A Peek at My Lunch

This is my lunch today. Have I mentioned how much I love asparagus? Or just veggies in general? I was hanging out with some friends last night and one wanted to stop at the grocery store because she hadn't eaten dinner. I eyed these babies right away and got REALLY excited. If you know me in real life, you know that I get excited about very strange things. Well one of them is defintely becoming produce and, more specifically, on sale produce.

On that topic, it's almost kind of comforting to know that a lot of you don't ALWAYS buy organic produce. While I recognize that this is definitely a much healthier option...let's face it- it is SO much more expensive. When 1/3 of my grocery bill is on produce already, adding even more $$ to that number is just hard to do. Again, I totally understand the benefits and hope to one day say that that is all I eat. But until we get a little more cash flow around this house, I'm going to have to stick with what I can afford!

Did you notice the tea cup on the side? It actually has some sweetened sun tea I made on Sunday. If you don't know what sun tea is- you should try it. If you are laughing at me for even explaining it...then I think you must be from the South, right? Because up here in the Northwest- I'm tellin ya- not a lot of people know about this!

Basically I make sun tea with regular black tea bags. I use quite a few in a clear glass pitcher, and then let it sit out in the sun for a couple of hours. For some reason it takes away a lot of the bitterness and has almost a naturally sweeter taste!

I also have been making turkey wraps lately. Seriously, they are the bomb. I take a laughing cow cheese wedge and spread it on a small la tortilla. Then I do a slice of turkey, some spinach, and tomato. Guess what? That whole thing is about 130 calories (give or take depending on how much meat you put on).

And the best part? Pair it with some fruit and veggies, and you have yourself a super filling lunch for under 250 calories (or less!).

Well, that's lunch.

PS- I've just logged into my formspring and realize I have questions! I will answer these soon!

Query

1. How do you cook baby bok choy? I saw some at the farmers market but didn't buy it because I didn't know what to do with it!

2. What do you do with Kale? Same circumstance.

3. Have you ever had a dog that wouldn't "come" to you for anything-(treats, praise, toys, etc). I spent 1/2 an hour at the dog park this morning trying to corner her!

4. What is your favorite healthy cereal?

5. Do your arms ever feel sore after running?

6. Do you buy organic produce?

7. What is your favorite seasoning for BBQing?

Feel free to answer all or one or none of these questions. They just came off the top of my head- totally random.

Oh and by the way:

Husky for sale. Does not know how to come. Will eat your pizza off the counter. Thinks your shoes are chewy toys. Will howl at you if you don't run her every day.

Make an offer. :)

Weigh in Week 23: Let's Get Ready to Rumble

Ello' Friends.

I'm going to get straight the point. This week's weigh in SUCKED. I gained .5lbs! I have actually never gained before during these last 5 months other than after Christmas. B

OO! Please don't tell me it's ok, it's fine, or any other excuse! The fact is: I blew it this week. I really took a lot of steps BACKWARD that just were not worth it!

You know what's frustrating? That even though I did take steps for

ward (exercising and such) I still would allow myself to throw that all out the window to overeat on unhealthy food-causing my steps forward to be ca

ncelled out (at least that's what it feels like!).

I don't know what's going on with me. I think that maybe because I weig

h less than I can ever even remember weighing right now, I have this new little demon in my head telling me I should just "maintain" here. The fact is- I'm not done. I have 8.5lbs left to

my first goal and 12.5lbs to a "healthy" bmi. Seriously, that seems like

nothing, but at this point it's getting harder and harder to kick these last couple of pounds.

This week I have one goal and vision: make it to my new wei

ght "decade." I am only 2.5lbs away from seeing a weight decade I can literally NEVER remember seeing! I want to attack those 2.5lbs with full force!

Seriously, 2.5lbs- you are going DOWN!

I will leave you with some pics of a "treat" that I have been consuming quite often:

The green nutella monster!!

-1 to 2 cups spinach

-1/2 banana

-1/2 Tbsp Nutella

-1/4 cup soy milk

-ice

Yum.

On a Sunny Sunday

On this sunny sunday, I did some gardening in my new garden:

And then my pup went for a ride:

We explored the grand forest:

And had a delicious nutritious lunch in the sun:

The sun creates motivation in me. I love it.

What motivates you?

Have a wonderful week!

I'm Back!

Hey everyone! Life has been REALLY crazy lately but I am happy to say I got my new computer up and running. I have quite a few posts to catch up on- I haven't been able to upload my pics since April 1st and there is so much I want to share! So bear with me this week guys as I may possibly be "double posting" all week long.

Unfortunately, I don't have to much to share about this weekend on the health front. I really didn't do good for my body yesterday food wise and I'm feeling the pain today (mentally and physically!)-we will see how that fairs on the scale tomorrow!

So to start with, I will show you how I started my month! April 1st

my friend Laura and I took a hike on Mt. Walker. This hike was TOUGH. I was happy that Laura (an experienced hiker) gave me the opportunity to take breaks when I needed it. I would literally walk about 100 feet and then stop to "catch my breath" and slow my heart rate, and then start again.

It was a two mile hike which gained 2,000 feet in elevation. More experienced hikers would say that is quite an elevation gain (i think?) but I just went with the flow. It was pretty cool and foggy throughout the trail which gave it a really cool feel.

On the trail:

I'm telling you...it was hard!

At the top! Getting some water and feeling accomplished!

We did it!!

Re-Evaluating

side note: It's pretty cute-every time I sit at the computer my pup comes and curls up on top of my feet. I like to think of her as my personal foot warmer :).

So, yesterday Chloe and I went for a run. We ran almost 3 miles in about 32 minutes. I started thinking about how I have this 5 mile run coming in May and then the 1/2 marathon in June- which I intend to run/walk.

What struck is the fact that I really just don't think I'm going to be a LONG distance runner. To be honest, I enjoy my good 30 minute runs but anything more than that takes a huge physical effort and a battle in my mind. I know that I enjoy the accomplishments of a long run, but honestly, I started running to get a good workout. And 30 minutes of running seems like a pretty good daily workout to me.

That's when I thought: well maybe I will just cap my runs at 30 minutes, but when I do races I could run longer distances? But I'm not sure if this is wise either because longer runs require you train for them properly, right?

So I think I am reevaluating my running goals...for now. I am going to stick to running 5k races (other than what I am already signed up for) and train with 30-35 minute runs (3 miles). I will re-evaluate down the road whether or not I want to up my distances, but for now, I am going to stick with what I am comfortable with and enjoy, instead of pushing myself to a point where I can't even enjoy running.

It's hard for me to admit that at this point I don't want to continue upping my distance because that is what I see so many other runner bloggers doing. But I think it's time for me to swallow my proud and accept that 3 miles of running is a great accomplishment!

Weigh In Week 22: Puttin' on the Ritz

Howdy Partners!

Well if you have been following my blog you know that this past week was a struggle. My eating machine split personality emerged on about Wednesday and mowed through several packs of Ritz crackers and other unhealthy options....

Right when I decide that I want to move forward with this "non processed" eating clean kinda stuff and my other side decides to tempt me with those. I seriously don't know what the deal is, but I have a major downfall for those things. So buttery and salty.....ok....get a hold of yourself Nicole!

Anyway, I don't keep them in my house, but unfortunately the people that I nanny for have an entire shelf full...and the kids ALWAYS ask for them. GRR! It literally takes ever part of me to resist these stupid crackers!

Workouts were not bad last week. I think I ran about 4 times? And then of course my massive beach hike on Saturday...that had to have burned some major calories.

On the way back from the hike (I was with my husband and his best friend Will) the boys wanted to stop at a burger joint that supposedly has the best burgers they have ever tasted. I am not going to go into details because I want to show you through pictures sometime this week!

So, should I have gotten a burger? Probably not. But I did. And you know what? That's ok! And it WAS worth it. Especially after walking for four hours on sand and rock. Seriously, that burger tasted A-MAZ-ING.

I never said I was perfect!

Anyway, I really had a struggle with food this week and that gave me a weigh in result of -0....yup, I lost 0 pounds this week.

I'm not really mad or upset in any way. I chose to eat some unhealthy things, but I also listened to my body when it was hungry and felt that I did need to give it more this week. This is not a race for me- it's just another week. And today starts a week where I can choose to move forward instead of standing still.

I'm really feeling good. I am actually starting to "feel" like what I look like (i think!). Meaning, I finally feel like I am getting skinny. Did I mention I bought a size SMALL shirt last weekend??!?! I don't think I EVER remember wearing a size small! I know that this brand must run big, but I'm taking that NSV and running with it.....