Before blogging…

I didn’t pack my clonky camera in my gym bag just incase I came across some pretty fall foliage on the walk over.

(looks like somebody is ready for Christmas)

I didn’t whip out my camera to take photos of pumpkins that did not belong to me….or any pumpkins for that matter.

Don’t you just wanna give them each a big bear hug? Maybe that’s just me.

Before blogging…

I didn’t need a PRE-post-workout snack because there was no such thing as a 15 min. delay due to food styling and photography.

pumpkin pie smoothie

I didn’t get excited about seeing 280% DV of Vitamin A in 1/2 cup of pumpkin.

I didn’t then get concerned about vitamin A poisoning. Just kidding…not really.

I didn’t scan fields of grass for the perfect leaf to use as a garnish for my bowl.

FYI: Pineapple and grapefruit are my favorite fruits to pair with Greek yogurt.

Garnished with chocolate covered (and uncovered) pretzels and candy corn

Before blogging…

I didn’t jump out of bed to make chocolate covered candy corn and pretzels because it was finally light outside.

Chocolate Covered Candy Corn and Pretzels

Directions: Microwave dark chocolate for 2 min. to melt.

Steal Halloween pretzels from the stash set aside for the neighborhood kids.

(It’s okay, I plan to supplement the stash with real candy. We are not going to be the LAME house in the neighborhood!!)

Although let’s be honest, Bats and Jacks are pretty cool, too.

Dip candy corn and pretzels in chocolate and let dry on aluminum foil. Place in the fridge to speed up drying time.

Let the sugah coma ensue.

Before blogging…

I didn’t purchase squash just because I thought they were “pretty.”

I didn’t look at the clock at 6 PM and get anxious about trying to “beat” the sunset.

Bring it, Sun!

I bought this Carnival Squash from TJ’s. The sticker said it was a cross between Sweet Dumpling and Green Table Queen Squash.

That means nothing to me.

I cut the squash in half, scooped out the innards, and microwaved the halves for 5-6 minutes. I would have roasted ‘em in the toaster oven for however long but the sun was setting!!

I didn’t give much thought to the stuffing. It just needed to be FAST!

• 1.5 slices of Cinnaraisin Ezekiel Bread, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 small apple, chopped
• 1/4 cup veggie stock
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• Salt and Pepper

Doesn’t the bread look like sausage?

I stuffed both halves of the squash and put them in the toaster oven for ~10 min. at 350* F.

Topped with herbed goat cheese <–crucial!

Spring mix with mini peppers on the side. I’m trying really hard to finish off these Costco tubs!

The squash was reminiscent of spaghetti squash. It was really quite bland. I had to add gobs of ketchup after the photo shoot.

Kabocha and butternut squash are much more tasty, for sure.

The sun won tonight.

Don’t worry, I’ll be back for a rematch!

Before blogging….

I didn’t consider rearranging my sleeping schedule in preparation for my rematch with the sun.

Dessert Part I: Papaya

Dessert Part II: A fabulous mix of sugar and more sugar . It deserves to be shot in the sunlight though!

***

Tell me: If you are a blogger, what’s one thing you do now that you didn’t do prior to blogging? If you are NOT a blogger, just be grateful the sunset doesn’t give you anxiety .

8 MILES!!!

I ran 8 miles today—crazy! I’ve only run 8 miles once before and that was exactly 3 years ago. It was the last run before my stress fracture creeped in. That run happened after a month of running without a day of rest. As I describe in my story, I went from running 0 mi/wk to 40 mi/wk in 4 weeks and then found myself sidelined for several months thereafter.

Major yikes.

I’d like to think I’ve come a loooooong way since then.

Today, I ran ~8.2 miles in 82 minutes (it took about 0.2 mi. for my Garmin to pick up the satellites!).

This run was actually supposed to happen yesterday but I never made it outside. I even procrastinated some more this morning by putting together a shelf in my room…ha!

The ‘long’ run came out of nowhere, really. I didn’t expect to run more than 4 miles or so. I was huffing and puffing at the 1 mile mark (!!) but somehow I just kept chugging along. I definitely had more to give at the end but my hips were starting to hurt so I called it a day. Better safe than sorry.

All made possible thanks to copious amounts of granola, chips, cereal and cookies. I went a little crazy with the carbs yesterday.

Probably not the greatest fuel choices but it did fill up my glycogen stores, I suppose.

***

Post run, I immediately made a protein Green Smoothie.

Protein powder, spinach, strawberries, almond milk, water, ice and stevia. Oh and my favorite Amazing Grass flavor–the lemon lime energy blend.

Then it was time for an ICE BATH! I depleted our entire supply of ice and threw in some ice packs as well. I lasted 20 freezing cold minutes!

Post steamy hot shower, I had some leftover salad (see below) and Cinnaraisin Ezekiel toast with Hazelnut Cream Cheese.

This hazelnut cream cheese from Panera is the bomb! I can surely eat it by the spoonful.

Now for the salad…

Last night, I made a big ol’ salad for myself and the ‘rents.

In the bowl:

• ~8 cups spring mix
• 10 mini peppers
• 1/2 large tomato
• 2 oz. crumbled herbed goat cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 6 [forgotten] medjool dates

I was trying to create something similar to the Santa Monica Salad I had at Eppie’s in Cville but I completely forgot to add the medjool dates! Oops.

I made sure to throw in some dates with my leftover portion today. There ain’t nothin’ better than dates, goat cheese and pecans, y’all!

***

Time to go munch an AllieBar and get ready for dinner! Running always seems to take over my entire day somehow.

Tell me…your best job interview tip! I’ve got a job meeting (interview?) tomorrow afternoon! Wish me luck .

Guess where I ended up today? Yep, DC…again! It’s funny, now that we live farther away from DC, I find myself going back more often. I’m making up for lost time, I suppose. There are actually quite a few things I have yet to see [in my own backyard] including the inside of the White House and Julia Child’s kitchen.

Anywho, today I ventured into the city to meet up with my brother and the ‘in laws’ for lunch. They are all getting together with my parents tomorrow night but I’ll be in Charlottesville. Since they are only in town for a few days, this was my one opportunity to meet up with them!

We ate lunch at Met Cafe, a charge-by-the-pound deli.

I was delighted to find that they had sushi! The best part was that since it was charge-by-the-pound I could get as little or as much as I wanted. I didn’t have to commit to a full roll and I could mix and match.

They also had a large salad + hot food bar.

I got a little bit of everything that appealed to me. Salad with avocado and other veggies.

A triangle of tofu.

Plus some sushi: a piece of the tuna avocado roll, a piece of the sweet potato noodle and rapini roll, and eel nigiri (my favorite!).

Then it was time to explore DC by foot! It was the perfect day for strolling around–sunny yet cool and breezy.

Amos, the native Wisconsin, was informing me about the buildings I’ve grown up seeing for all of my life .

The leaves were practically changing colors before our eyes!

Amos had his heart set on visiting The Supreme Court. I was eager to go as well because I had NEVER been! I probably wouldn’t have been able to find it on a map before today. I know I KNOW.

Check out this spiral staircase–there is nothing supporting it from the underside. It’s just jammed into the wall…really well . They are held in place by fit and pressure.

I was impressed.

There was an option to hear a lecture inside the courtroom but we passed.

Here’s a model of the courtroom.

***

So I go into DC by driving 1/3 of the way, taking a bus another 1/3 of the way and riding the metro the last 1/3 of the way. On the way back before I hopped into my car, I stopped by a brand new cupcake shop (2 blocks from my old house!!) just to take a peek.

Red Velvet Cupcakery. I’ve seen their listings on Craigslist so I knew they were opening up but I didn’t know today was the grand opening…

SCORE!!!!

I got a FREE carrot cupcake. I probably should have gotten the red velvet flavor considering the name of the bakery but you know I can’t ever ever ever pass up carrot.

I tried to save half for my mom but the whole thing got gobbled up! I was hungry .

***

Finally, I made it home and whipped up dinner in 5 min. flat for me and my mom.

I picked up this TJ’s Organic Vegetarian Chili the other day to try out.

SO GOOD!! Thick ‘n’ hearty.The texture of the tofu was very similar to beef—I could hardly tell it was vegetarian. I am definitely picking up a few more cans next time I visit TJ’s.

I ate it with Ezekiel bread.

Plus a salad.

Then it was time to give my oven some lovin’.

Enough AllieBars to feed an army and Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies, but made with sweet potato puree this time.

Since I won’t be there with everyone tomorrow, I made them dessert. You know, so they’ll think of me .

My mom loved these blondies from my Project Food Blog dinner party and suggested I bake them for tomorrow.

As you can see above, there was plenty of taste testing for quality control purposes. I think I like the sweet potato better than the pumpkin in this recipe!

***

Alright, I gotta go pack for tomorrow and then sleep! See you from Charlottesville .

Unintentionally, I was pretty ‘unplugged’ last week. Between my trip to NYC and my adventures in dog sitting, I didn’t spend nearly as much time as I normally do in front of the computer screen. While I have a lot to catch up on now, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the time away. It was nice to disconnect, get out and explore, reflect on life, and read a book from cover to cover!

Now that I’m back home, I’m already finding myself getting sucked back into the internet. I’m going to make a concerted effort to shut my laptop and buckle down with my job search though, at least during the day. We’ll see how that goes .

***

On Sunday night, I visited my brother at his new apartment in Arlington. He took me to Cafe Assorti, a casual restaurant that serves homemade food from European, Russian and Kazakh cuisines.

I started with the Assorti Seafood Salad. Calamari, carrots, garlic and onions tossed in canola oil.

For my entree, I ordered the Vegetable Assorti. A mix of eggplant, carrots, broccoli, zucchini and squash. The veggies were very flavorful, probably because they were cooked in good ol’ creamy butter.

For some reason I was expecting a more creative and hearty entree i.e. with some delicious sauce or some grains….or atleast heavier on the eggplant! Oh well, my appetite was still a little off from my sickness so I was more than satisfied.

I got my grains in with a part of a sweet pastry that we got to-go. I tried the sesame pastry with a sweet cheese filling (the bottom one).

I also munched on a huge bag of Maple Oatmeal Squares cereal. My brother and I are definitely two of a kind!

We got to catch up on all things life including his new job, my lack of a job, his coworkers, my blog friends…and so on and so forth.

***

The next morning (yesterday), I said goodbye to the dogs and headed home. It took me over 2 hours to get home because I made a few stops along the way to do some food shopping. Typical.

I picked up a Kardea Chai Spice bar from a local health food store to munch in the car. I was actually sent 4 of these bars several months ago and gobbled them up without telling you about them . I liked them a lot, especially the chai spice flavor. I looked online to see if I could buy more but they were a bit on the pricey side.

The texture is really unique. It’s a bit sticky, but not overly so. Although it sort of looks like a Larabar, it tastes completely different–more like a sticky cookie. The chai flavor is spot on!

I hit up the gym later in the day for some ellipticalling and full body strength training. I hadn’t lifted in almost a week and it felt great to engage my muscles. My workout flew by because Friends was on the gym TV.

Afterwards, I dug into a new-to-me product from TJ’s: Chicken-less Pulled Chicken in BBQ sauce.

I’ve been digging vegetarian meat lately, especially the kind in BBQ sauce. It looked and tasted so much like chicken. I’m really not sure if I would be able to tell the difference between this and real chicken in a blind taste test. Seriously.

I enjoyed it with baby spinach, brussels sprouts, and mini peppers.

This meal was sandwiched between carbs. I had an unpictured slice of whole wheat bread while cooking the brussels sprouts and followed it up with a few Newman’s Own Ginger-O’s and dark chocolate squares.

I did some baking this morning so get ready for a fun recipe coming up! Speaking of recipes, I need your vote for my Mushroom Feta Cornbread Muffins. You don’t have to register for anything–just a simple click! Thanks in advance for your support! Click here to vote.

***

Alright, time for this gal to unplug.

Tell me: What is your favorite ethnic cuisine?

I just couldn’t stop…

…taking photos.

At the Farmer’s Market.

This morning, we made our way to the Reston Farmer’s Market, which is actually about a 1.5 mile walk from our house via a beautiful trail. I’ve been meaning to go for months now but the market closes at 12 noon and we are a night owl / lazy saturday morning kinda family. By the time we wake up, drink coffee, read the paper (err blogs), and get rollin’, it’s just about over.

Well, this morning we made it!

There used to be a small Farmer’s Market on Thursdays across the street from our house that was fairly unexciting (5 stands max). For some reason I thought there wouldn’t be much at this market either.

I was wrong.

It was a food+photography lover’s dream come true. I’ve seen more impressive markets in my day, but this time I had my DSLR camera with me. Heh heh.

For your safety, please keep your taste buds and eyeballs in the cart at all times.

3…2…1…

Fall

(I sampled Lizzie’s Chai Tea Ice Cream)

Fairy Tale Eggplant

(Just call me Cinderella!)

More eggplant

Albino eggplant?

Purple pepz.

Patty pan squash. Cuties.

Those little fingers you see belong to a boy who was awfully excited about the bread samples…perhaps even more excited than I was (that’s saying a lot).

His mom called him ‘grasshopper’ . “Grasshopper, if you touch it, you have to eat it.”

You know it.

Hummus samples.

This farmer’s market didn’t just have food, it also sold crafts and featured live music by the lake.

We bought a few goodies.

Fairy Tale Eggplant

A sugar melon

Some heirloom tomatoes

I’ve been missing out every Saturday morning.

Tell me: Do you go to your local farmer’s market? If so, how often?

***

God Bless America and the families, friends, and victims of 9/11.

I’m home! Back to my Craigslist-browsing-job-searching-adolescent-sleeping-schedule-silly-book-reading ways. I have 48 hours (and 200+ photos) worth of culinary adventures to share with you so hold tight as I recap the end of my trip to Chicago.

***

After the Healthy Living Summit, I took a train to the ‘burbs of Chicago to stay with my dear blogger friend Lauren and her husband Joe.

Several months ago, Lauren casually suggested that I visit her someday. I kept the idea in the back of my head but because I rarely travel to the midwest, I didn’t really give it much consideration at the time. Well, the moment I found out the summit was going to take place in Chicago, I immediately contacted Lauren about meeting up!

The idea of staying at a blogger friend’s house is a bit out there if you really think about it. Meeting up for lunch is one thing but staying overnight (when you’ve never ever met before) is a whole ‘nother story.

Conversations with my friends before I left home sounded something like this:

Friend: What are you doing in Chicago?

Me: Going to a conference and then visiting a friend for a couple days

Friend: Cool! A friend from school?

Me: Um no, not exactly. I haven’t actually met her yet. We’re just online friends.

Friend: Oh. Uhhh…well, hmm be careful!

***

However, Lauren always left me the most thoughtful comments on my posts and although we had never met in real life, it seemed as if we had been friends for years. Also, I knew this girl’s heart was made of gold when she sent me a gigantic jar of Naturally More Almond Butter back in February .

Lauren and Joe treated me like a princess! Despite the fact that I was only staying for 2 short days, Lauren stocked up on all my favorite foods in preparation for my arrival. I opened the fridge to find kefir, TJ’s Carrot Ginger Muffins, shrimp, mini sweet peppers, berries, dates and almond butter!

My goodness gracious.

Internet friends –> real life friends

***

Lauren got started on dinner as soon as I walked in the door. Her equally as sweet and adorable older sister, Katie, joined us as well.

Appetizers: mini pepz, Italian herb pita chips, sugar snap peas, and hummus.

Organic tortilla chips w/ TJ’s Corn and Chile Salsa

Apple Pie Cheese!

Dark chocolate covered raisins and Almond M&Ms (I think I had approximately 8,066 of these).

Dipped in Barney Butter, no less.

She also brought out dates to make me feel right at home!

Lauren baked a loaf of artisan bread for dinner. Don’t you just wanna stick your nose in that doughy center?? Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Also on the menu: Baby spinach, cucumber and cranberry salad

Caprese salad (tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar)

Stir stir stir.

Whole wheat pasta with shrimp and peas

I had it all!

I loaded up on extra veggies because I hadn’t had any all day long.

Her soft ‘n’ doughy bread was absolutely perfect.

I managed to pack it all in despite filling up on oh so many delicious appetizers beforehand.

***

Dessert: Pavlova….or what Katie called Pavlov’s Dogs . Meringue ‘cake’ with whipped cream and mixed berries.

Lauren even gave me, the GUEST, a prezzie (that’s unheard of!!). I’m telling you, it was 100% princess treatment.

TJ’s Chocolate and a cute mini cup and spoon from Crate and Barrel.

***

After a 45 min. walk ‘n’ talk outside, I came home to my beautifully made and incredibly comfy princess couch-bed. Joe had everything ready to go along with a little midnight snack….

Almond M&Ms in a little plastic wrap baggie with a curly ribbon. What a guy!

This was only the beginning of my adventures with Lauren. I’ll be back soon!

Love,

Allie, Princess of ‘Burbia

Oof. I write to you tonight with a big ol’ food baby. The sex has been confirmed…it’s gonna be a healthy baby carrot cake! We had a feast tonight at Peter’s Kitchen–read on for the deets!

This afternoon we headed to Costco to fill up on samples stock up on some grub.

I didn’t have time to eat a large breakfast so by the time we arrived, I was pretty hungry. As a result, I sampled my heart out.

Samples offered today:

• falafel w/ Sabra hummus
• edamame dip w/ pita chips
• apple strudel
• sweet bread w/ butter
• 1/2 an ice cream bar (so generous!)
• cherries
• too much to remember!

I practically ate the equivalent of a whole meal there!

***

We stocked up on:

Pecans, fresh apricots, blueberries, Greek yogurt…

DATES!!!! and a pineapple

Spring mix and mini pepz!

I had a bowl of blueberries after we got back home–they’re monstrous.

As well as some a lot of dates with almond butter.

Mmmmm! I guess date rehab is over. I didn’t last long, huh?

When we got back, I kept debating whether or not I wanted to workout. I knew that if I went I would feel more energized and hungry for dinner (since I had spoiled my appetite with dates). BUT after an hour of debating I decided to just let it go.

Plus, I conned my mom into walking to TJ’s with me in the 95* heat instead. You’ll see why…

***

Dinner was a cookout/BBQ/feast at Peter’s Kitchen.

I prepared a salad for everyone to share. Toppings included avocado, hearts of palm, goat cheese, and mini peppers.

Also on the menu….

Chicken Breast

Filet mignon and chicken sausages

Peter also made a side of potatoes.

Post dinner we broke out the magical froyo machine!

TJ’s fiiiiiiinally had European Style yogurt back in stock. <–provides the tartness

Homemade tart frozen yogurt and Butter Pecan Ice Cream for ALL! I had about 1/2 cup of each topped with sliced strawberries.

More dessert?? My brother brought over a carrot cake from Wegman’s.

This was surprisingly good and that’s saying something because I have high carrot cake standards!

I’m very picky about my carrot cake. I don’t like the fluffy/cakey kind. I like dense, thick, and moist carrot cake. I must admit, this was pretty darn good coming from a grocery store.

…I would know. I had about 1/3 of the entire cake! It wasn’t exactly a full-sized cake, but my piece was still BIG (yes, bigger than what’s shown above).

I definitely overdid it a little in the dessert/sweets department tonight but hey, I haven’t had carrot cake in forever and it was good! You gotta live a little sometimes right? I might have a slight tummy ache though .

Nothing a food coma can’t fix!

***

Check out my guest post over at Janetha’s Blog on turning t-shirts into reusable bags!

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. ~Sydney J. Harris

This past weekend, I graduated from Duke University.

The forecast called for rain and thunderstorms all weekend, but we actually lucked out with blistering sunshine on Saturday and clouds on Sunday. The air was muggy and the temperature was steaming hot. While I didn’t shed a single tear, I did perspire to no end!!

Here is the recap. Enjoy!

***

On Saturday, we got up bright and early so my parents could get seats in the Chapel for the baccalaureate service.

I sat in the front row of the chapel.

Which meant this was my view of President Broadhead.

Posing with Benjamin B. Duke

We grabbed lunch at an on campus eatery. I shared a grilled veggie panini and strawberry frozen yogurt smoothie with my Momma.

We spent the next 4 hours sitting under the fierce NC sun. My parents are avid tennis fans and were very excited to watch the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship second round match between Duke and UNC.

I enjoy watching tennis. I do. Especially when it’s Andy Roddick LIVE, but this was pretty brutal (my right shoulder/back/neck/chest got so-oh-oh sunburnt). However, we WON so it was somewhat worth the dehydration, exhaustion, and perspiration.

Next, we headed to the President’s Reception in the Duke Gardens.

I proceeded to grab a bottle of water and chug it in 3 seconds flat. Water never tasted so sweet. There were also strawberries, cheese crackers and mini cupcakes served.

For dinner, we went to California Pizza Kitchen. I had my choice of any restaurant and I chose CPK, which we have 10 min. from our home! I wasn’t looking for something over the top and I failed to make reservations anywhere ahead of time.

It was fabulous and just what we wanted!

We ordered plenty to share:

Miso Salad with Crab and Shrimp:

Grilled Vegetable Salad. With eggplant (!!!).

Dressings and toppings on the side.

Tuscan White Bean Minestrone Soup:

Pizza: Goat Cheese with Roasted Peppers on honey wheat whole grain crust!

Can you tell it was MY graduation dinner?

***

Afterwards, we went to a party hosted by the Duke Alumni Association.

My dad was looking forward to this all day long. Free beer and wine!

Cheers!

***

Graduation Day

I woke up extremely early on Sunday morning for the commencement ceremony.

Processional March

Afterwards we attended a separate ceremony for all Psychology and Neuroscience majors where I received my diploma. They served us Panera sandwiches and cookies.

Then we packed up the rest of my room and hit the road.

Farewell, Duke.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. ~Beverly Sills

The rest of my eventful day yesterday was nothing short of spectacular.

After my lovely run and seeing Wicked I went to my FIRST farewell celebration of many.

S is for Senior Send-Off. My sorority had a Senior Send-Off reception in the Duke Gardens. We have a reception dedicated to the seniors every spring during which littles (little sisters) read a poem or say a little something in honor of their bigs (you guessed it, big sisters).

S is for Sundresses and Smiles.

(Did ya spot me? I’m dead center in the back row.)

Veggies.

German Chocolate cake. I had ~1/2 of the pecan one in the middle column. Duh.

Fruitsies (Apparently I can’t just say ‘fruit.’ ‘Cuz that would be too easy ).

With my little!

S is for Socializing. Then I dashed off to Sarah’s house for a blogger ‘get together.’ As I mentioned yesterday, I consider these ladies my friends and not just fellow bloggers/readers.

I don’t think you all realize how happy I was to see everyone when I walked in the door. It’s been a lonely last couple of weeks here at school and some social interaction couldn’t have come at a better time. These ladies (and their gents) never fail to brighten my spirit!

I started with a glass of white vino.

Gazpacho with pumpkin seeds.

S is for Scrumptious. I had several of these chips with my Gazpacho and throughout the night. Scrumptious little things.

Quesadilla preparation station.

More chips and booze. P.S. Those TJ’s Veggie Flaxseed Tortilla Chips are FAB.

S is for Salad. Tropical-Cali Salad w/ spinach, peppers, and mangos, tossed in a lime vinaigrette.

S is for Shrimpies! Sarah sure knows the key to my heart .

Toppings.

My plate:

Inside the quesadillas: sweet potato mash, black beans, cheese, and mushrooms.

S is for Santa. Then it was time for me to pass out AllieBars! I felt a little like Santa Claus . I made both the OrginAllie and TropicAllie flavors for them to try. They all said nice things and encouraging words.

Before I forget, I must credit Sarah for coining the AllieBar name. She and Josh have been my official taste testers!

For dessert, Meg brought cupcakes from Mad Hatter’s Cafe and Bake Shop in Durham.

These were some FLUFFY cupcakes–they practically melted in my mouth! I had 1/2 of this pink one but with a chocolate bottom. I got a close up of the wrong one!

We forgot to get group photos before Jess and Kelly left! I took a photo with the two of them at our last meet up, if you wanna see their pretty faces.

S is for Simply the Best.

Meg, Me, Lacey, and The Beautiful Hostess!

…and their gents. These Goobers got inspired after watching a few Jersey Shore Youtube videos...and perhaps a few margaritas and beers. Hahahahaha.

S is for Silly Stunning.

I’m gonna miss these kids .

My body had no idea I was planning on running this morning. I was halfway out the door when I realized I still had my pajama shirt on and my shin sleeves were on the floor. I did remember to update my shuffle with the running tunes my brother gave me, however. It was nice to have some new tunes. Thanks, Bro!

After crawling out the door, I ran to the WaDuke, went once around on the trail and back to my apt. for a total of 5.15 miles. As usual, I didn’t reach the I-finally-don’t-feel-like-death mark until about 2.5 miles in. I stopped by the mini gym to do some leg weights afterwards but the machines were funky. I’ll have to get in a killer weight sesh at the main gym later this week.

My run was surprisingly great. I didn’t give my body enough credit this morning as I didn’t expect it to last very long. I ran outside because pollen levels were ‘high’ (remember ‘high is good). I did see my ex boyfriend (the one who started all of this) not once but TWICE during my run. Awkward. The 2nd time, my new favorite song was playing on my iPod…

This time babyyyyy I’ll beeeee bulletproof. Coinkidink much?

(Song= Bulletproof by La Roux)

***

Post workout, I had a refreshing green smoothie:

• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 1/2 cup spinach
• 1 scoop Green Superfood

And an AllieBar. I had 1/2 of an AllieBar before my run too. For some reason these sit well in my tummy when I run. That’s saying something because NOTHING sits well in there during my runs. Ever.

I spent all last night making 5 batches of these guys. I’m actually not 110% satisfied with them . They were good, just not perfect. I’ll have to try them again and see if their okay to send out. If not, I’ll be making MORE.

I definitely got a taste of what it would be like to mass-produce these! A lot of ingredients to manage that’s for sure.

I also had some of the snax/desserts that my brother brought back from London and a spoonful of TJ’s Sunflower Seed Butter.

***

After class, I was feeling the need for some protein. I made a Caprese Omelet with 1 egg, 3 egg whites, ~1 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, 1 small tomato, 1 cup spinach, and avocado.

The original plan was to have all the ingredients stuffed inside the omelet, but halfway through I realized I was getting a bit overzealous with the ingredients. So I just laid them on top!

It was more like a Caprese Omelet Pizza!

Side of orange slices and mini peppers.

See how wrinkly they get if I ignore them?

La Croix.

Afterwards I ate ~1/2 of a White Chocolate Pumpkin Bread loaf courtesy of Court and Whit. It was very rich and had a brownie-like texture. I didn’t taste any white chocolate chips in there though .

Now I’m forking some TJ’s Sunflower Seed Butter into my mouth. Surprise surprise.