Fiiiiinally tried this gem:

WOW.

It paired nicely with this guy:

^Cinn Raisin swirl PB + nanner

And tonight’s dinnah (best eats all weekend):

^Baked then broiled sweet potato topped with 1/2 cup Amy’s Low-fat Black bean chili, diced avocado, salsa, and dollop FF Greek Yogurt. I am making this again ASAP. Such a great post-run dish!

Speaking of run, it was soooooo nice today (even ran in ma tank top!) the entire city of DC seemed to be exercising…either running or rollerblading, cycling, walking, boating, etc! And of course I have some pics from my 15-miler 😉

Active peeps:

^Not sure what this is called but it looks neat!