Call For Guest Posts

Hey guys! As previously mentioned, next week I’ll be going to France to spend a week in Provence with my family. While there, I’d love to have some great guest posts for you! I know it’s a bit last minute, but if anyone is interested in submitting a guest post, please send me an e-mail -lilveggiepatch(at)gmail(dot)com with your post idea. The content can be whatever you like: a recipe, day-in-the-life, a restaurant you love, a fun trip you took, things to do in your neighborhood, a good fitness routine… anything you want! I just need the posts by Tuesday September 7. I always love to read guest posts myself, and it’s a great way for posters to gain a variety of new readers!

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Yesterday I was off work so I enjoyed a nice, leisurely breakfast. I made myself a Sarah-inspired pumpkin cake…

Have you made your own pumpkin cake yet? If not, you really must. All you do is mix 3 T of egg whites and 1/2 cup pumpkin purée, a shake of nutmeg and a couple shakes of cinnamon, your sweetener of choice (I’ve been using stevia), and microwave it for 3 minutes. When you’re done, add toppings! I like the Greek yogurt/peanut butter combination. The texture is amazing, and just like a cake! It’s shocking that there’s no flour in there.

When I have the day off, the first half of it is inevitably spent catching up on things like e-mail, blog reading, laundry folding, and all that fun stuff. Before I even noticed, it was noon and I was hungry! I grabbed a Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Bar and kept chugging along.

Also as usual, I started getting really stir-crazy and needed to get out of the house. Even if I’m just going across the street to the nearest coffee shop, it really helps my mental well-being to get a change of scenery. There’s something about coffee shops in particular that have such a calming effect on me. Even when I was in college and went to get coffee and study, I was so much more relaxed when surrounded by other people huddled over their books , with a latte in one hand and a highlighter in the other. So what if I smelled like burned espresso for the rest of the day?

After sipping on my tea for an hour or so, it was 3 PM and I was antsy again. I hadn’t eaten lunch, but I hadn’t worked out yet. I had dinner plans at 7:30, so the longer I put off eating, the closer my lunch would be to dinner. But I couldn’t exercise right after eating either, so I was faced with the recurring problem of having repeatedly put off my workout since I woke up. Ideally I’ll get it out of the way in the morning and not have it hanging over my head all day, but that doesn’t always happen.

Anyway, Ari could tell I was getting into a mood and suggested going to the gym to work up some good ole endorphines. So we did. About five minutes after I got on the bike, I was starving. Luckily I had a TLC bar in my gym bag so I ate it didn’t even stop cycling. I got some weird looks, but it solved the problem!

After 30 minutes on the bike, I moseyed over to the weight room for 30 minutes of upper body strength training. Because I don’t like being in the main area with all of the grunting men- I like to do my thing in private- I don’t have access to all of the benches. So, I just make my own out of a Step and 7 Step Risers on each side! It works perfectly for exercises like Bent Over Row and Dumbbell Pullover.

When I got back from the gym it was almost 5, so instead of making a proper lunch I made a kale smoothie.

This bad boy had 1 banana, 1 c. almond milk, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 2/3 box frozen (defrosted) kale, and a handful of ice. Hit the spot!

After cleaning up and doing a light grocery shop, I met my parents for dinner at PicNic Market, an Alsatian restaurant we’ve been to several times before. I wasn’t planning on drinking, but to get me in the mood for my trip to France, a glass of Muscadet, a French wine from the Loire valley, seemed like just the thing.

For dinner, I ordered the special: Cold Poached Salmon over arugula and mixed vegetables. The fish was perfectly cooked- medium, just the way I like it- and the vegetables were fresh and delicious. I loved the bites of pickled tomato!

The dish originally came with potato salad, but I requested a side of couscous instead. I don’t know why I don’t make couscous more often, because I Love it!

When I got home, I made myself a late night pumpkin cheesecake bowl:

• 1/2 cup Friendship’s 1% Whipped Cottage Cheese (I know Caroline is a fan of this!)
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 T Blue Diamond Almond Butter with honey
• cinnamon/nutmeg/Stevia

I used my new jar of Blue Diamond Almond Butter with honey, which I picked up because I had a coupon to save $1.

Unfortunately, because I was in such a rush at the grocery store, I didn’t notice the third ingredient: corn maltodextrin.

Corn maltodextrin is a food additive that is easily digestible and used to sweeten foods and make them taste “better.” Because I’ve been buying “natural” nut butters for so long, I’ve sort of forgotten that not all of them are made with just two basic ingredients: nuts and salt. Not true, America. There is absolutely no reason that corn needs to be mixed into my almond butter. Is it the end of the world? No. Will I still eat it? Maybe, although I know I’ll feel a little irritated with myself about it for not noticing before.

If you notice you have a product with a “bad” ingredient, like high fructose corn syrup? I often get a little “preachy” when I see Ari reaching for the Reduced Fat Skippy instead of the Maranatha peanut butter, but honestly, a serving won’t kill him. I want the people around me (and myself) to make informed decisions about food and where it comes from, but I don’t want him- or anyone else- to be afraid of eating food because I said it was bad. Still, I can’t help feeling a little weird about consuming 11 servings of the stuff.