WTF Wednesday

Hey everyone! This is going to be a quick one because I have to get to work early today. We are closing early today so I'll get in a bonus workout this week which is pretty good :) I haven't been feeling so great lately so it's time to get back on track. I've had a lot going on so I've been depending on some convenience foods (which I found in the back of my freezer... that should have been a sign!). It's time to get back on track and start moving back toward a mostly raw diet. I'm going to try to stick to one cooked meal a day and hopefully when wedding season picks back up I can get a small dehydrator to get started with. Right now a small dehydrator and a new pair of running shoes are on the top of my list :)

Anyway, let me show you the yumminess I've made to power me through my long day!

Another oat based smoothie for breakfast! I made a few changes though so this is more of an "Oatmeal Raisin Cookie" Smoothie. I omitted the coconut and walnuts so I made overnight oats with 1/3 cup of oats, 2 tbsp of raisins, cinnamon and 1 cup Almond Coconut milk. This morning I blended that with 1 small frozen banana and Vanilla Almondilla Vega Shake & Go Powder. I really wanted to get some greens in this smoothie and that powder has 2 servings of greens per serving as well as omegas, probiotics and obviously protein. Plus, the creamy vanilla flavor it added made it taste like a cookie! So delicious!

My late morning snack will be 3 little clementines :)

How amazing does this look?! I made "Unfried Rice" for lunch today. I basically dry fried it (no oil at all) and only used 1/2 cup of rice so it is really a ton of veggies with a little bit of rice. It has brown rice, tofu, edamame, peas and carrots, zucchini, broccoli, onion and sprouts. I used a little tamari to season it. I can't wait to chow down on this for lunch!

Dinner is a hummus bento box. Tomato, carrots, celery, hummus and some roasted cauliflower. I know there are a few cooked elements on this plate but I loaded up on the raw veggies and I'll probably pair it with a yummy pickle.

OK sorry to post and run but I've gotta head out! I hope you all have a lovely day and thanks for all your encouraging words about Tough Mudder! I'm going to talk to the trainer one more time but I think I'm going to do it ;)

Have a great day!

Updates

Hey everyone! I had totally planned on getting back to my full day of eats posting today but I got called in for a last minute appointment with the spine dr. to go over the MRI so I was rushing around like a crazy lady :) But there's a few new things happening so I figured I'd update you.

First, the MRI came up mostly clean which is partially good but partially annoying because now we are almost back to square one. There is one disc that is slightly protruding and possibly irritating the nerve... but he didn't seem really convinced that it was the source of all of my symptoms since it was so slight. He suggested I try 4-6 weeks of physical therapy to see if it helps correct it at all and alleviate the symptoms and we will take it from there. If we rule that out I'm not sure what the next step is. Maybe checking my shoulder?

So the other thing that has come up was brought up to me at the gym yesterday. Apparently my gym is rounding up a "team" to do the Tough Mudder course in October. The trainer that is rallying the troops asked me if I wanted to run it with them. I checked it out and it actually seems like a lot of fun. He swore to me that it wouldn't be like running 10 miles (which scares the shit out of me!) because of all of the obstacles. I actually really want to do it but I'm concerned that I won't be able to do a bunch of the obstacles (and it's ok if you skip some, they just want you to do your best) because of the weakness in my shoulder. On the other hand, I'd have 5 months to train for it. I'm completely torn!

Check out this video if you want to know more about it:

My favorite part is the girl that said "I'm really mad that you talked me into this." LOL that's hilarious and probably exactly what I'll be saying if I do it. 

What do you guys think? Is 5 months enough time to train for this so I don't die? Those electric wires looks like they SUCK!

OK I'll stop rambling. That's what is happening in my life. Food tomorrow, I promise. My boss is out of town so we are going to close up a bit early so I'm going to run to the gym for bonus cardio which is pretty awesome :)

Have a great night everyone!

Oats in a Glass

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good Monday :) Mine was pretty good, had a good training session and I'm getting ready to meet up with some friends for a drink (although I don't plan on actually drinking). I wanted to share a quick recipe with you before I left though. I made it for breakfast this morning and it was SO GOOD.

If you recall, I shared this gorgeous bowl of oats with you a few days ago.

Pretty huh? I've been craving it a lot since I ate it but it has gotten pretty warm here in NY so I don't really want to eat hot oatmeal first thing on a hot morning so I tried to figure out a way to cool it down. There is always overnight oats but it is hard for me to eat it like that. I don't know why but I really have to be in the mood for it. I think it is a textural thing.

Anyway, I saw this post by Gabby and knew that would be the perfect way to cool off my favorite bowl of oats. 

Check out this beautiful Morning Oats Smoothie! It definitely tasted amazing, I'm glad I decided to try this smoothie. It'll definitely be a summer staple and I'm sure I'll start adding some greens to it too.

Morning Oats Smoothie

1/3 cup oats (I used gluten free)

1 cup plant milk (I used Unsweetened Almond Coconut Almond Breeze)

1 tbsp shredded coconut

1 tbsp finely chopped walnuts

1 tbsp raisins

cinnamon

1 small frozen banana

Directions:

The night before, mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate overnight to soften everything. In the morning add your overnight oats with toppings along with your frozen banana to a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

So good! Let me know if you try it/like it :) I have to get ready to head out but I'll catch up on your blogs when I get home. Have a great night!

UFC on Fox and a Preview!

Hey everyone! I hope that you have all had an amazing weekend! I know I haven't been around much over the past week but it's been pretty busy here. Things are finally back to normal so next week I'll be posting lots of yummy food for you.

As I mentioned, last night I attended the live fights for UFC on Fox in New Jersey! The main event featured 1/2 of my favorite fighter bros, Nate Diaz (the other half, his bro Nick, cornered him). It was an exciting fight because the winner received a title shot. We got there in time to see all of the prelims in addition to the main card. In total I saw 5 hours worth of fights :) So amazing!

Check out how amazing our seats were! I could see everything in the cage crystal clear. It made the experience that much better to be that close. In addition, our seats were on the aisle in a section where people would have to pass us to get to the floor (we were 10 rows up from the floor). I would look up and there would be a fighter standing next to us waiting to get to their seats. For any other fight fans, I had Clay Guida, Michael Bisping and Jon Fitch standing next to me at some point. I didn't want to bother them for a pic though, I feel weird about doing that.

We were about 15 feet from one of the entrances where the fighters would walk out. Wouldn't you know it, they had Nate Diaz walk out on our side :) So awesome.

The fights themselves were amazing. There were a few sick knockouts, some amazing submissions (including a full on choke out - with the guy unconscious). I'm happy to say Nate Diaz won his fight via guillotine choke for his eventual title shot :) Great end to a great night!

OK, so I couldn't do another post with no food so I just have a few things to share with you. Nothing really exciting, just something I've been eating for breakfast a lot lately and some things I have coming up over the next week!

I've been eating this for breakfast a lot lately. It's just a banana with pecan butter, raisins and cinnamon. So delicious and filling!

Today I roasted a head of cauliflower for the week. I have some plans for this :) I was inspired by Shen's recent roasted cauliflower sides!

These are currently sitting on my countertop and will hopefully ripen soon... although I think it'll be a few days at least. Can't wait to eat these, especially the mangoes :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and a fun and festive Cinco de Mayo! Can't wait to show you some new meals next week. Today I'm just going to relax and probably lay on a heating pad for a bit. The crappy arena seats messed up my back/neck yesterday but it was so worth it! See you tomorrow!

Things That Inspire Me...

Hey everyone! First of all, thank you so much for all of your support through the process of figuring out what the hell is wrong with my neck/back/shoulder. It means a lot! My MRI went pretty well I think. I am actually now pretty convinced it is indeed my neck. While I was in there they stabilized my neck and it was almost like it was in a brace. I have NEVER felt as much discomfort in that shoulder or arm in my life... it was actually quite painful. HOWEVER, when I got off the table and out of the stabilizer brace thingy, my shoulder actually felt better than it has in a long time. Very little discomfort, stretched out and just better. So much so, in fact, that my training session today was amazing. 7 rounds on the heavy bag with zero problems, no fatigue and even my breathing felt better. It was crazy! I am waiting to hear back from my doctor about when I can get the results but I'm feeling pretty optimistic. There was one casualty though. I had to take out all of my ear piercings and go figure, one actually closed up IN AN HOUR AND A HALF! And I had that one for 10 years. The scar tissue in the bottom hole of my industrial just completely closed it up. It is sad because I loved that piercing but I guess if I am on the road to getting better it is worth it.

I went to Whole Foods tonight to replenish my grocery supply. I walked out with mostly produce since I'm still working on the pantry. I got some carrots, cucumber, spinach, artichoke hearts, portobello mushrooms, and cauliflower. I also got 3 of the small Vita Coco coconut waters (on sale 3 for $5, I got 2 pineapple and one peach and mango) because it is the only brand of coconut water I can actually get down. I think Zico is kind of yucky :X I have some great meals planned so sit tight :)

I have been doing a lot of thinking about life and where I am and where I want to be and realized that I have a long way to go. What I'm doing and what I want to do are two very different things but I've decided that life is too short and now is the time to start chasing my dreams and make things happen for myself. I have some projects planned for myself and I'll fill you in on them once I get rolling and make a good deal of progress. Exciting things are happening because I've decided it is time for me to focus on becoming the person that I dream of being.

Which brings me to the real subject of this post, inspiration. I know that I've been bringing it up a lot, but I'm REALLY happy that I joined Pinterest. I know that it is a great way to promote my blog and all of that stuff, but I have found that I love it more for the inspiration it provides me. I love seeing things that are cool and then coming up with ways to make them my own. I decided that since I don't have food photos for you today, I'd show you some things that are inspiring to me that I've found on Pinterest.

Repurposed Etched Spice Jars. This DIY project is beautiful and gives your kitchen such a unique look AND is a great way to recycle your old bottles. I'm really loving these.

How cute are these Oreo Pops!! I love things on a stick and these Oreos are so easy but look really great! These will be a great holiday treat using Candy Cane Joe Joe's.

How hilarious is this mustache Rainbow Cake? I've always wanted to try making "tie dye" cakes and this one is just too cute. I need to get on that :)

I'm pretty much obsessed with these Melted Ice Cream Cupcakes. They are so adorable and I wish I had though of them! These inspire me a lot to really push my creativity :)

Finally, this presentation of a beautiful summer fruit salad is brilliant. I tried to click back to the source but couldn't find it. I think it is so simple but really smart and pretty to look at. 

So the moral of this really long (sorry) story is that I've become really inspired by the things I've seen on Pinterest and just all around me and I'm hoping to be able to use this inspiration to create some new, fun things. I'm also hoping that this inspiration will find its way into some projects I have in my head that I'm really pushing to make a reality. It's time for change my friends. And I'm bringing you along for the ride!

Sorry this has turned into a mammoth post! Just one more thing though. As of last night, I've gotten my paws on tickets to the UFC fights in Jersey on Saturday! I'm so excited because I've never been to live fights AND to make it even better, Nate Diaz (one of my favorite fighters) will be fighting in the main event and will be cornered by his bro (and my all time fav fighter) Nick. SO. AWESOME. Yay!

Ok, I'm done I promise! Thanks for bearing with me! Have a great night!

Hump Day Eats

Hey everyone! It's another gloomy day here in NY. I think I hear rain which kind of sucks. Can't bring myself to look out the window yet even though I have to leave in a half hour. Oh well, I guess it'll be a surprise?

Anyway, I got all of my errands done yesterday. Earrings successfully switched out, lots of fun crafting stuff from Michael's (the canvases were on sale, I got 4 for $8!) AND I perused a fun health food specialty store. It happens to be next to the tattoo shop I go to and I've been in there before so I figured I'd go peruse. Well they have made some major changes and it is awesome! They have tons of cool stuff, lots of gluten free and raw foods AND a cafe attached! Fresh juices and smoothies and organic eats. It's not strictly veg but it is super vegan friendly. In fact, I grabbed a menu and figured I'd scan it for you just to show you why I'm so stoked :)

If you click on it you should be able to read it! The cafe and store have great stuff but it is a bit pricey so I didn't really partake in anything just yet, but when I hopefully get a little more work over the summer I'm going to splurge on a few fun treats!

Anyway, lets move on to today's eats. Today is a really good representation of the pantry challenge because I used a lot of pantry items I'm trying to finish up AND the scraps of my produce. I REALLY need to go grocery shopping, hopefully tomorrow evening. Check it out!

For breakfast I had a bowl of warming oats and added some walnuts, raisins and coconut. Cinnamon too, as always :) It was sooooooo good!

Midmorning snack will be an unpictured orange.

Lunch is a chopped salad. Spinach, cucumber, carrot, half an ear of not so great corn (found out too late), sun dried tomatoes and roasted chickpeas. Mmmm.

Afternoon snack is going to be a Lemon Coconut Hemp Seed Bite and probably some coconut water.

Dinner is going to be some Quinoa Edamame salad and some yummy pickles! Look at the little baby one :) I halved the recipe because I feel like a cup of quinoa is a lot. 

This should definitely keep me going on my long day! I need to write up a grocery list too, I'll have to sneak that in :) I hope you are all having a good week and Happy Hump Day! It's easy peasy after today.

I am not sure if I'll be able to post tomorrow because I'll be rushed in the morning because of my 7:30 AM MRI appointment but maybe I'll be able to share a grocery haul if I can get there. If not I'll see you Friday!

Fun Tuesday - Stuff I'm Into (The Craft Edition!)

Hey everyone! I realized that I forgot to do my fun Friday post last week. When I woke up it was pouring and gray and gloomy and I figured it was the perfect day for a post on fun crafts that I want to do! I've been antsy lately and feeling like I've been watching too much tv and not doing enough "stuff" so I've been pinning projects I want to do on Pinterest. I figured I'd share them with you today because my food is boring :)

So lets check it out!

I thought these were awesome! They are DIY wood picture frames! You buy plain wood plaques and paint them whatever colors you want then mount the photos in the middle! I'm thinking about making a few with pictures of Delilah for my mom and my sister in law for mother's day.

Jar-o-lanterns! How adorable! I LOVE these I definitely will be making some for Halloween this year :)

Mason jar planters! I would also love to make these so I can grow some herbs :) Maybe I'll look into it more when the summer comes.

How cool is this?! It is called bubble painting. All you do is put some food coloring into bubbles and blow the bubbles onto a canvas. This will be happening very soon! 

The raw materials for...

... friendship bracelets! I actually find it really relaxing to make these and while I'm not great at it (I can only make the simple ones) it's a fun little project for a rainy day! Thanks to Sophie for reminding me about these!

I have a bunch of errands to run before I head into work this afternoon. I have to get my earrings taken out for my MRI which is annoying but it has to be done. Luckily there is a Michael's right near the tattoo shop I'm going to so I may go peruse in there and pick up some thread. I think canvases are on sale so I may grab those if they are too :) I'm sure I'll be overwhelmed by all of the thread choices, I have no clue what colors I want to use!

Hope you liked my craft edition of "Stuff I'm Into!" I'll be keeping you posted on anything I actually get around to making.

Hope you all have a great day!