Veggie Tales

I love when I split up my workouts in a day and when it's time for workout number two, my sports bra is still sweaty. It grosses the boyfriend out, but I loves it! I don't like the way that it feels on my skin, but I love knowing that I sweated so much in the earlier workout that my bra is still wet. Woo hoo! Today was 15 minutes on the ellip and 30 minutes on the tread. My bad knee gave me a wee bit of trouble near the end of my treadmill run, but it was bearable. Workout two consisted of Ellen Barrett's Burn and Firm pilates. I love Ellen because she's fun and peppy. I also love her website and just signed on to her emailing list. I look forward to her tips! http://www.buffgirlfitness.com/

Today's breakfast was the usual: breakfast cookie and some green tea (notice the UCR Alumni cup-shout out to the Highlanders!)


Dinner was the new Honey BBQ Smart Wings I picked up at Clark's the other day.


They are deeeeeeeeelicious! I made some quinoa and broccoli, added a smidgen of BBQ sauce to the quinoa, slapped the wings on top, and voila:


Quinoa is intriguing to me. They're all these little seeds at the bottom of the pan and then ten minutes later, fluffy quinoa! I love that I don't have to stir them or anything, they just cook themselves. The first time I tried it, I was a little turned off by the smell because before it's cooked, quinoa smells like dirt to me. Luckily the dirt smell goes away and I'm a big fan now.

I recently celebrated my sixth year of becoming a vegetarian (in January). I still can't believe that its been that long! Although I try not to eat too many fake meat products (because of the controversial soy issue and all that,) I do get really excited when I find a new meat substitute that I haven't tried before!

Hello sweat, I've missed thee!

I'm back in Palm Desert where it's over 80 degrees! How I miss the cool mountains...sigh. We had to turn on the AC yesterday and it's only February! I really hope that we can move before the heat really sets in.

Shortly after I came back to the heat, I started feeling the effects of my mom's cold. She was sick last week, I was fine, and then it hit me the day after Valentine's Day. Booooo. I ran despite feeling rather lethargic-BIG mistake! Around mile 2, I felt horrible. I came home and tried to nap off my yucky feelings but woke up feeling faint and clammy! Then the sore throat set in and now I'm fighting off the stuffy nose and cough. Today is the first day this week I've had a real workout. I decided to still take it a bit easy at the gym, but I worked up a very nice sweat! I did the elliptical for 30 minutes and then 15 on the tread. I wanted to keep running so badly! I didn't think it was too wise, however, since I'm still on the mend.

Let's talk food! Breakfast was a delicious Fitnessista breakfast cookie complete with chia seeds, carob chips and raisins and maybe a lil drizzle of chocolate agave (I'm in love with this stuff).

Lunch was my favorite meal at the moment: taco salad!


This bad boy had salsa, corn, black beans, cheese and some crushed Tostitos chips sprinkled on it. Sadly, I'm out of my Morningstar meat crumbles, taco seasoning and sour cream. Nevertheless, it was mmmm mmmm good.

I think I'll slap in an Ellen Barrett pilates dvd and stretch the muscles a bit. I should do some weight lifting but...eh.

Are you there sleep? It's me, Heather

I left the sunny skies of Palm Desert yesterday and I'm now in Lake Arrowhead with my mom, three very happy-to-see-me Goldens, and one very antisocial cat. And it's snowing. A lot. I'm kind of wishing my step-dad wasn't in Sacramento doing conferences so he could help with this snow stuff. Shoveling snow isn't really my cup of tea :) I made my mom and I breakfast cookies last night ala Fitnessista




It was delicious and Mom's a new convert! I used:

1/2 cup of oats
1/2 scoop of chocolate soy protein powder
1 tablespoon of almond butter
A splash of coconut milk
Raisins
Chia seeds
Carob chips
Lil Cinnamon
Lil Nutmeg
Lil chocolate agave

Sooooooooooooo good! And it will keep me full for a good long while! I also had some Green Tea in a cute little Polar Express cup.

Today's schedule includes shoveling most likely and then a 45 minute cardio routine: 30 minutes on the tread and 15 minutes on the ellip. I'm hoping I get the energy to finish the full 45 minutes...I couldn't sleep at all last night. I hardly sleep at all any night. I wake up tired and I'm starting to get circles under my eyes. Not.pretty.

Does anyone have any suggestions on natural remedies that might help me get some shut eye?

Joining all the cool kids in the blogging world

After reading so many other food and fitness blogs, I decided to join in and start my own blog. I recently finished grad school and I'd like to share my experiences of finding an awesome career as I challenge myself to be the healthiest and fittest I can be.

About me...I became a vegetarian six years ago. At the time, it was for ethical reasons, however, last year I began to think more about what I eat and why; the idea of processed foods sank in and I was forever changed. I have always loved working out (something my mom instilled in me!) but I never really pushed myself to the limit. I broke my ankle when I was a teenager and I think that I believed that it would keep me from ever being truly athletic. Throughout undergrad and grad school, I drank more alcohol than a frat house, ate bad food, and felt gross. Physically, I was a mess.

Last year, when I began to pay more attention to the food that I was eating, I also spent more time at the gym and took up running. I lost about 12 pounds and have kept them off. Unfortunately, I have crummy knees that like to act up if I run too much, so I'm in the process of strengthening my surrounding muscles and I have to ice and elevate my knees after every run. Ironically, the one thing that I thought would inhibit me, my bad ankle, very rarely, if ever, bothers me (unless it's raining out, it hates moisture in the air!)

I live with my amazing boyfriend and our cat, Emma, in Palm Desert, but visit Lake Arrowhead often where my parents and their awesome golden retrievers and cat live. My mom is a very healthy eater and I like to think that most of my good eating habits were formed because of her! I'm attempting to get the boyfriend to eat more healthy foods and work out more, especially when I'm not around to fix his food and drag him to the gym :)

That's all I got for now...more to come soon!