The Past Few Days

I took some time off from blogging the past few days because I needed a little break. I needed a break from work, from blogging, and from the computer. Here is a recap of some of the food I’ve had. Well before I show you the food I must show you what the weather has been like this past weekend.

I had a delicious vegetarian meal at Panera for lunch on Friday. Vegetable Soup and the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich which was Peppadew peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cilantro hummus on Tomato Basil bread.

Then I got my first gingerbread latte of the season. I think these are my favorite coffee drink by far!

I made my first acorn squash Friday Night and stuffed it with quinoa, tomato sauce, and ground turkey. Then I topped with part skim mozzarella and baked acorn squash seeds. I tossed the seeds in paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and cinnamon and then toasted them in the oven. While they were toasting all of a sudden I kept hearing popping noises like popcorn popping. I couldn’t figure out what it was, and then I turned the oven light on and saw all the seeds popping. Oops-maybe I kept them in there a bit too long.

I ate all the filling, and was so full from just that so I saved the acorn squash for Saturday.

Yesterday I took the rest of the acorn squash and mashed it up with a little bit of butter and cinnamon. That was goo-ood! Sorry no picture.

I also tried a new bar. I have been meaning to try an Amazing Grass Greens Superfood Bar for a while now, but the price of the bar made me very reluctant to purchase one. I was walking around Whole Foods and decided that I just need to buy it and get it over with.

I was pleasantly surprised. This was the berry flavor fruit bar and reminded me a bit of a Larabar, but was much bigger. I was almost ready to be done eating it after 3/4 of it, and that never happens to me with bars. I usually devour them in 2 seconds. This one was very filling to me, and had a pretty good taste. I also bought the chocolate one and can’t wait to try that one as well.

This morning I woke up ready to start a new week. I felt a little discouraged for some reason, and a little upset with myself for not doing as well as I could have done last week. But I knew the only way to make it better was to get up and run. It was a beautiful fall day. The kind I have been waiting for for a while. I knew I had to take advantage of it. So I put on my new Nike compression capri pants and a tee shirt and started my morning routine.

I know I said I was going to change this up, but there is something about doing the leg lifts and push-ups that I love. However, I did add bicycle crunches today.

• 2 sets 60 reps leg lifts each leg
• 3 sets 20reps kneeling push-ups
• 2 sets 50 reps bicycle crunches

Then I hit the street. I was soaking up ever ounce of warm sunshine there was. This was a tough run for me, and I wanted to quit, stop, complain, and be angry through out the entire thing. I don’t know why I am feeling so discouraged right now. Even though I wanted to quit so many times I just kept going. There were times my feet hurt, there were times I wanted to stop and walk, but I kept pushing through.

By mile 5 I was feeling a lot better and much more motivated. My speed started to pick up, and I felt like I was on a roll. I finally finished and was happy to see I had run 7 miles in 1 hour. I really needed this run this morning to show myself that I can do this. I needed this run to prove to myself that I feel incredibly energized and powerful after a good run. Here are my stats:

• Distance: 7 miles
• Time: 0:59:53
• Average Pace: 8:34/mile
• Mile 1: 9:09
• Mile 2: 8:42
• Mile 3: 8:48
• Mile 4: 8:38
• Mile 5: 8:40
• Mile 6: 8:09
• Mile 7: 7:48

I also decided that to help my spirits and my well being I am going to have a green monster every morning for 2 weeks. I want to see if it helps me feel better through out the day. I want to see if it helps boost my energy and make me feel better over all. So I will be replacing my morning breakfasts with a morning monster. I will also have a healthy snack of some sort mid morning if I get hungry because smoothies are not that filling to me.

I also have this HUGE bag a kale I need to use up.

This morning I wanted to chocolate green monster. I made my green monster with:

• 8oz Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk
• 1 small frozen banana
• 1 packet Chocolate Amazing Grass Greens Packet
• 2 Tbs Hemp Seeds
• 3 handfuls fresh kale

I love how you get all the nutrients of the kale, but you don’t taste anything but chocolate goodness. I really love these Amazing Grass Greens packet. This was a great way to start off my morning.

I have to work all day and then I am going to free yoga at LuluLemon tonight! I am excited to get some stretching in. Have a great Sunday!

Tagged as: acorn squash, Amazing Grass, Amazing Grass Greens Superfood Bar, green monster, Lululemon, Nike, Panera