blah days

Posted: January 17, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: running, school | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Nothing takes care of a blah day better than a smoothie!


(frozen strawbs, kuji mango orange juice, big scoop of vanilla coconut milk yogurt)

After I saw the hubby putting juice in his smoothie last night, I thought about how I hardly ever put juice in my smoothie (it’s always almond milk). So, I decided to give it a try and it tasted like dessert…so I made another again today 😛

There’s suppose to be flash freezing here this evening, which makes me so happy (not) that I’ve decided I’m not attending crossfit at 5:30pm and running later. I decided that I’ll skip the crossfit, since it will keep me indoors longer!! I’m definitely not skipping the run since it’s been 2 weeks and I think I miss it a little bit.

Plus, if I run, then I’m allowed to make Katie’s cake, right?


We made two of these the other night (it’s nice having your own individual cake – that way you know your getting the same amount as your husband) with some homemade vanilla frosting and they. were. delish. So delish that I think I deserve another after my run tonight. Am I jumping the gun? I think you would too if this was staring you in the face…


I also have some homework I should be getting to, but homework is just so boring, especially since the blah day is passing on it’s blah-ness to me.

I guess this is where I learn to “suck it up” and finish the assignments I have so that a big zero doesn’t slap me in the face so early in my winter semester.

Question: What do you do to keep you going on blah days??


joining the club

Posted: July 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: food, WIAW, workout | Tags: , , , , , , | 10 Comments

I took the plunge and I’m joining the club. I honestly meant to make this post last week, but I misread the directions and saved it for this week instead.

Tip: always read thoroughly. Do not skim through things!

I’m sure you know what I’m finally joining…WIAW!

Breakfast:

Granola with almond milk

Snacks:

Grape Kombucha

Chocolate and pretzel bar

Acai + strawberry + banana + cranberry smoothie (with almond milk and organic flax oil)

Dinner:

Mixed green salad with roasted beets and sweet potatoes + cuke + tomaters + garlic + sunflower sprouts + peppers + salt with balsamic vinegar (heated on the stovetop to reduce and sweeten it)

*****

Workout today:

Beach Body Boot Camp

My stats:

The Moves

Set 1

Set 2

Set 3
Circuit One Squat/Row 18 20 20
Push-up with leg lift 14 16 17
Alternating V-ups 8 9 9 (9.5)
Lunge with chop 13 15 17
Circuit Two Deadlift with lat pull 11 12 12
Line jump with press 14 15 17
Rolling plank with knee tuck 11 13 16
Side lunge with ball sweep 13 15 17

cutting out meats

Posted: July 10, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: food, meat-free journey | Tags: , , , , , | 16 Comments

Food is something that has become very important to me over the years. So important that it’s actually encouraged me to go back to school.

I’ve talked about cutting meat (but not seafood) out of my diet before, and I wanted to explain why this has made me so much happier.

I actually left a novel comment on Averie’s post earlier on meat, which inspired me to write an actual post about it on my own blog 😀

My decision: I’ve never been a big beef or steak eater to begin with. If I did eat it, it was because I was stealing a bite from the hubby or this was my last option on earth to eat (ie: rarely ever happened). I did choose to eat chicken, turkey, pork tenderloin, bison and seafood.

A while back (around mid-May), I had no desire to eat chicken anymore, so I figured, ‘why eat it, if it doesn’t appeal to me?’ Right then and there, I made the decision to try and go meat-free and see how I felt.

Becoming a vegan has been a lingering thought in the back of my mind for a while now and although I still eat seafood, it is something that intrigues me, and perhaps I will one day become. Overall, I like the idea of a vegan diet, but I’m not to the point (yet) where I’m passing up foods that ‘may contain eggs’.

The ‘Serious’ factor: At first I felt that I wasn’t being taken seriously. My husband came home from work one night with a chicken stir-fry and I asked him if he was joking, thinking I was going to eat it. This was only about a week in that this happened, and I figured if I had gone a week without chicken/pork/turkey/etc, then how much longer could I go?

Well, this has turned into nearly 2 months so far, and I’m still loving it!

Note: I am not doing this as a ‘challenge’ to myself, but as a way to eat what feels right for me and feels good for my body. In no way do I encourage you to try this to ‘see how far you can go.’

Since then, my husband knows how I feel about meat and has not tried to force feed me anymore chicken! He’s actually loving the vegetarian/vegan stuff I prepare!

The changes: So far, I feel fantastic. I’ve made sure to include the right supplements so that I have the energy and nutrients I need for my body.

This may sound super tacky, but since I’ve cut out meat, my ‘fat days’ have decreased significantly. Before I would honestly have some serious self-loathing days for what I ate. Overall, not eating meats has made me more aware of what I am eating and my food choices in general. So hello to feeling better about myself!

Also, I’ve definitely lost some weight. I don’t know if it’s from cutting out meat or from eating better or from both. Either way, I’m at the weight that I wanted to be for my wedding day, that I never made it to. Not that I was disappointed at all on my wedding day, but I am just super shocked that I’m at that weight now.

Overall: I’m honestly glad that back in May chicken started grossing me out (I know this sounds weird to say). But if it hadn’t, then I would probably still be eating meat wondering why my body isn’t looking and feeling the way I want it to. I was always afraid that not eating meat would be hard to do in terms of getting protein or even finding valuable food sources!

I used to joke that vegans have nothing to eat – boy was I wrong! There are so many great food options out there and I sincerely take back that statement!

The foods: Like I said above, I’m not completely checking every ingredient to make sure there are no traces of egg or dairy, but am choosing meatless items. I don’t want to ‘limit’ myself (in a sense), then I might feel overwhelmed with trying to decide on what to eat. So…

I still enjoy bruschetta on Saturday night outings with my good friend.

Pick up great produce at the Saturday Farmer’s Market.

Put together perfect snacks for work.

And perfect snacks for…snacks.

mashed avocado with lentil chips

Make husband and sister drink-worthy smoothies (and me, of course).

acai + strawberries + cranberries + banana

Which come in a sweet glass.

Make Sunday morning fantastic vegan pancakes. It’s a given to put peanut butter and maple syrup on them, right?

I also rock a pretty mean bruise.

poor calf =(

More to come on that…

spring cleaning

Posted: April 26, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: food, smoothies, work | Tags: , , , , | 5 Comments

After eating meal upon meal this past weekend, I decided that my body needed a spring cleaning. Although, it’s hard to resist the mini eggs and anything chocolate (basically), I did my best and well…kinda succeeded. Breakfast started out with some fruit and water, since I needed it back in my life! I think my body knew it was time for some spring cleaning, because I wasn’t very hungry to start.

Later, I found it best to have a green smoothie; I mixed frozen berries, kefir, flax oil, milk, vanilla protein powder and 2 handfuls of spinach up in the magic bullet and enjoyed. It’s definitely what my body needed after eating all that food that weighs you down.

I was a little devious in the afternoon and did have some jellybeans (oops!), but in all honesty, the studying made me do it! I was trying to cram in as much chem as I could yesterday. My goal was to have all my units completed by Sunday, which didn’t work out so well with this weekend being Easter and all. I only had two units left to do, so thankfully, I got through one and a half, and am finishing the last part up today!

Side note: I forgot to include the Easter cupcakes my sister and I made and I have to show you…well, because they’re pretty!

easter cupcakes anyone?!

I even turned one into a flower in hopes that Mother Nature would get the hint to bring spring to Canada!

Studying consumed me yesterday, so I didn’t really prep anything for dinner. The hubby had leftover turkey, but I wasn’t feeling it. I opted for a big salad and a side of cauliflower with cheese sauce.

Because I’m trying to cut out meats, I really need some high protein alternatives…suggestions?!?

I work through dinner tonight, so, again, I won’t have anything planned, which bums me out because I love to cook. And I’m definitely back in my cooking slump :(.

I’ve continued the spring clean by snacking on some fruit again this morning.

But, now my belly wants something else! Time to hop to it + tackle my mean ‘to do’ list before I have to go into work.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

one of those days

Posted: April 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: food, smoothies, work | Tags: , , , , , | 6 Comments

I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day today. I didn’t have enough time to do chem. I didn’t have enough time to get groceries and make some sweet protein bars. I didn’t have enough time to make snacks before work…ok, I did, but didn’t have enough time to eat them. Where did the time go? I swear I wasn’t moving slow today…I actually tried to move quite quickly!

And I can’t say that I fueled myself improperly, because it’s nearly impossible when you eat this:

That’s right…peanut butter and jam oatmeal – as delish as it sounds! All I did was add some PB, (blackberry) jam, a little maple syrup, and slivered almonds. Fantastic!

After I ate, I did some chem, then headed to the grocery store. I only say this because I’m completely comfortable in my marriage. But, if the hubby wasn’t my amazing love (build him up, right?), this would be it:

The pomegranate. I don’t know why, but this magical superfood gets me. Like really gets me. It keeps me from getting sick and taste so delicious. We haven’t been able to find them in the grocery store for a few months now and have been going crazy! Until today. I would have bought fifty five, but ‘budget Char’ told me to only buy one.

The hubby and I have a theory that this little bit of awesomeness is the reason we weren’t getting sick. When we were in Florida with the hubby’s family back in December, everyone else got sick but us, you know why? We ate pomegranates everyday. I stand by this statement 1000000000%.

After I came home from the grocery store and ate half the pomegranate in like two seconds, I knew I had to make my lunch for work. It was a close call to finishing that pomegranate over making a lunch, but ‘longterm Char’ thought it best to make the lunch and learn a little thing called ‘self-control.’

I prepared my lunch for that evening, not knowing when I would eat it, since it was first day of work and all. I also didn’t know if I would have the chance to take pics of my food without looking like a weirdo, so I decided to just take the pic while I prepared it.

For my salad I did spinach, red pepper, carrots, cucumber, vegan cheese, black beans and edamame. Not pictured, is the sweet potato hummus I topped it with. It turned out awesome – mainly because I’m hooked on the sweet, sweet taste of sweet potatoes right now.

So I made a lunch and with little time to spare needed something to give me the boost I needed before the first day of training at work. This did the trick:

I did a mixed berry smoothies with vanilla protein powder. It’s always a safe bet and taste delicious. I sipped on this on my way to work. Good thing I brought it with me because I barely ate my whole shift. Since I’m in dietary services, the job at night involves serving the meals, but since it’s such a short  and time consuming shift, you don’t get breaks. So I hadn’t eaten since 2:30pm and worked until 7:30pm. To make matters worse, I work with food! Next time I’ll know better and bring a snack with me in my pocket or something!!

Since I work in long-term care, you hear some interesting stories about the residents. Too bad some of them are PG and beyond the level of boundaries I offer on this blog :D. Although, I do hope there are a few that I’ll be able to share…even if they only bring a few laughs! i forgot to mention that I work in the Dementia unit, so it is very interesting in terms of what they eat – a lot of minced and purees.

Time for bed, I have a Dementia training course tomorrow that I’m attending!!

Q: What’s one food that you would die for right now that you haven’t had in a while?

boycott

Posted: April 15, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: activities, smoothies | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

…Is what you think I’m doing to my blog, but this isn’t the case. I’ve actually been so busy, that now I’m boycotting all the things that made me that busy – even if that means they’re now complete. I know they still want me, but they can’t have me.

Things like:

Studying for the ‘Food Handlers’ course so I can work in the food industry in Ontario.

Writing the ‘Food Handlers’ test….47 out of 50, I think so!

Babysitting the niece and nephew.

Ok, I don’t boycott the niece and nephew, because how could you boycott these two cuties who love you more than their uncle. Oh yes, I went there.

Pause.

Cute story. I babysat my niece and nephew yesterday and later that night after I had left, my niece, Ella, was asking how to draw the letter ‘C’ for Aunt Charmaine. What a doll.

Unpause.

I also boycott the amount of times I’ve sneezed today because that normally doesn’t mean good news for me. My max sneeze a day might be one…and I really mean ‘might.’ I blame the lack of sleep for all the sneezing. So yes, I also boycott lack of sleep.

Make that ‘amount of times I’ve sneezed today’ + one more. AHH! 

I (wanna) boycott chem, but let’s be honest…I just need to get it done.

And then there’s the things I can’t boycott:

The smoothie I so badly want (without the preparation).

Make that two smoothies.

My blog…because I like it :).

Getting gas for the jeep, while the prices rise into the ‘give you a heart attack’ zone.

Charging my phone, because the thing dies too quickly. I wish I could prove a point by not charging it, but how quickly that one backfires. Damn, technology.

Brown mustard seeds – which is what my recipe asked for last night, but instead, I bought yellow. Needless to say, I broke down and dinner was not successful or made at all for that matter. But I want that recipe for dinner tonight and I want it with the right ingredients. Let’s just say that the yellow mustard seeds can kiss my…

And last, what happened to my face. I offer anyone with suggestions to step forward. When I was washing my face last night, I noticed that around my chin and jawline, my skin feels bumpy (in a smooth way, if you can understand that) and tight (like it’s dry). I don’t know what caused this and how to get rid of it, which is why I can’t boycott this crap. Is it from eating something new? Something old? I don’t think it can be from any face products because nothing has changed there.

I think it’s time to soak up the feeling of not rushing. Feel free to do the same this weekend! 🙂

Since it’s the weekend, anything you are going to boycott for it?

matcha green tea goodness

Posted: April 6, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: smoothies, workout | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Ok, I only have time for a quick post, as I got distracted today and didn’t quite accomplish as much chemistry as I had set out to do. But that’s alright! I won’t let it stop me from reaching my goal of finishing a unit this week. The more I read, the sooner I get this class outta my life!

One of my distraction’s was running; I ran a lovely 6.47 miles. So what better thing to have after a nice run than a nice smoothie!

Matcha Green Tea Power Smoothie

Hold the protein bar, will ya!

green goodness!

Ingredients:
whey protein powder (I used just under 2 tbsp)
1 tsp matcha green tea powder (I use this one)
1.5 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut
dash of honey for sweetness (or any other sweetener such as maple syrup or agave)
8-10 ice cubes
1-2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk

Directions:
Combine all ingredients together in a magic bullet/blender and enjoy!

I might add a banana next time to form a better smoothie ‘paste’ as I basically just sucked all the goodness out of the ice, but I just didn’t want banana in it this time!

I’ve also tried adding vanilla frozen yogurt and that makes it reeeeally nice!

If it does get really chunky, just add more coconut milk, because who doesn’t love a little more coconut milk!

I’d like to apologize for the crappy picture of the actual smoothie (ie: camera on phone), as the hubby stole our only camera to use at his golf lesson today. We all know what I’m asking for, for my birthday!

Well, time to go shower, so I can get a bit more chemistry done before dinner. Dinner is looking like it’s going to be a quinoa salad (based on what ingredients I have waiting for me in the cupboard and fridge) and maybe a small batch of broccoli and cheese soup! Then the hubby and I will try and squeeze in a workout later tonight.

What are your favourite smoothie flava-flaves?!