President's Day

Dear Presidents,
Thank you for being born and for giving me the day off work!  You have allowed me to watch The Jersey Shore girls get a makeover on Rachael Ray while I drink my homemade latte and eat my lumberjack breakfast.  You rule!
Love,
Me

OK- now that I got this off my chest, I'm gonna get to my updates!  First of all, I would like you to meet my new friends.  These boys will help me work on my fitness:

They are the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 and feel like little pillows of heaven on my feet.  I did the following workout in them and my feet and knees feel wonderful today, although my legs are a good sore:

• 30 mile treadmill intervals- 2 mile run and a little less than 1 mile of  incline walking
• 10 minutes stairmill
• Power kicks (lunge back, come up on one foot, kick out, then come back to a lunge)
• Bosu ball tricep dips
• Bosu ball planks
• Donkey kicks with a 3 pound weight
• Streeeeeetttttttttching

I was thrilled to get back to the gym after a 10-day hiatus!  It felt so good and just what I needed to feel better.

I just finished my breakfast of a homemade latte that my hubby helped me make:

OK, so I only steamed the milk.
I did make this 2-egg, broccoli, and spinach scramble:

My secret ingredient was this spice mix we picked up in New Orleans:

I originally picked it up for the name (because I'm very mature) but I am really enjoying it.  It is a white pepper blend and adds the perfect kick.  I do know that a little goes a long way, as I poured a hefty portion into my hubby's lunch the other day and it cleared his sinuses and made his face burn for a few hours!

I've gotta get dressed into big people clothes because I'm getting ready to start my day which may include a little shopping! 
See you all later!

Joining the Cool Kids

Hi Guys!  I hope you have been enjoying your weekend and have had a great start to the day!  So far I have been throughly relaxing and vegging out- my specialty!  I am using the excuse that I have been sick, but the sickness has come and gone and it's time to get moving!

New Foods
Since I blogged about my food slump three weeks ago, I've been trying new stuff and trying to find what works for me.  This weekend we stopped by Whole Foods and I picked up another couple of items that I've been wanting to try.
First up was the Strawberry Synergy:

I liked this flavor a lot, but drank half because that is the serving, and most importantly, all I can handle at a time!
I also finally bought two other superfoods that have been all over the pages of my favorite ladies' blogs!  I would have to link everyone if I mentioned them all!

Chia Seeds:

1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 small banana, 1 cup water, vanilla stevia drops, wild organic frozen blueberries, 1 tbsp chia seeds and my other new product- goji berries!  The chia seeds had a mild flavor and added a creamy texture, plus I felt my cool factor increased by 1,000 eating them!

Yesterday I enjoyed my goji berries in a swamp monster:

Swamp monster: 3 cups spinach, 1 tbsp Trader Joe's Hemp Protein Powder, 1 small banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup mixed frozen fruit topped with goji berries and a sprinkle of brown puffed rice.

I bought both of the goji berries and chia seeds in small packages by Navitas Naturals and I would not be at all offended if they sent me more!  Hint, hint, hint!
I also impulsively baked more cookies.  I gave the rest away but we have this star cookie left that is the size of my face.  I haven't devoured it quite yet, but it's early.

Something that I have gotten my grubby little hands on over the last few days is this:

It's blurry and so delicious!


Workin' on my fitness
Besides eating (I do other stuff sometimes too!) I went to get new running shoes.  I found out that my previous arch pain was from having worn out shoes and I found a pair that is super comfy that I hope to break in today!   I've been so stir crazy sitting around that I'm pumped to get my workout on!  It's getting close to spring (I'm convincing myself it is!) and it's time to shed that winter coat!  I need a plan and I'll be back with one soon!

Before I go, here's a Valentine's Day flashback from 4 years ago when my hubby and I were first dating:

Ah young love!  I think our plans today include cleaning the house and homework!  We know how to do it up all romantic style!

Hope your day is filled with lots of fun and lovey dovey stuff!

Snacker Alert

Hey Beauties!  Happy Friday!  I’m blogging from school, but don’t worry- I’m on a break!
I hope you are all getting into a fabulous weekend.  I know I just went on vacation, but the rest of the week was HARD and I needed a nice break.  I got so much done over the last three days at work and I'm feeling pretty good!

I’ve just finished a lavish meal, but first let’s get back to my snackisms earlier today.  I have to preface this by saying that I'm a reformed snacker.  I would rather eat every few hours than eat a big meal and get stuffed for several hours.  Since I can't do that at work because I am so busy, I've been eating a solid breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.  Of course, there are days like today when I like to color outside the lines. 
Disclaimer: I did eat a good breakfast and some leftover pumpkin soup for lunch, but it was obviously not enough!

Snack #1: Tart plain and strawberry fro yo with mango, kiwi, lychee, and strawberry bites.  Woah baby!

Snack #2: 1/4 cup cashews, 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup Honey Nut Cheerios

Snack #3: 1/4 cup Cheerios and 1/4 cup Corn Flakes with some FF milk

I was good and full until about 7:30, when I broke into my gourmet dinner:

The mango was crunchy and not too ripe- perfect for me!  I chomped on it while my professor spoke about some numbers stuff.  I doctored up my yogurt with some crunch:

This was a Nature Valley Strawberry Yogurt Bar.  It was good in my yogurt, but I don't think I would eat it again.
Thoughts on Snacking
I think what this post taught me is that I should have added some healthy fats to my soup and I would have been full!  It's also way more fun to snack sometimes and it would be exhausting if I showed you every single bit that crossed my lips- I would have to quit my day job and that would be bad!

Your turn:
Are you a grazer?  Does your schedule allow it?

A Souper Day

It's been another fun day at work.  I got in a cool 9-7 day.  For those counting that's 10 hours.  I don't take lunch because I'm trying to construct the messiest keyboard known to man by eating at my desk- it's working!  Apparently being out of town for two days made my entire company fall apart and I had to fix it over the last couple of days.  I'm only kidding, but I do the grunt work and they were waiting for the grunt to come back!  The bright side is we are almost at Friday!

I've been doing the sick thing and although I'm getting better, I still have some nasty left.  I have made some soup over the last couple of days to remedy the situation.  I'm convinced that a ton of vitamins in the form of veggies will chase away the cold monster.  One thing that you need to know is I don't really make soup- I just throw in a bunch of veggies, veggie stock, close my eyes, and make a wish!

First Wish: Random Veggie Beet Soup

• Veggie stalk, roasted beets, red onion, zucchini, Trader Joe's Frozen Organic Foursome veggies, shredded carrots, mushrooms, lots of cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper, tomato paste

Second Wish: Pumpkin Soup

• Yellow onion, carrots, celery, pumpkin puree, veggie stalk, garam masala, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, fresh basil

I'm not telling you to follow the recipes, but I am telling you it's easy enough to create a quick soup and get in 3 days of veggies in one shot!

Dessert tonight was more randomness:

• TJ's Vanilla Greek Yogurt, pumpkin puree, hemp protein powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, mini chocolate chips, and green sprinkles, because sprinkles make everything better!

 Another thing that makes me feel better is my compulsive baking:

I made brownies and brownie bites as I was making my soup.  Something about the smell of baking makes me feel better and I get my energy out in mixing everything together.
I'm off to catch some sleep and take care of my patient- hubby is sick too!


What's your favorite comfort food when you are feeling sick? I love soups, but have to be in the mood to eat them!  I also have a weird aversion to dessert, which really does mean I'm not feeling myself.

Back From the Big Easy!

Hi Guys!  Thank you for keeping my little blog company while I was gone!  Hello to the new readers- you are all so sweet and I can't wait to get to know you! 
It was a great trip and I'm suddenly having to compose myself and resist spontaneous outburts of 'Who Dat!?!' while doing my daily tasks.  I came back to a crrraaaazy day at work and haven't been able to comment on your fabulous blogs yet, but I'm catching up- I promise!

Since it took me several posts to recap our honeymoon, I thought I would give you the highlights in one easy shot!  I do have to add the disclaimer that the camera is acting up and we have a lot of blurry pictures.

Here we go!  We started by walking down to the French Quarter to see various parades (including a dog parade) prior to the Super Bowl.  I enjoyed a Bloody Mary at about 11:00 AM:

We found a Saints player on our way:

We went to the French Quarter and got to see an original restored home.  It was amazing.  Look at the view outside of it!  Who Dat!!

We went out into the main square on our walk- it was breathtaking:

 After the game we went outside- we watched the game in our friend's friend's apartment right in the French Quarter.  We walked 10 feet and this was the scene:

I was really excited, despite my cold!  It was amazing- people were so excited and the energy was great!
The next day we set out on a walking tour and saw the cemetary:

We stopped at the Riverwalk and explored the shops before taking the ferry to Algiers:

We also explored a beautiful plantation- the views and furniture were out of control!

 

  

 

 Finally, we stuffed our cheeks (literally) with French donuts (Beignets) and Cafe au Lait at Cafe DuMond:

It was a fun, relaxing, and memorable experience.  I didn't have the most balanced eats- I think I ate maybe 2 servings of fruits and vegetables the whole time, but that's what vacation is all about, huh?  I also caught a cold as soon as we got on a plane and I'm fighting it, so I gotta scale down my activity until I'm feeling less congested.  No biggie- it means I'll be super excited to get back into it!

I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you!  Only a couple more days till the long weekend begins!  What have I missed!?  Who is getting excited for chocolate, candy, flower, heart day?  I am!

We Like to Party!

Hey Guys!  I'm still on vacay, but I've put this post together for you!  February 6th marks 5 months of wedded bliss for my hubby and I.  Yes, bliss is what I call it! 
I was pretty strong on recapping the wedding, more for myself than for you, but fell behind.  Since I knew we would be partying down this weekend, I wanted to share what happened after the ooey gooey sweet and cute stuff. 
When we were planning the wedding, we both wanted it to be a party.  A full on dance, food, booze and laughter filled extravaganza.  Luckily our guests were game!
We started out with our first dance to kick off the party:

We danced to "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat and it was a perfect song for us.  
We moved on to the parent dances and chose to do them at the same time to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World".

Hubby danced with him mom while my dad and I did our thang:

My dad and I share a very unique relationship if you can't already tell. 
After the formalities and lots of champagne with no dinner until 2:00 AM in our room (true story), there was nothing to do but dance like a fool!

Imagine the foodie in me when I saw the pictures of the food that my guests were eating:

Nope, none for me.

 

We ended the night with the garter toss and the bouquet toss.  Well- I'm not too much of a traditional girl, so we mixed things up.  Garter removal:

Bouquet toss:

Luckily anybody who could have been offended by this was busy with the candy bar:

Welp, that's all I've got!  I'll be back with some recaps of our shenanigans this past weekend!  See you soon!

Portion Control and Happy Football Day!

Hey Beauties!  I hope you are having a great weekend!  If this worked out, I should be chillin and perhaps doing something fabulously New Orleans style with my love and my friend!  If this posts at some bizarre time outside of my control, my sincerest apologies!

Alright, now let me preach a little bit.  Since I have been doing the healthy eating thing for the last um...14 years, I have learned a thing or two about what we are 'supposed to do'.  While some things are ridiculous, one tried and true strategy for me has been portion control.  I don't measure my food or count calories, but there are some foods that I just go apesh*t with, like cereal, grains, nuts, and even yogurt that comes in bulk containers. 
Say hello to my little friends:

These little bowl are 2 cups, 1.5 cups, and 1 cup in size from left to right.
If you look closer, there is a measurement inside of them:

I will usually use the 2 cup bowl to pour my cereal and yogurt or use the smaller ones for measuring ingredients for baking.  It's also perfect for mixing breakfast cookies!
As a disclaimer, I've been doing this for a while and I don't really measure my food on the daily because I know what a cup looks like.  This is simply a crutch to keep myself from eating 75 servings of granola, plus I love the little blue guys.

One thing I never measure- beauteous fruits and veggies:

One thing I can't measure:

Overflowing smoothie in a bowl!

Finally, I don't care what football team ya'll like- I'm not a hater.  I go for the underdog in any sport and I love me a good underdog story.  My bestie lived in New Orleans during the horrible Katrina tragedy and I'm thrilled that the city has something so amazing to celebrate and be a part of.  I'm also excited to be in NOLA for Superbowl.  Gooooooooo Saints!

Source

See you all soon!