>I’m a hot mess

>Hey guys, how the heck are ya? The lack of posting this weekend was because I worked the entire thing. Yep, 7am – 7:30pm, Saturday and Sunday. How fun, right? It actually wasn’t all that bad. I had a dinner party on Friday to celebrate my bff’s bday and now I’m parked on my couch happily enjoying my day off. Feet are thanking me 🙂

* * *

This morning I woke looking like a complete disaster. I’m just not one of those girls that rolls out of bed looking pretty…

source

(More my style)

source

This morning I literally stepped out of bed and into the car to drive my sister to work. I didn’t care too about my appearance because the car was parked right out front. All was clear until a coffee craving hit. I haaaad to have Starbucks. 

Now, do I go home and change, then go back to Starbucks? Orrr do I strut my disheveled hot-mess-of-a-self and lion hair? 0.22 seconds of debating later, I chose the lion. I kept thinking, if I was a celebrity and photographed I would end up in the back of the magazine under “What Were They Thinking?” or “Stars without makeup: Eeeeeek”!

What kind of gal/guy are you? Do you not leave the house without some prep work? Or do you embrace the train wreck look?

* * *

On another note, I was feeling generous when a nice homeless man asked me for money outside of Starbucks. Having only plastic on me, I purchased him a hot chocolate and spiced cake. I figured not all people like coffee (although I find them freaks, haha) and I wanted a food that he could save for later if he wanted. I walked out of the store and happily gave him the food explaining I didn’t have money on me and what did he do??? He was pissed! 

Ahhh well, I tried. What’s your approach on giving money? I’ve lived in cities for the last 8 years so being asked for money is almost a daily occurrence. I really don’t like giving money because of the fear it will be spent on alcohol/drugs and generally choose to give food. What do you think? 

* * *

After being put in my place by the homeless man, I made a massive breakfast…

Berry Pecan Protein Pancake

1 scoop vanilla protein (I used SunWarrior brand)

1/3 cup egg whites

1/2 mashed banana

1/2 cup frozen berries (raspb, blue, blackberries)

1 t flax seeds

1 T crushed pecans

pinch baking powder

pinch cinnamon, nutmeg

1 T organic maple syrup

* * *

15 mins of digesting later, I hit the road for BodyPump class. The class was great per usual, but the lovely instructor decided to sing along to most of the already lame music. Thaaaaanks! <—sarcasm

On the way home I stopped at health food Heaven to for a ginormous protein-packed salad from Whole Foods. Mmmmm.

Spinach, arugula, steamed brussels/zucchini/summer squash, roasted turkey breast, raw veggies, 1 egg, sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans, topped with a little cayenne and sea salt. So so good!

* * *

Before I go, I wanted to show y’all some nutritional info from a popular brand of deli turkey. Browse the ingredient list if you will…

Barf. Seriously spend the extra $0.40 and buy the all-natural version.

* * *

Are you a hot mess in the morning? Do you own it?

What’s your approach to giving money to the homeless?

>Mrs. Crankypants

>Ahhh, a day off. Finally. I need it. Mentally. Physically. My poor feet. Ok enough whining..

Yesterday I hit the gym with the Manfriend for a spinning sesh. Since I was feeling devoid of all energy, I decided a class where someone forces tells me what to do, would be better for my current mental state. I don’t know about you but it’s much easier to follow along to someone else’s commands than to motivate myself to the same degree. And me + machines don’t mix all that well <—-snooze.

I was actually getting excited for the class until we realized the instructor was a no-show. Thanks for nothin’. Considering I prepared for a class, I purposely left my ipod at home. Treadmill ADD + no music = not a productive combo. I’ll admit, I’ve been skimping on weights this week so I did my best at a full-body (BodyPump inspired) weights workout. Twas ok, but I probably should have stayed on the couch. Just one of dem days…

For lunch, I wanted complex carbs (and COFFEE) to pump up my energy for a long night at work. Similar to last week’s PB and sweet potato combo, I made a protein-ified (nice word, eh?) version using Greek yogurt.

Salty & Sweet perfection: Baked sweet potato with peanut butter Greek yogurt (FF gr yogurt, peanut flour, sea salt, stevia) and a drizzle of organic maple syrup.

* * *

Work was fine. I really do love the time I spend on the unit. I am so fortunate to have an incredibly rewarding job. I was however, hurting last night. My feet that is. I need to remember to wear these bad boys every shift..

source

By the time I got home and showered (hospitals are dirty, y’all), I was hungry, tired, cranky, and it was 12:00am. Eeeek, there goes the whining again. I had been slacking on my veggies. Aaaand they’re on their way out (nothing irks me more than throwing out fresh fruits/veggies).

Spinach, cherry tomatoes, cukes, fat-free cottage cheese 

With a 1:1 mixture of Goddess dressing and balsamic vinegar <—-Best dressing

And some more unpictured veggies dipped in my favorite hummus…

Trader Joe’s Jalapeno & Cilantro

Note: My sister hates cilantro in almost anything, but love this stuff…

Aaaand some unpictured hot tea and dark chocolate in bed 😉

* * *

This morning I woke around 9am and made breakfast for me and our friend Cory that’s staying with us..

Blueberry Protein Pancakes (recipe here)

* * *

I have a confession: It’s now 4:45pm, and I’m still in my fleece pj’s. I’ve spent my day off cooking (dinner is in the crock pot!), playing with the pup, catching up on the news, recipe reading, and straight up reeeelaxing.

Tonight’s agenda? Yoga then dinner/wine partay to celebrate Kelsey’s (sister) last day of work. Now that’s a perfect day off in my eyes!

~ What’s your idea of a perfect day off? ~ 

>And I’m D-O-N-E

>Well I completed all of my Christmas shopping. And it only took me TWO trips. SUCCESS!

source

The first trip was incredibly successful. On the list:

– Mom
– Dad
– Brother
– Sister-in-law (to be)
– Michael (puppy)
– Secret Santa

Kelsey (sister) was my shopping buddy. We even hit up Dog Fish Ale House for dinner. If you’re a beer drinker and from the DC/VA/MD are, chances are you drink this stuff. I, on the other hand, am not a beer drinker. I never did like the taste. Wine is my thang.

We started with a bottle of Cabernet recommended by the server:

It. was. disgusting. 

I’ve never sent back wine before (unless it was corked) but this one tasted like sugar-y, syrup-y, grossness. I do not recommend.

This one, on the contrary, was pretty fantastic:

Dinner was good. Kels and I split the grilled salmon:

Veggies sauteed in olive oil rather than butter

And seared ahi tuna: 

And a side of steamed spinach (drizzled in EVOO, lemon, S&P)

* * *

Today I had the day off. I woke around 10am, caught up on the news, and made a breakfast classic..

The Protein Cupcake

Combine then microwave 1 min 30 seconds:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 T egg white

pinch baking powder

pinch sea salt

cinnamon

stevia

water to moisten

Frosting

1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

2 T peanut flour

stevia

teeny bit of sea salt

(recipe inspired by Toneitup‘s protein pancake)

* * *

After digesting, the Manfriend and I jogged to the gym (1 mile each way), then I BodyPumped while he lifted and jump roped (fun fact: my brother and bf are crazy-good jump ropers)

We lunched on Soup courteous of Amy then I hit the streets for day #2 of holiday shopping. Fortunately Georgetown has amazing stores so I didn’t have to walk far. And after 2 shopping trips, I finished the Manfriend’s gifts and I’m D-O-N-E!

* * *

For holidays, birthdays, etc., are you an early-bird shopper or procrastinator like me?

>All in a days work

>Whelp, this is gonna be a quick one, because I am EXHAUSTED! I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Mine started with a gigantic protein pancake:

1/3 cup egg whites, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, 1 tbsp spelt flour, pinch baking soda, 1 banana (half smashed, half diced), 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp apple pie spice, stevia, dash sea salt. Topped with 1/4 cup microwaved blueberries and 1 tbsp organic maple syrup.

Please try this ❤

After digesting, caffeinating, and catching up on the news I did the 45 min TurboFire workout (Fire 45) and ended up looking like this:

No lie, these workouts are FANTASTIC.

I had several Strawberry Lemonades to refuel:

Ice H20 + lemon juice + stevia + frozen strawberries

And reheated the leftover chicken parmesean and got back to work on the thesis train.

For a snack I was craving something tropical. I could have happily made a pina colada but that might have not been the best choice for a writing mind. Instead I made a Tropical Yogurt Mess and called it a day:

FF Greek Yogurt, frozen pineapple, unsweetened coconut, stevia

After more and more work and a long walk with the pup, I decided to make some Magic Soup since I haven’t had it in sooooo long. And a BONUS of magic SOUP in the SUMMER???? It tastes FANTASTIC eaten chilled.

Roasted Red Pepper soup, shrimp, spinach, kidney beans, sugar snap peas, edamame, carrots + red chili powder, cumin, pepper, dash sea salt

Dear Magic Soup,

I have missed you.

The Manfriend was home early tonight so after an early dinner we relaxed on the deck and enjoyed a new bottle of Shriaz:

❤

Have a great night and fantastic Thursday!

QUESTION:

What’s your favorite wine?

Do you ever make soup in the summer?

XX

>I’m a beasttt

>Hi kiddos,

I hope you’re having a fantastic Saturday! It’s HOT-HOT-HOT here in Washington, DC. I’m talking 103F and HUMID! AKA investing the time to do my hair is a no-go. What’s your weather like this weekend???

Yesterday was a lazy day for me. The weather was SO hot it was pretty much unbearable to be outside. I woke sweaty and itching for a refreshing Green Monster smoothie:

^1 scoop vanilla whey (Designer Whey brand), 1/2 banana, frozen strawberries, frozen pineapple, handful fresh spinach, ice H20, ice, 1 tsp xanthan gum (to thicken), dash stevia.

Heavenly.

After my smoothie digested, Kelsey (sistah) and I tried the TurboFire workout series for the first time. I saw how much Gina (from Fitnessista.com) liked it and needed to give it a try! Here’s a clip of Gina doing the workout and this pretty much got me hooked. The series is made up of 11 DVDs that range in various times, intensities, etc.

It’s heart pumping and so fun! For those of you with two left feet like me, I still felt like I was in a dance video. Ok not so much, but I could still follow along and seriously break a sweat.

After sweating like a BEAST, I had a huuuuge craving for Kombucha:

^Ah, I luuurve this stuff.

Then whipped up Big ole’ salad. Romaine, turkey, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, cranberries:

Topped with nutritional yeast (noosh) and Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing:

*Click here to read about the amazing health benefits of Nutritional Yeast.

And this new FAVORITE:

^Garlic Gold Nuggets. SO GOOD. They add amazing flavor and some crunch.

*Tip: To reduce calories in your favorite dressing dilute 1:1 with balsamic vinegar. It ‘thins’ out the dressing so you use less but still get the flavah

Later in the evening we met my uncle (who is in town for a conference) for dinner and drinks (unpictured, sorrrry). I had taco salad and two Pineapple Mixers.

^Uncle, me and Kels

This morning I woke staaavin‘ and despite the heat, I wanted PANCAKES:

I found a recipe for low-fat protein pancakes from the girls at Tone it Up.com

(You can view their original recipe here)

– 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
– 1/3 cup egg whites

– 1/2 mashed banana, 1/2 diced banana

– 1 tsp flax seeds

– 1/2 tsp cinnamon

– *Optional ingredients: Dash seasalt, maca powder, apple pie spice, frozen blueberries (I add all of these)

I microwaved 1/2 cup of frozen cherries, strawberries and blueberries added a dash of stevia and blended to make a DELISH fruit topping (I also dipped them in a little bit of organic maple syrup).

The pancakes were great! They only took 5 mins and I still can’t believe they are made from protein powder, egg whites, and banana. Next time I may add a whole banana (1/2 mashed and 1/2 diced) and a pinch of baking soda. Give em a try!

OK folks, I’m off to the gym then back to clean the apartment, do some reading, and then meet friends for dinner.

Have a great night!

XX,

Lauren

Here’s a pic of me and my niece from my birthday last week: