>Michael arrives and the Manfriend cooks!

>Heyyy,

How are ya?? I was gonna save this til the end of the post, but I can’t wait. We got a new pup!

^The little guy on the left! His name is Michael (I love people names for pets, lol). I looooove him!!! (roomie’s dog Beau is on the right) I’m sure there will be pleeently more Michael pics coming soon, don’t you worry 😉

So yep, a little rewind: I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was pretty splendid. After my half-marathon, I took a much needed nap (race started at 7am and I went to bed at 1, whoops) then enjoyed the beautiful weather. Sadly the sunshine is gone today, but twas nice while it lasted.

After a day-o-sun, the Manfriend cooked me a deeeelish dinner:

</STRONG ^Halibut (grilled in EVOO, roasted garlic, pepper), grilled asparagus (added EVOO and a teeny bit of Earth Balance) and Red wine (!) quinoa. The quinoa/fish combo was my favorite part because although you couldn’t taste the wine too much on its own, it totally brought out the spices of the fish when eaten together.

Seth also pan fried asparagus in a little EVOO and whole grain spelt flower (plus cumin, red chili powder, sea salt, and pepper). This was SO good! Would be a great topper for salads!

And the best part….I got to sit on the couch and sip this:

^Greg Norman Petite Syrah (Golfers make good wine!)

And look at this:

hehehe.

Later that night I put on ma new kicks (love these!)

And met up with some friends for cocktails. Nude pumps and skinny jeans: Great idea. Nude pumps same day of running 1/2 marathon: Not so much–Lesson learned!

Finally I wanted to share a new recipe I tried after hearing a ka-trillion good things about it–Chocolate mousse made from….Avocados!

^1.5 avocados, cocoa powder, almond milk,agave, dash sea salt. I also had some organic choc syrup that I drizzled over the top. So. freakin. good. Alright it’s back to scienceland ova here! Have a great rest of your day! xoxox

QUESTION: Tell me something random about yourself! Any fun facts? I wanna learn more about you guys 🙂

Here are some for me:

1. I get nauseous and/or become faint if I watch an injection

2. Seth (Manfriend) and I started dating in 8th grade

3. I’m obsessed with whales. I think they’re magical. When I’m stressed I sometimes Google pictures of them.

4. When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut, marinebiologist, or work at the Clinique counter.

5. The first race I ever ran was the Boston Marathon

xx Lauren

>Salsaa

>Hey Hey,

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty fantastic. Fantastically productive yet fun 🙂

Friday was beeeautiful weather in DC so in between experiments I snuck out for a quick 3-miler. It was glorious. I only wish I didn’t get so darn sweaty when I run or I’d run over lunch break everyday…I always wonder how people manage this. First, I’m generally starving before lunch so my energy levels are next to zero. And second, let’s say I run for 45 mins. I generally need 15 mins to stretch/stop profusely sweating and then another 30 to quickly shower and get ready. Hmmm…Any suggestions???

Saturday I worked in the labski until 9pm! Not the most exciting night, but I did get some wonderful results so it’s okay in my book 🙂 But you can bet the first thing I did when I returned home was make some of these:

Skinny margaritas on the rocks: White tequila, splash triple sec, splash OJ, fresh lime juice, dash of stevia.

I even hand delivered one to Kels (sistah) in the shower. Ahhhhh, shower drinks. Reminds me of being in undergrad 🙂

The night started and ended with those and a whole lotta salsa dancing in between.

Sunday was a blur I think I slept until 3pm…made some food and slept some more. Oh, and watched 23894329 episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. What better to do on a rainy day???

Monday was also pretty epic. The manfriend is moving to DC in a couple of weeks (!) so Kels and I switched rooms as her’s is muchhhh bigger than mine. Losta work but big payoff. In between moving, I went for 7-mile run around the Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, reflecting pool, and Jefferson Memorial. There is something different about running in DC than other cities. For me running is really a time of clarity and reflection. Being surrounded by beautiful statues, memorials, etc. recognizing heroes of our past really puts what’s important into perspective. I returned from the run refreshed and motivated for the week 🙂

For dinner last night, I modified Fitnessista‘s Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. It was quick, spicy, and delicious.

Source

^Lean ground turkey, black beans, corn, 1 medium yellow onion, 2 cans diced tomatoes (1 fire roasted if you like it hott), 4 medium sweet potatoes, 1 clove diced garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp red chili powder, sea salt/pepper to taste. I served it over brown rice and a new favorite around la casa, Greg Norman Syrah.

Source

Who knew golfers were so wine-savy???

Whelp, back to scienceland…Have a great week!

L