>To splurge or not to splurge

Posted on August 5, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Hi Y’ALLLLLLLLL!!!!! How are you? I hope you had a fantastic couple of days. I spent the last couple in Myrtle Beach and left for the DC this morning.

I will miss you.

How do you eat when your on vacation? Do you stick to a diet or splurge on food and drinks? Do you exercise every day or not at all?

I used to go all out and really ‘live it up’, having whatever I wanted allll week long. Inevitably however, it always left me with a stomach ache. My bod is pretty used to all of the greans, fiber, veggies, and when I go all-out with pure carbs and sugary drinks – it leaves me in pretty rough shape.

The last few vacations however, I haven’t gone quite overboard. I’ve done the following instead:

– Kept at least 2 meals a day on the healthy-side (more veggies, fruits, whole grains the better)

– Splurged on 1 meal/item per day. Went for local favorites and not dishes I can order any time at home

– Had 1 sugary drink per day (pina colada, strawberry daiquiri, margarita). Sipped wine spritzers or clear liquors/soda/juice instead (light beer if your a beer drinker)

– Drink lots of H20. Have a water in between drinks and especially in hot weather

THIS WEEK I had lots of fruit:

And fruit plates:

Visited a local fruit & veggie stand:

Sipped refreshing white wine spritzers:

1/2 white wine, 1/2 soda water, ice source

Had a Protein & Fruit smoothie for breakfast on many days:

Yes, I packed my SunWarrior 😉

Splurged on Bailey’s on ice:

So. worth. it.

Tasted local food:

And still ate my veggies:

And how did I do???? Well no complaints in the stomach department all week! I woke early this morning for a farewell run on the beach then we headed out for our 6 hr trek to DC. On the way we passed several beautiful farms and extensive fields:

I seriously have so much fun on road trips with Seth (aka Manfriend)! We are such goofballs and like to play random games, belt our lungs out, and just have the most ridiculous conversations. The only downside…I have a bladder the size of a pea! At least it makes for some interesting stops 🙂

Well kids, I’m gonna catch up with Sir DVR and a glass of Shriaz:

I’m not watching Jersey Shore

Some dark chocolate:

And cuddle this guy:

QUESTION: What are your vacation tips???? Do you play by ear?? Go overboard??? Or not care at all 🙂

SOMETHING TO DO: Are you on TWITTER?? Follow me here!

G’NIGHT!!!!!! XX

>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

>Kiss me, I’m Swedish (and Portuguese!)

Posted on March 17, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Seems everyone is a little Irish on St. Patty’s day 😉

This morning I woke early (for once!) and headed out for a 5-mile run as the sun was coming up….

Perdyy but muddy…

Ravishing after the run, I made a Green Monster in the spirit of St. Patty’s Day:

^1 small frozen nanner, ~1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 scoop Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein, 2 tsp Sun Warrior Greens (see below), 1 tsp flax seed oil, 1 cup spinach…Crazy how good this tastes!

New greens:

^LOVE em!

And here’s some workout motivation for the day:

^Saw these two ladies trail running the morning! Did you know there’s a 70+ age category in the Boston Marathon???

Have a great day!

QUESTION: Any St. Patty’s plans??? And do you use Twitter??? I do 🙂 Add me and let’s chat

xx, Laur

>…back to reality

Posted on March 16, 2010 by sethlapierre

>Heyyyy bloggerzzz,

How’s your week going? Mine has been pretty slow. Getting back into the swing of things after a vaca is pretty rough. Ya think?

Last night I dragged my butt to the gym for a 45-min spinning class. Although I took the weekend off from working out (minus the dancing, dog sledding, etc.), I had zippo energy. Once the class got going though it wasn’t so bad. I ran a 1-mile warm up on the treadmill and I think that also helped. Also anticipating warm weather and sleeveless shirts, I’ve been getting back on the push-up train. I *try* to do 25 push ups before and after most workouts. For minimal time investment, push-ups are a great way to strengthen your arms and core. Get er done! ha

After the gym, I went grocery shopping (always a bad idea when starved) and whipped together this concoction:

^Spiralized raw zucchini, diced (medium firm) tofu, steamed broccoli (something about the hot/cold combo is bomb), and topped with Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut dressing and peanuts for crunchiness. Ha, ‘crunchiness’. Do you add food/flavors for consistency???

Hungry shortly afterward I made my favorite night time snack:

^Diced honey crisp apple w/ mesquite and cinnamon (cinnamon swirl PB for dipping, not pictured)

And hot tea:

^Decaffeinated black tea w/ soy

This morning I woke ravishing and warmed up some overnight oats I prepared last night:

^1/3 cup oats, 1 cup H20, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Protein (see below), 1 tsp cinnamon, raisins, 1 tsp Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB, Stevia, pinch sea salt. Yeee-UM. Hit the spot.

FINALLY bought this and LOVE it! Seriously get this stuff:

I also tried this guy for the first time:

^Vitamin Water Zero XXX. Thumbs up.

I recently posted how irritating it is to work at a HEALTH institute and all of the vending machines are filled with CRAP. Well today I found 1 new item, now the healthiest idem in there:

^I gave it a try since I was starving after lunch (Sorry Amy and Gardenburger, your soup and burger didn’t hold me over):

^Grilled Garderburger (Veggie Medley) on top of Ezekiel and organic ketchup/mustard (no pic of soup, sowwie)

Not the most clean granola bar out there, but better than a Snickers. After satisfying my hunger and feeling a little better that we *might* get some healthy alternatives in the future I immediately saw this sign:

Just when Dunkin’s was on the healthy track with their egg white flat bread sandwiches they come up with this…Lol…ah well.