Borderline Productive

Thank you all for your kind comments about Post 150!  It was so much fun to have a guest post and I would love to include more guest posts.  If any of you are interested, please let me know!

Today's been a nice day- borderline productive for me, so that's a plus in my book!  I woke up and slowly got out of bed since I had the genius idea to agree to do legs with hubby last night.  I must explain that while I carry 90% of my weight in my butt lower body, I have absolutely no lower body strength- none at all.  I warmed up with a mile on the dreadmill, did lower body exercises alternating with upper body and then cooled down with 10 minutes on the elliptical.  I already wanted to die last night and today I've been aching all day long.  Lesson learned- don't skip a whole body group when working out!

I started by making a smoothie in a bowl!  I'm the last blogger to make it, but here it is:

• Mixed berries
• Frozen banana
• Mixed frozen tropical fruit mix
• Scoop of ground flax
• Scoop of Cyto Slim protein powder
• Topped with Trader Joe's blueberry granola

Though I was instantly called a food deviant for eating this, I pressed on but could only handle scooping out the granola before I froze and had to stop!  I traded this for a banana with peanut butter and was very satisfied! 
We went to Costco and I stocked up on the essentials:

• Sugar snap peas
• Organic mixed greens
• Goat cheese
• Hummus
• Butternut squash
• Granny Smith apples
• Pitted dates
• Brussels sprouts
• Wild smoked salmon
• Yoplait yogurt for Mr. Apple
• Jarlsberg lite cheese
  

As I looked around I smugly commented that our cart had the healthiest combination of food in it.  I'm not sure how much of this was NOT for me, but I share.  I'm pretty excited for all of our food and now that I've roasted the brussles sprouts our house smells like sweat socks- back to normal!
We also went to Whole Foods and I walked around with my eyes glazed over but only stuck to the basics.  I do a lot better when shopping while not hungry.
I'm still working on my never-ending pile of homework and making very slow progress.  There are apple slices involved to help motivate me

There is also Ultimate Fighter to help cheer me on.  Kimbo Slice will be fighting tonight.  I don't care if you aren't into fighting- this guy is cool to watch if only for his hair.  Google him- you'll thank me later!
Oh- and look at the wheat grass I saw sold in the organic section of my grocery store. I was tempted to buy it, but held back.  Maybe next time!

I'm clearly rambling, so I'll stop here!  I hope you have a great weekend!  See you tomorrow for a bike ride recap and probably some food!

Guest Post- Hubby's Debut!

Greetings to One Healthy Apple’s loyal readers!
Referred simply as “huz” or “hubby” many of you may have been wondering who that mystical intern on One Healthy Apple is. Well, I turn out to be one lucky SOB that has the best wife ever (a BWE?) who is my best friend as well as my favorite chef. Seriously, her cooking is AMAZING! I get to enjoy eating the most awesome meals that many only dream of from seeing blog pictures. This is how I often find my wife working on her future blog entries:

 As a result of BWE’s hobby, I am the only member of “I am the guy who always brings in a fresh and healthy meal for lunch to the office made by his wife with love” club at work. By the way, I work in Berkeley. If you have any preconceived stereotypes about Berkeley, they are probably true.

Guess which car is mine. If you guessed it’s the only one that’s not a hybrid, you are correct.

Anyway, as much as I love BWE’s hobby, which is really more of a gift, I’ve got several hobbies of my own (with some mentioned in prior posts). Here is the list of my hobbies:
1. Going to the gym
2. Submission wrestling (which I recommend for those looking for a cardio challenge)
3. Gardening
4. Bicycling and hiking (anything recreational really)
5. Watching and criticizing movies
6. Making and drinking coffee (a habit I picked up from my wife, well, the drinking part)
7. Washing dishes after One Healthy Apple has finished her culinary masterpiece for the day

Cool points for everyone that is into these things! Going to the gym has been my longest hobby, ongoing 10 years of lifting weights (my mom bought me a 24-Fitness Membership when I graduated high school). I guess this makes me old. There is so much knowledge I would like to share about working out that it should be a separate post. To think about it, each one of these hobbies deserves a separate blog entry (hmm… stay tuned for post 300?). Well, maybe the last one can be part of this post! I really like washing dishes because it means that I just finished another unforgettable creation by One Healthy Apple.

Since I have to butt in- No, hubby was not bribed into the content of this post (although that's a good idea now that I think of it).  You can probably tell by the little jabs he makes!  I think I've also just lost my job as a blogger given the agenda above!

Post 149!

Happy Second Best Day of the Week!  I'm ready for this week to come to a close.  I have some fun plans this weekend, as well as some homework to get to.

Since I've been lazy on my blog duties, I'll share a couple of meal highlights because we all know I've been eating.  I haven't gone grocery shopping this week, so meals have been interesting, just ask the hubby! 
This morning was a pleasant surprise when I discovered that I was almost out out of almond butter.  I enjoyed it in my favorite classy restaurant, Chez Car on the way to work:

 

I put some frozen fruit in my oatbran and it made way too much.  I have overflow oatbran ready for me tomorrow too!  Sorry about the nasty nails.  I took my acrylic nails off because they were getting in the way of my iPhone (priorities, people!) and now I'm at that ugly growth stage.

On Wednesday I had this super salad at work:

Lots of ginger, spinach, kale, mushrooms, tofu, kim chee, one falafel ball, and I think black beans.  I don't do well in buffet situations!
Today's lunch was simple but good!

Two hardboiled eggs, salt, pepper, and goat cheese for my apple.  I ate with my hands and it was very filling.  I also had a handful of mixed nuts for my lunch dessert.

Why FAT is Phat!
If you would have asked me to eat this a couple of years ago, I would have laughed in your face.  I was still getting over the genius low fat diet of the 90's and I avoided fat at all costs.  Who came up with that diet?  It was OK to eat white flour bagels with fat free cream cheese and have gummy bears for dessert, yet almonds were off limits.  Just like the Atkins Diet, a lot of fads start with great marketing and prey on consumers looking for a quick fix.  The low fat diet loaded our bodies with additional sugar, chemicals, and even more calories, yet it took a while for people (including me) to realize the disadvantages of cutting out any single dietary group or nutrient. 
These days I eat my fats in the form of raw or roasted almonds, fatty fish like salmon, olive oil, and avocado.  I still don't eat butter because I think it's gross (So sorry, Jessica) and I can't handle much full-fat cow's dairy because it makes me sick.  Most of the blogging community is fully committed to nut butters of every kind as well as some of the other healthy fats and I think that's awesome!  If you aren't adding fats into your diet, here are some of my favorite benefits of dietary fat:

• Fats keep you full since fats digests slower than carbs
• Fats can protect your heart
  
• Fats make all your lady functions work!
• Fats help maintain your weight
  

I don't have references for these facts, but I have read them over and over again in all the magazines, so they must be true!  Of course, like everything else- portion control is key.
Did you fall into the stupid 90's Fat Free Craze?  How long did it take you to fall out of it?


In other news, I'm on post 149.  I rambled on, but on to bigger and better things!  Tomorrow will be POST 150 and that means showtime for hubby!  I hope you're ready for this- it's gonna be HUGE (TWSS)!

Over-Celebrating the Holidays

So it looks like I was enjoying my break a bit too much!  I had all intentions of posting yesterday but the day got away from me, so here I am in semi-full force.  It's not exactly Winter here, but it has been getting a little bit cooler and all my surroundings suggest that the holidays are near.  I have a more low-key take on the holidays and it seems like they get here earlier and earlier with the help of marketers. 
There are a few things that I enjoy, so I'm not a complete scrooge!  I took this semi-drunk picture of the tree in our lobby at work while walking.  I like to call it modern art.

I've also been enjoying large amounts of this tea from Trader Joe's.  I don't really like candy canes, but I love this minty-vanilla tea and since I haven't been able to find any of the Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, this is my better, cheaper solution.  It also helps that this is decaf since I'm hyper enough already.

 Since cranberry sauce is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, I've been eating freakish amounts of it in my oatmeal and otherwise, starting this weekend.  I also love the tartness of cranberries and cooked them right up in my oatmeal too.

Of course I added unsweetened cocoa powder because nothing says breakfast like chocolate.

While I am all about balance, it does seem like I have been celebrating over the last 5 days with about 10 celebratory dinners, a cookie here and a leftover bite there.  My plans to exercise and get in my veggies are still in play, but I do need to work a little harder at following my own advice and not carrying on the holidays for weeks.  I'm back to one treat a day and lots of water!

Are you having a hard time distinguishing normal days from holidays?

Unplugged

Something wonderful happens when I am not stuck at my computer for five days out of the week- I just enjoy life.  Although my hubby says that I am an Internet addict and didn't stop checking blogs or email on my iPhone, I did not spend any time at all near my computer yesterday and it felt frieken fantabulous.  I let go of my blogging duties and slacked, but I hope you understand.
I do want to rewind back to Friday.  My mom put on a beautiful spread, like always.  We had some black caviar, which is a true delicacy and I never miss, since I only eat it once a decade or so.  I don't know if these were on your Thanksgiving table, but we had some non-traditional dishes that simply rocked my world.
Stuffed tomatoes:

Chicken stuffed puffed pastry:

Georgian wine (not Georgia, where the peaches grow, but the former Soviet Republic):

A spread of dessert including strawberries, raspberries, TJ's chocolates, and opera cake:

There was even an impromptu game of ping pong, minus the rackets:

Don't worry, my nephew didn't get it either.  He did, however give me my workout for the night.

Yesterday we celebrated our grandma's birthday.  I was a goon and forgot to take pictures of our delicious meal at PF Chang's.  We did go back to have some more cake and chat with the family.  I think she had a good time surrounded by family and by the jokes hubby made.  He always makes her laugh.

We all watched a Russian movie and I totally missed the plot. I took self-portraits of us instead:

I've been working on homework and on a photo book of our wedding.  It has taken the better part of my day and my patience, but I'm determined to finish!

I'll be back later with some re-vamped leftovers and my new find!  Later bellas and fellas!

Turkey Ride 2009

Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday with their families!  We are doing Thanksgiving: The Sequel tonight, so I'm likely going to be wearing elastic waistband pants for the next few weeks.

We had a great day yesterday and while our meal was good, I'd like to share our 2nd Annual Turkey Ride with you instead.  This time last year we had purchased new bikes after moving to our new home.  We wanted to explore the local trails and ended up riding 50 or so miles (it took us 5 hours).  Thanksgiving was not a fun dinner that year because it hurt to sit down or get back up! 
This time we took a more moderate approach and set out for a 3-hour ride.

We rode along some beautiful trails

Stopped to look at some horses

And made it home in time for me to bake the turkey.  Did you know that a 5-pound turkey can take almost 3 hours to bake?  Because it can!  Luckily everything else was ready and like I said, I didn't have a very large audience.

Staying Fit During the Holidays
It's that wonderful time of the year when people ooze sugar, alcohol, and holiday cheer!  I've read lots of great tips of how to stay healthy during the holidays.  Here are some of the best ones:

• Don't eat the canned, store-bought, bottled junk.  Eat grandma's special pie, but don't eat the sugar cookie from the grocery store brought in by your lazy co-worker
• Stay active- make fun family outings out of it, try something new, or just follow your own schedule
• There are only 3 or 4 holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and New Year.  Celebrate on those days, and then move on with the very next meal!

What is your best tip on staying healthy during the holidays?

Thankful

It's Thanksgiving morning and I'm getting started on some cooking.  Since it's a small crowd of 3 and not a lot of big eaters, the pressure is off of me!  I just hope I don't mess up the turkey (which is the size of a chicken)!  The first time I made a turkey I was on the phone with my mom the whole time getting schooled in the art of turkey.


A lot of bloggers have done lovely posts about the things they are thankful for this year and here are mine:

• I'm thankful for having food to eat every day
• I'm thankful for my family, both my "new" family and the relationships I have been able to strengthen this year within my "old" family
• I'm thankful for marrying my husband and how he makes me laugh every single day
• I'm thankful for our beautiful house that is becoming our home
• I'm thankful for my job
• I'm thankful for my favorite toys- (espresso maker and  iPhone and flat iron, OH MY!)
• I'm thankful for my friendships
  
• I'm thankful that I am able to blog and find an outlet for my love of all things nutrition and health and that people actually read!

I hope you have a beautiful, warm holiday with your family and friends, lots of good eats, and lots of great memories!

I'll be back with some recaps later tonight!
Love you all!
Yelena