Monthly Archives: October 2011

Banana Rama

Posted on October 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Working until 3:30am this morning isn’t exactly my forte, but it pays the bills, right?

Good thing a coworker came to my rescue and I got to munch on my favorite holiday treat.

Even though it wasn’t a holiday munchie, I’m a big fan of sweet and salty! yum! This, at 4 in the morning, tastes even better! :)

Definally raining out when I woke up around lunch time. I’m sure some of you got a handful of this in white form!

Cold and wet is just asking for a warm breakfast:

“Banana”rama “Wrapper”roo:

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana
  • 1 whole wheat tortilla
  • 1 egg
  • Dash of vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or brown sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter or other nut butter (I used peanut butter)
  • Nuts for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a small, greased non-stick wok or pan on medium high.  Place a banana (sliced lengthwise) in the center. 

*The key to grilling a banana successfully is to not move it except to flip it.

2. Heat a non-stick greased pan on medium high.  In a small bowl, beat egg and vanilla.  Using a fork to spread the mix, soak as much of the egg mix into the tortilla as you can.

3. Place tortilla on greased pan and pour remaining egg mix over the top.

4. Combine sugar and cinnamon and pour into top of tortilla.

5. Use a spatula to fold in any egg mix that might’ve crept off the tortilla (what’s currently facing up is going to be the inside of the wrap).

6. Once the bottom has browned, carefully flip the tortilla and cook for several minutes.

7. Flip again before transferring to a plate.

8. On one end, smear the almond or nut butter.  On the other, place the grilled bananas.  Roll into a wrap. (See “how-to” roll a wrap video below).

9. Plate, top with nuts, and enjoy.

Since a few of you, might not know how to roll a wrap, I decided to make a quick video of how to roll a wrap:

How To Roll A Wrap:

Watch Here 

Thanks for watching guys and I’ll be back! :) Off to work I go..

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Let’s play Ketchup!

Posted on October 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

uh, yes.  umm..sorry for the disappearing act yesterday. Sometimes life is just too stressful and busy to win them all, so you just have to pick up from where you left off and start fresh again!

Anyways, thursday afternoon was full of the big dumb book I’ve been reading as you can see: :p

Followed by lunch before work:

in the mix:

whole wheat bread

egg salad sandwich:

eggs

honey mustard

mayo with olive oil

green onions

and a handful of grapes

Sometimes at work I have a little snack before dinner since I sometime’s don’t get around to eating dinner until 8pm or so.

Thursday for work, I chose a clif bar and some unsweetened iced tea.

Found this little guy busying himself this morning preparing for winter:

 

While most of you I’m sure are preparing for winter as well, I am also re-preparing myself for my career path.

Yesterday was spent checking out a college I am considering attending. They started off with a continental breakfast. I wish they would have offered fruit or something but I found myself standing in front of a donut galore. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love donuts too. But trying to make healthy and wise choices is a bit difficult when your options are so limited. But I made do.

I opted for the only other choice they had:

A mini bagel with strawberry cream cheese and hot apple cider.

They day started off with many speakers with numerous informative speeches.

And then we were off on our feet taking a tour of the campus Here are our tour guides that tossed out t-shirts before we headed out on tour.

 Before long, it was lunch time. I was eager to see what my options were for lunch exactly since I didn’t have much of a breakfast, I was quite hungry come lunchtime.

I passed the mac and cheese, spaghetti, pizza and many other high carb dishes and finally settled upon:

blueberry yogurt

salad

2 vege enchiladas

carrots

and a raspberry tea

all very fulfilling.

I ended up sitting next to a mother, father, and their son and discovered that the mother had chosen wellness as her career choice. We had quite an interesting discussion and then we parted ways to discover what was next on the agenda.

We finished the walking tour of the campus and got to see their fitness center which was very nice!

Then we regrouped back into the main auditorium to ask the “experts” any questions that we had.

And were split off into groups again according to major. I was the only one there with my career choice as Physical Education and Health Promotion so I got to ask a lot of questions regarding my own career path and what decisions and choices were best for me, which ended up being very rewarding.

I have to admit that being in a room full of sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school took me back a bit, but I guess that was to be expected, right? The best part is realizing that it doesn’t matter how old I am…I’m still coming back and not being part of the statistic out there of never going to college. Which is a pretty good feeling to have.

I left feeling excited for what is to come and the changes and effects this choice could have on my future.

I may have exited the college atmosphere long ago…but I’m back!

No one said you can’t open the door in which you had once closed shut.

My bicycle has been MIA for a little while, and I am HIGHLY aware of it!

 

 Well, maybe not quite like these…but it does stare me down everytime I walk past it.

I realize I’ve been lacking in the tips and exercise tips department these last couple of posts but I’ve told you I do have a lot in store for you and won’t be lacking so much come monday morning whether you like it or not!

I’m feeling good and getting my butt back into gear! So get ready for some “new” posts :)

Halloween is just around the corner. I’ll give you a little hint as to what I’m going to be this year:

 You thought I was really going to give it away did you? I can’t be a tomato! I’m allergic to them!

Guess you’ll just have to wait and see…;)

What are you going to be for Halloween this year?

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A Book for a Dummy

Posted on October 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

Good Morning!

The leaves are still hanging onto the tree branches but they are starting to be few and far between. It was sprinkling this morning when I awoke but as I set out the sun started poking through the clouds.

Nothing more eye opening than the sun coming out just in time to start the day. :)

Breakfast:

In the shaker:

rice cakes with peanut butter and bananas

Black Cherry Berry Herbel Tea

*Did you know that Rice Cakes are cheaper than buying bread?

Less filling for sure, but they hold off well on a tight budget.

Last night was a slow and relaxing evening for me. You know those “____ for Dummies” books? I found one at a secondhand store yesterday and found myself indulged in it for most of the evening. I won’t mention which one. ;) I don’t think anyone wants to be found reading those. At least I don’t.

Around 8pm I started getting hungry and helped myself to a cup of tea and started making a taco.

 

in the mix:

whole wheat soft taco shell

 brown rice

shredded cheese

lettuce

chicken

I added taco sauce to mine to give it more taste.

Easy does it.

I find it best to make rice and chicken up ahead of time and freeze them in single serving size bags and keep them in the freezer for use later. It has saved me alot of time.

I’m off to work again this evening and have a BIG day planned for me tomorrow. Futurewise. I’ll tell you all about it! Have a great day everyone!

Have you ever found yourself reading a “____ for Dummies” book? If so, which one?

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Put your Happy Face on! :)

Posted on October 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

Smile!

(Source)

It’s hard watching people walk in and out of the gym everyday as I sit in the lounge at my apartment building.

As I patiently await this chest congestion and a silly case of the “sniffles” to magically disappear out of the blue, it seems like it will be eternity before I get back in there. Obviously, it won’t be 2 weeks before I get back in there, but I figure that if I can’t breathe properly just sitting, it’s probably not wise to do a lot of moving around quite yet.

What is your description of a “motivated person”? Most of you will probably point out that they are “enthusiastic and dedicated” to working out every. single. day. If they don’t, then obviously they are not very motivational human beings.

The problem with thinking this, is that you don’t leave any room for errors, laziness, or rest. It’s basically impossible to ALWAYS be and feel motivated every single minute of our lives.

If you think like this everyday, you’ll end up tearing yourself to pieces. If you don’t feel like working out, you’ll most likely end up in a guilty trap.

Feeling guilty is never a good option, because you end up destroying all of your motivation, and the negativity freely flows right back into your train of thoughts.

So thinking of a motivational person as always “flying high” and the “happiest” of all people, is certainly almost an impossible definition.

On the other hand, you can look at motivation like this:

Some days you will feel “under the weather” or just well, “like pooh”. The goal is to be motivated more days than not. Fair enough?

Then, if you take a look at your level of motivation (and how often you work out), it will be pretty high in account. Besides that, you might even actually get a SMILE out of your workouts and not end up beating yourself up on the days you don’t get your groove on.

So, in other words, the question is: if you allow yourself to feel unmotivated and embrace the inner sloth every now and then, how do you handle the dips in motivation without completely going off the rails? 

Well, lads and gents let me introduce you to: FAKING IT! :p Sounds lame, but hey, it works!

FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT BABY! right? :p

Take the:

UNMOTIVATED

to:

MOTIVATED!

Get your tush in gear and chant, yell, sing, or whatever floats your boat, “I can do this”, “I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, THIS!”, “That’s not sweat, that’s my fat cells crying!”, “I feel better today than that one other day I had the flu…:p” “I’ll never regret going to the gym, but I’ll always regret NOT going!”….you get the idea.

The point is getting yourself motivated enough to get yourself to- and into the gym without falling into the negative mindset first. It’s far too easy to say, “I haven’t felt good enough to even think about the gym in days, let alone get there. Obviously, I have a problem with being unmotivated.”

When you start thinking like that, you NEVER allow yourself the chance to bring out the motivation from within.

Lunch:

It’s resident appreciation week at my apartment building this week. Que the personal trainer being available today from yesterdays post . (You didn’t think my apartment managers were THAT awesome, did ya? ;))

Today they supplied everyone with a free “healthy lunch pack”. Well, by the time I picked one up for myself this was all that they had available left:

 I was surprised to see the candy bars in my bag, and even more surprised when they offered me to take advantage of another handful of candy due to the lack of  to apples, bottled water, and hot cocoa in my bag. I declined. The candy bars in my bag already were more than enough to make my sweet tooth happy for the day. :p

So I hopped over to the “DIY(Do It Yourself) Station” and made myself a cup of Chia Tea to finish off the meal.

Have a healthy day peeps!

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Overnight Oats

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 2 Comments

I can tell that I have been lacking in the sleep department for the last few days because I got nearly 10 hours of sleep last night!

I made myself some Overnight Oats last night to eat for breakfast this morning (by the time I ate them you could say it was brunch :p) . Overnight Oats are easy to make, don’t take much time to prepare and have extremely customizable ingredients!

Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of oats (or rolled oats!)

1 Tablespoon of Flax seed (optional-but provide great omega 3s)

1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup almond milk (soy, or skim)

1/2 banana, diced.

1 handful of fruit of choice

Cinnamon to taste

Toppings:

You decide. I like peanut butter on mine, more fruit, and organic jam or jelly on top of mine.

Directions:

Mix together all of the “overnight” ingredients.

Mixture will be soupy, but remember it will thicken in the fridge as the oats absorb the liquid overnight.

 

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Special Delivery!

Posted on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I woke up this morning and am feeling much, much better than the last two days. I think this headcold will be sticking with me through a bit, but I can handle it.

However, note to self: Chinese is not the best thing to indulge in on a post-flu empty stomach. Phew! My stomach ache came flying back at me in a hurry!

This morning I was feeling a little smarter.

Breakfast:

No worries, that’s not evil coffee in there, it was hot tea. Hot/warm liquids work wonders on sore throats and colds in my opinion.

I had a chance to stop by my mailbox and pick up my mail this morning. I was expecting a package.

You know what this means…

It had arrived! I stopped by my apt office to pick it up.

Any guesses as to what it is?

 

A Tripod for my flip Cam!

Look forward to short video clips on how to’s and tips coming soon! :) Thanks to the wonderful flippin’ (no pun intended) tripod.

Now, the package I wasn’t expecting:

A package full of pictures of my nieces and nephew and a special work of art from my niece! Que the “awww’s” and “ohhs”.

Heart warming and totally made my day!

Sometimes I wonder if my apartment managers are miracle workers:

Seriously? Rock on! 

Well, I’m off to work again. Thank goodness I didn’t have to work this past weekend! Hopefully I’ll make it through the day ok!

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Shape ups or Ship outs?

Posted on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

A few months back after ALOT of deliberation and asking around, I finally decided to purchase the “Sketcher’s Shape-Ups”. I had literally heard an earful on the shoes and wanted to try them out for myself. Afterall, how can you voice your opinion when you haven’t tried them out for yourself?

I have been wearing mine to work almost everyday  for a few months. I  figured I now have enough experience wearing them to voice my opinion on them.

 Many have said that they look “ugly”, are “uncomfortable”, or “don’t do what they’re supposed to do”. I tried mine out and wore them for a day and I could tell that my calf muscles were getting a workout and were slightly sore the next day. I didn’t think that the shoes were the “most” attractive either, but I have to say that they have grown on me.

I also wanted to share with some of you that there are more than one kind of the shape-ups. I got the sf-shapeups-which are said to be able to be ran in. However, I would NOT try to run in them. I just don’t feel like they are the best running shoes to run in.

On the contrary, I feel that the shoes are VERY comfortable and would recommend them to anyone.  Buying them to replace your tennis shoes/sneakers? I don’t reccommend them. They were a little weird to get used to walking in, but after a while, I didn’t notice that I was walking in them anymore.

If you are looking to “lose weight”, “walk off those extra pounds”, and ”get toned” I’m afraid you’ll be a little disappointed. Yes, I think they did have a positive effect on my muscles especially my calves, but not enough to make a drastic change. 

I think people assume you can walk anywhere and do anything in the shoes and this is when they get disappointed.

Just a little opinion blurb. :)

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This weekend flu by!

Posted on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I woke up Sunday morning with a terrible sore throat and an upset stomach.  I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that I got the flu shot last Friday, my seasonal allergies, or from installing the insulation. (I was wearing safety glasses, a mask, and a protective barrier.) A mixture of all combined? I’m not sure.

Now that I have a head cold as well, it got me thinking.

Can I exercise when I’m sick?

The general consensus is that if your cold is above the neck (i.e. congestion), you’re okay to run.

“This view is supported by research done at Ball State University by Tom Weidner, Ph.D., director of athletic training research. In one study, Weidner took two groups of 30 runners each and inoculated them with the common cold. One group ran 30 to 40 minutes every day for a week. The other group was sedentary. According to Weidner, “the two groups didn’t differ in the length or severity of their colds.” In another study, he found that running with a cold didn’t compromise performance. He concluded that running with a head cold–as long as you don’t push beyond accustomed workouts–is beneficial in maintaining fitness and psychological well-being.” (Source)

HOWEVER, if you have a sinus infection, you should NOT run.  Despite the fact that sinus infections are “above the neck,” running with a sinus infection can create pneumonia or respiratory distress. (Source)

 

Other doctors believe you should balance the “above the neck” rule with the temperature rule:  if your temperature is above 99 degrees, you shouldn’t run.

I think I’m going to take it easy for a bit.

 

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New Gear!

Posted on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I had to work friday so before I headed off to work I made some steamed greens and whole wheat blueberry muffins.

For lunch I had steamed greens and a muffin.

Have you ever had?

It is A-MAZING! It tastes  so good and is good for you. Try it! :)

I normally try to pack myself a dinner for work. Friday’s lunch consisted of leftover steamed collard greens, leftover peanut noodles, and some red grapes.

Do sunsets get any better than this?

I had this weekend off, so saturday we (my significant other and I), headed over to his parents place to continue re-doing their bathroom. I got involved with the installation of insulation (:p haha). Then later that night, we headed off to visit some friends who have moved a ways away due to a job opportunity.

We had planned on seeing some haunted houses, but by the time the man and I had arrived, it was too late. So while the others finished up going through the haunted houses, we opted out to go play lazertag and bowling at a local arcade while we waited for our friends to finish up. 

The main reason why we went out to visit them is because they had got a great deal on a kayak for us. I wish I would have pictures for you, but it was dark out by the time we got to see it.

However, they did also send us home with a hiking backpack!

 I picked up hiking with the significant other right after we met. This past summer I went camping for the very first time in my life. I loved it!

 So I’m excited to get my very own pack!

Thank you Pat and Janis!

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It’s Freezing!

Posted on October 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

I woke up this morning to a sunny day! It has been a while since we’ve seen sun here. It is only 32 degrees outside, but there is just something about sitting inside under the warmth of the suns rays that clears the mind.

Do you ever get that feeling of helplessness in the kitchen when you just wake up and don’t know what on earth to make for breakfast? That was me this morning. I used to never eat breakfast, basically because I was never up until I had to go to work at 1 in the afternoon. With pure laziness aside, I remembered that I had some leftover sweet potatoes ready to be eaten. Say hello to:

Sweet Potato Pancake

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup oatmeal
  • 2 tablespoons almond or soy milk
  • 1/4 cup of sweet potato, mashed (to mash a sweet potato quickly, wash the potato, stab it with a fork, wrap it in a paper towel, microwave for 6 minutes. You can also used canned pumpkin instead of the sweet potato!)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of pecans, crushed (optional)
  • cinnamon to taste
  • Topping: Fruit of your choice with a drizzle of maple syrup

Directions:

  • Heat and grease griddle.
  • Mix first six ingredients.
  • Pour onto griddle and form a pancake shape.
  • On Medium Low, cook slowly and then flip when golden brown.
  • Cook other side slowly.
  • Plate, top with fruit and syrup, Enjoy!

Last night I was craving some peanut butter for dinner. Peanut butter is one of my favorite foods. So I decided to make a batch of my Peanut Noodles.

Peanut Noodles

ingredients:

  • 8 ounces of spaghetti noodles
  • 1 bunch of green onions, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger root (I didn’t have any so I used ground ginger.)
  • 1/3 cup of peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce (I use 1/8 cup, I’m not a huge fan of soy sauce)
  • 1/4 cup of hot water
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1/4 tsp of crushed rep pepper flakes (I didn’t any either so I used, chili powder.)
  • sesame seeds(optional)

Directions:

  • Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.
  •  Combine oil and onions in a small skillet. Saute over low heat until tender. Add ginger; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in peanut butter, soy sauce, water, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Remove from heat.
  • Toss noodles with sauce, and serve.

I’m off to do a little cleaning before the weekend! Have a good day everyone!

 

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