Smoothie Saturday, Euchre Champs, Banana's Foster Breakfast WITH the alcohol!

After my yoga practice, I knew just what I wanted for Lunch saturday.
It was very fruit and vegetable full!

Smoothie: Ground Flax (Bob's red mill- it's at Trader Joes for about $2-3), organic banana, frozen mango, frozen pineapple, frozen blueberry with protein powder and organic milk.
Veggies: Brussel sprouts steamed with cabbage and a teaspoon or so of goddess dressing and some shredded cheddar. I absolutely devoured this - I don't know why I find it so fantastic but it was gone in about 2 seconds ( okay not really 2 sec. but you get the idea).

We took Lurlota over to Jeff's parents after Jeff's alum basketball team won their first ACC game!

We played Euchre and drank some Chianti. Jeff and I planned on renting a movie and having some wine by ourselves but since we were invited over- we ended up just hanging out at Jeff's parent's house. As you can probably tell, Jeff and his family are very family oriented, it's the most important thing to them which I think is just wonderful. I teamed up with Preston and we won both games!! Woohoo! ( I edited the photo so you could see the wine)

Dinner was a group effort: I put together that salad! Organic mixed greens, english cucumber, green onion, tomato with a little blue cheese. Delish! Jeff did the potatoes- he added sundried tomato and basil dressing after slicing . Jeff's stepdad Preston cooked the potatoes and steaks on the grill and Momma Mo did the mushrooms just perfectly. I normally don't care for potatoes, but these were awesome! Nice work Jeff!

Sunday Morning Breakfast:
Banana's Foster French Toast... the banana... and I sprinkled less than a teaspoon of brown sugar ( there is no more sugar left in this house!)


and just for you SWEETANDFIT , I added a tablespoon of the rum I had on hand....after they had cooked for a 1 minute

So so so divine! In South Africa we had guava fruit, and I have not been able to find it here in the US anywhere. I saw this when we were at the store for something and just had to try it! It is very sweet for a rum but enjoyable. The guava rum definitely added another layer to this dish. The banana's tasted even sweeter but also a slight savory hint from the rum.

I added a glob of (unsweetened) plain nonfat greek yogurt and added some of the bananas foster to it-


That was fantastic as well since the banana's had so much flavor.


Recap

Body:

Circuit Training with Jeff:
We did squat thrusts in between sets of chest fly's, jumping jacks in between sets of leg presses, we did a back exercise that I have never done before-It is the opposite of a push up. You lay on the ground underneath a bar, and keeping your body straight , feet on the floor- you hold the bar and lift yourself up using your back muscles ( your "lats"). It was tough but good! Afterwards, I did 40 minutes on the elliptical.

Yoga:
I did 45 minutes yesterday of a combo of my own practice and my dvd.

I am hoping to get a run in today.

Mind:
Played cards, Euchre!

Read for class next week

Ordered my chef coat for lab ( Jeff helped me find one, how cute!)

Searched for jobs... I found a few natural foods stores that would be fun to work in while in school, I found a few fitness centers that I would also like to work at but I haven't found anyone actually saying they are HIRING!
grr.. I need $$

Soul:
Weekend time with Jeff, and fam, and lots of sleeping in.

Watched Kung Fu Panda- it was interesting. I mean, it was fun to watch but I didn't think it was hilarious.

Guess who ran away again this morning!?!?!!?
Sad face... jack brown pants is just crazy. We gave him a new comforter for his crate and I bought him a new bed that is laying right next to it ( this was about a month or two ago) I have taken him on 1 mile walks several times this past week ( 3 mile walks at my mom's last week!) and I gave him several treats too. I don't know why he runs away when we treat him so well, I feel like a bad puppy parent.
Happy Sunday to all!

Night-time eating is still a No-no

Body:
The plan for today is a great sweaty run. My knee was very sore last night as were my toes. Its odd because it has felt so great lately. Anyway, I am shooting for just a good 3.2 but we will see. If it bothers me, I'll be doing something else.


** And the plan worked! I did a fantastic 3.2 and once I got over the harsh first mile, I decided I would go to 4. I ran at 9.2 mph for 6 minutes and had a steady pace of 8.0 for the last two miles! This guy looked at me in aw... he smiled and shook his head like "damn i can't keep up with you" and I looked back like "oh no you can't! :-D" . Only looks- I would never say that in real life! I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical to cool down. **

I'd tried downloading another yogadownload. It got stuck at 12%... arrrggh- Does anyone else have this problem?

Mind:
An article on Sugar is Posted! Click Here to check it out..

I had to write about another (mini) article too...

Nightime Eating STILL a NO-NO

In The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a study in October 2008 examined the self-directed food choices of 67 men and 50 women. These healthy, non-diabetic adults spent 3 consecutive days and nights in a metabolic section of a hospital. The subjects ate a "standard" diet of 20% protein, 50% carbohydrates, and 30% fat during the day. Subjects ate freely after 6 pm, with food selection time being recorded.

36% of the sample were considered "night-time eaters" consuming significantly more calories than non-nighttime eaters. Their conclusion: nighttime eating was common and predicted weight gain. Research continues to be determined regarding abnormal sleep patterns leading nighttime wakefullness.

I think this is very interesting because it appears that those eating later at night slowed their metabolism, and gained weight. While I feel that if you are 100% truly hungry ( some of us just don't get home from work/school until 8 pm or later) - you should eat by all means regardless of time. But that is only if you need to eat, many people snack late at night while watching shows or out of boredom or anxiety or depression, and this clearly leads to packing on the pounds.
I can't wait to find more research in the future on this!

Soul:

I feel like a new baby is coming home from the hospital today- Jeff is signing and driving home his brand new truck now!


***I will update with another post of food photos and Truck photos later today!!***

Happy Monday to All! Happy Spring Semester to all starting with me this week as well!

Sunday

Breakfast:
Half Grapefruit and A smoothie: vanilla protein, milk, banana, pb, blueberries


Lunch:
Salmon Burger on a Thin with thawed frozen veggies and the last sprinkling of reduced fat feta...

Snack:
Larabar

Dinner:
no photo- battery- ( i don't think its the camera- i just take a ton of pics and forget to charge the battery!)
Grilled Chicken Breast with lots of veggies


Body:
Walk with Jack (10 minutes). He ran away yesterday when we got to Jeff's parents- STINKER! He stunk when he decided 7 hours later to show up... Thankfully Jeff gave him a bath...

Moving all the furniture around wasn't really all that difficult but it counts!

YogaDownload: Sort of.... I clicked the download link and it kept getting stuck !? I got the pose guide and just followed that. I was surprised at how easy it was to follow without vocal instruction. I wish it worked though- I will not give up.

Meringue and Samba practice thanks to Dancing with the Stars DVD...

Gym Cardio: 30 minutes ellipticizing...

Mind:
Read through the ADA journal for this month again. I really enjoyed an article on refined sugars- detailing exactly what the craze of agave nectar is, difference in all sugars- from maple syrup, honey, white sugar, turbinado sugar , agave etc etc. ! I will try to post a better recap of it tomorrow since I think yall would enjoy it!

Soul:
Jeff is in VA getting his brand new truck!! So excited for him, and I am so excited for us. I can't wait to camp on the beach, cook up deliciousness with his new grill, listen to the ocean while falling asleep...

Laundry and grocery shopping and cleaning and cleaning and sweeping.

I re-arranged our living room and thus will re-arrange our bedroom as well. I haven't decided if I liked it or not yet. One thing is my computer is in a new spot and I don't know if Jeff will see from where he sits now- so I know at first Jeff will probably hate it- but only because he hates change like that unless he can really see the improvement. Anyway, I have the night alone to watch Golden Globes, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters... It seems as though its the calm before the storm with semester beginning this week for me. I also will attempt to "get a job" in the next couple days as well.

We have an busy January- this weekend I believe is our "spa" day and then dinner out with KC Mo and her boyfriend, Jeff's other sister Missy Mo and her hubby Vern and Me and Jeff- The following weekend is our romantic getaway to a cabin in the mountains, the following is the last of january and we will head to my grandfather's for his birthday and then right out to spend the weekend with our friends. I love to travel.

Yogic Perspective

So thanks to heather at hangrypants.com, she was the third yoga "clue" I had today.

My first clue::
was that I stumbled up a gym site a friend of mine used to work at today... I love my gaiam dvd but I have felt like I needed a change, I want to meet new people, I want to have multiple interests , etc. I was considering taking just a yoga class during the week, or just a dance class.. but that would be an extra $60+ a month. So the gym offered yoga classes, and pilates classes AND some other classes that would be super fun for me ( like spinning!) ...

My Second Clue:
I drove to campus and parked into the only spot available ( or so it seemed) . When I got out of my car and started to head towards the library, I saw that the car I parked next to had yoga mats in the back!

My third clue:
I was checkin out all my lovely ladies blogs and stopped in to Heather's at HangryPants and found this amazing yogic perspective that I was immediately enthralled by.


I am taking my three clues, and totally switching gyms to join one with a yoga class. I am SO Excited!

Dinner for Two times Two!

Dinner:
Fake Meat! Morningstar farms grillers crumbles, curried sweet potato slices, sauteed onion, asparagus spears This is how I made it- I put the asparagus spears ( 12 made one serving for 25 calories, so I put in three servings total) on bottom dressed in olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning, added on top the thawed Morningstar Crumbles, Added the chopped onion. While I was doing that, I had sliced two sweet potatoes- tossed them in curry powder, salt, brown sugar, coriander ( all minimal just so each had a bit of seasoning) - then microwaved the potato for about 5 minutes.

I layered them on top to make it more like a vegan "shepards pie"- and put it in the toaster oven for 25 minutes at 350.
Perfect for two!

While it baked I decided to go ahead and do dinner for tomorrow night since I was in the mood - get it out of the way while I want to right? Homemade meat sauce ( Jennie -O ground turkey and Jennie-O turkey sausage).
As you can see below... in the tupperware I put two servings of gr. turkey, and three sausages.. then I put the rest in baggies for the freezer for another meal. I find it would be better utilization, since we can grill the sausages for sandwhiches one night and could do all kinds of things with the gr turkey (meatballs, tacos, burgers...) . I sauteed a medium onion with three or four small garlic cloves, added dried basil and dried oregano, a little olive oil, threw in some Sherry ...

Then I addded the turkey in small chunks like meatballs into the onion garlic mix... let them cook then added the sausage in the same way.
After this I added a can of crushed tomatoes in basil ( the big can)... and you will have to wait till tomorrow to see the dinner!

Jeff's little sister came over to borrow clothes and we ended up talking for four hours!! We have SO much in common! We are getting our nails done on thursday and shopping for shoes- total girls!



Today's Wrap Up

Body:
Elliptical 22 minutes, Bike 9 miles in 19 minutes, Walked Jack for 20 minutes (up hill both ways haha), Yoga 30 minutes... yoga felt amazing today!

Strength: Abs, Quads, Back and Biceps

Mind:
Read some of SFN, and some of Organic Inc... suduko as usual!

Soul:
Talked with KC, Yoga, Yoga Yoga! , Cleaned and Organized my room- and did four loads of laundry... so coincidental because KC came over to borrow clothes! Cooked Two dinners!


Ready for another day and a doctor's appointment for my knee! fingers crossed everyone

Breakfast:

Kashi Oat Flakes with Blueberry Clusters, Cabot Cottage Cheese sprinkled with Cinnamon, Banana with Peanut Butter, Splash of 1%... I was starving when I woke up!!

Did you cinnamon helps regulate blood glucose? It was one of the thing we covered in class which will be on the next exam!

* I also had a problem with this kashi cereal- there was a ball of what looked like brown sugar/ oat crumbs that had burned maybe- It was so hard I bit down without realizing I had put it in my mouth and almost chipped a tooth! Jeff had a problem with Kashi Honey Almond Flax cutting up the inside of his mouth too ( mine had sores all week from how rough it is)

Has anyone else ever had issues like this with Kashi cereals?

Harrump, oh well. I am going to do a yoga session and rest (study) today! Madison of Follow My Weigh inspired me since I wanted to post about the dvd I use anyway!

Here it is!
Gaiam's Power Yoga , Total Body with Rodney Yee

Body: The campus gym is closed 9-10 and 11-12.. poo! I got to campus at 9 and started reading before I checked the hours. It figures I wanted to go durig the hours they were closed! Maybe I can be the work-study person for those hours and keep it open! Instead, I took a nice fast walk around campus total 32 minutes...I am going to do some more yoga, strength train, shower and lots more walking while I shop for chairs, books, etc. then walk around campus again before class!

Mind: I read 2 chapters from the 2 books for todays Research Methods Class (once I got to campus and printed them !) and I also read Chp.1,3 and part of 4 for my class wednesday Minority Populations and Health Disparities ( one of my fav topics!). I will finish chp 4 probably before class wednesday. Seriously-- Who assigns homework readings BEFORE classes even START.. DUE on the FIRST DAY OF CLASS!?!?!?! Well- It IS graduate school-I am just not sure once I get the MRI on my knee and see if I can be cleared to go back to work how I am going to get it all done. But I will!

Soul: Yoga 45 minutes (total).
Yoga ALWAYS helps me breathe better and feel less stressed so I thought it was a great warmup to my day! My latest goal is to do yoga three (mornings) a week. It may also help Jeff wake up earlier for work - win win !

Breakfast:

Smoothies!!!!! I asked Jeff last night if he wanted a smoothie for breakfast and he answered so emphatically Ooo Smoothies, Yes!! I almost didnt believe him!
I am glad you like them so much Jeff!
Today's Recipe
*No pic and this recipe was split in two, and I scarfed down mine because I was starving when I woke up!

1.5 scoops pure protein
1 cup 1% milk
1 big glob of greek yogurt plain
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
Topped with Just Bunches cereal and 1 tsp ground flax seed on each cup

Flax seeds are like minature sunflower seeds (the inside part, not their shell). They provide an EXCELLENT source of omega 3 Fatty Acids, and fiber (cellulose) and protein and lignans too!!
The omega -3's are super helpful in regulating brain, cell, and heart functioning, they are also helpful in lowering cholesterol. In my advanced nutrient metabolism class, lipids arent until the end of the semester. So you'll have to wait for more good info on omega 3's and Fatty Acids!


Lunch:
(post pic later)
Salmon
Mixed Veggies steamed
Annies Mac and Cheese
green tea!

Hooray for more omega 3's ( which also are thought to have anti-inflammatory properties)!

Dinner: will be at Jeff's parents (yes again, can you tell I really enjoy spending time with his family? I love them as much as my own!)
I think london broil is on the menu and I may try to throw together a desert for them...