This morning was take number two of 7 miles on the treadmill.  And… I did it!  I was a little groggy [...]]]> Evening and happy weekend!  Even though it was technically a short week, it feels like last Friday was ages ago.  Today was a pretty good day: busy–>productive–> relaxing.  Couldn’t really ask for more!

This morning was take number two of 7 miles on the treadmill.  And… I did it!  I was a little groggy when I woke up at 5:30, but I got myself up and dressed.  On the way out the door, I grabbed a chocolate Clif Shot Rock (sent from the company) to get me through my workout.

It was pretty good! Initially it had a little of that “protein-y” taste, but after a couple chews it started to taste more like a brownie bite or a Milk Dud.  I like that they’re not sticky; they’d be great for stuffing into the tiny pocket of my shorts for a quick energy boost during a long run.  Click here for more info.

The run itself went much better than I’d thought, and I owe that all to my choice of entertainment!  The Upwelling has been listening to Graphic Audio on the road (basically a graphic novel with sound effects), and Ari gave me chapter 1 (about 70 minutes) of Batman.  Although I read comic books and graphic novels, I expected to find this version of it kind of hokey.  I actually got really into it! My heart rate monitor wasn’t working the whole time, but my splits looked like this:

Mile 1 (warm-up): 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Miles 2-6: 1600@6.9 mph, 800@ 6.2 mph (repeated) @ 1% incline

Mile 6-6.5: 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Mile 6.5-7.0: 5.2-3.5 mp @ 1% incline

Total time: about 65 minutes

I made sure to get a good stretch in, and even now I don’t feel sore at all and my knees haven’t given me any trouble.  Big success!

When I got back I was pretty thirsty, so I combined a mixture of Clif Shot Electrolyte & Ester-C.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have suffered from pretty low energy for the past 6 years or so, and one of the ways that helps me manage it is to take iron supplements.  Ester-C helps absorb the iron.  It does come in a capsule form, but I bought the powder by mistake… and it tastes awful.  I usually  mix it with orange or POM juice, which are both sweet enough to mask the taste.  (I have about 1/3 of a serving every morning).  Unfortunately I must not have used enough Shot powder this morning, because it still tasted awful.  Better luck next time!

After I showered and got ready for work, I climbed back in bed with a big bowl of oatmeal and relaxed for a few minutes.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana
• pumpkin
• 1 dried peach half
• 1 dried prune
• 1 scoop Maranatha creamy almond butter
• cinnamon
• stevia

It held me over pretty well for a while, but I started to really feel the effects of those 7 miles at work!  I had an apple and a mini Chocolate Chip Clif bar.

For lunch, I had a big salad with leftover buffalo salmon, tomatoes, and goddess dressing.  It was actually too big for me to finish!  (A rare sentence from LVP.)  I did eat the vanilla yogurt, but I waited until I got back to my desk.

And last but not least… an orange.  The people who work next to me must think I do nothing but snack, but no one’s said anything yet!

I was really looking forward to laying low tonight, which is just what I did.

I watched The Hurt Locker and Milk while eating dinner and sipping wine… I found a fabulous batch of pasta in the fridge that my parents had made earlier this week:  pesto with potatoes, green beens, and sundried tomatoes.

Aren’t their new dishes pretty?

I added grated Manchego and a can of Trader Joe’s crab meat.  Definitely didn’t need to take my Omega-3 supplement today! (I usually take two capsules, or one if I know I’ll be eating fish or seafood.)

For dessert, I had Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream with hot fudge and coconut.  There was a second container in the freezer, so I went back for a little more, too!

Before I get into bed, I thought I would answer some of your Ask Me Anything (or “As,” as I miss-typed) questions!  I’m going to keep the form open indefinitely and will answer questions as time permits. So feel free to ask away!

have you always been slender? i’m just wondering because i used to tip the scale at 150lbs but lost 40lbs and have been maintaining for 9 years (i’m 23 now).

Luckily I was graced with a pretty fast metabolism while I was growing up, and got away with eating whatever I wanted without really doing much exercise.  It’s slowed down significantly in the past few years, so to maintain my weight and keep eating the foods I like, I do have to put some effort into it.

hi! I’ve been reading your blog a long time:) I am a huge fan of your foodie and blog I have random question..I am living in NY too. and I don’t know where to get haircut??? (i know its totally random…sorryyy) but I always thought your hair looks so good! could you give me suggestion? that salon that you are going??

Not a silly question at all!  I went to Hoshi Coupe for years; it’s a Japanese salon that’s relatively inexpensive, and you can get a pretty stylish cut for a good price.  My favorite stylist moved back to Tokyo a few years ago so I was floundering around for a while, then got a life-changing cut in May at 526, a salon that houses Bumble and Bumble.  I get it cut there every time I go back to Minnesota!  A friend recommended Bumble and Bumble in New York, and since I was so pleased with the experience in St. Paul that I tried it out here and loved it.  It’s affordable, the stylist listened to what I wanted… and you get free lattes while you get groomed!   If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll give you more details.

do you estimate/count calories in your head at all? do you know about how many you eat everyday?

No, I really don’t.  There was about a month in high school when I joined SELF magazine’s online diet club (in a moment of adolescent insecurity) and tried to track my daily intake, but it was too time consuming and I didn’t feel like making the effort for something that was just causing me more anxiety.  I’ve gotten to the point where I understand what my body needs, and although sometimes I have a hard time differentiating between boredom noshing and genuine hunger, I don’t worry about it too much.  I do know that it takes a lot of food to keep me full, which is why I like to eat some foods according to their volume (big salads) and staying power (oatmeal).

favorite show?

This is a tough one! I rarely have time to watch things in real-time, so I often stream shows online or order them from Netflix.  My favorite shows growing up were My So-Called Life and 7th Heaven; now I love Californication, Dexter, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Mad Men… the list goes on, but I’m not caught up with any of them!

do you know how many oz are in a cup of yogurt?

It depends on the container, but 6 oz is pretty standard.

More to come! In the mean time, Averie is giving away coconut peanut butter! Does that sound good or does that sound good?

Do you count calories? Have you ever? Why or why not?

This morning I got up at 5:30 to go to the gym and finish some work for the day.  I had a two mile “easy run” scheduled, which I carried out as [...]]]> Evening, Chickadees! Is there snow where you are? I woke up to flurries but came home to slush.  Funny how that happens!

This morning I got up at 5:30 to go to the gym and finish some work for the day.  I had a two mile “easy run” scheduled, which I carried out as follows:

Mile .00-.25: 5.8, incline 1%

Mile .25-.75: 6.5, incline 1%

Mile .75-1.00: 7.5, incline 1%

Mile 1.00-1.75: 6.5, incline 1%

Mile 1.75-2.0: 6.0-3.5, incline 1%

Total distance: 2.0 miles

Total time: 18:46 minutes

Maximum heart rate: 195 (98%)

Average heart rate: 184 (93%)

Calories burned: 238

When I got back home I did some quick ab work before making a breakfast inspired by Julie.

I could have sworn I saw her make a breakfast sandwich with whole wheat bread, laughing cow light cheese, nut butter and a banana.  When I went to check the exact recipe, I couldn’t find it anywhere!  You did make this, right Julie? Am I going crazy?! In any event, it was delicious toasted.  Definitely going to be repeated! I added some cinnamon for good measure.

My bank account was happy when I remembered my lunch today.  I brought a salad (mixed greens, 1/2 avocado, tofu, tomato, dulse, Annie’s lite Raspberry Vinaigrette), orange, apple, Strawnana Chobani Greek yogurt, and the last (:-() of my One Lucky Duck Rosemary Quackers.

I was hungry (and mindlessly eating) all day; I ate all of the fruit before lunch and snacked on a Chocolate Peanut Butter Forze bar in the afternoon.

Tonight was Act III of our Family Dinner series (read parts I & II), and I’m pleased to report it was another success!  We’ve had our dinners on weekends before, so we were all quite impressed we pulled this off on a weeknight.  Christine made salad (arugula, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots) and asparagus and I made Spicy Thai Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts with brown rice. (The tofu was good, but could have used a little more flavor.  I found myself adding salt shake after salt shake.)

For dessert, Ilana made banana splits! Mine had fresh strawberries, bananas, chocolate chip cookie dough & vanilla bean ice cream, hot fudge, salted peanuts and sprinkles, served in a waffle bowl.

It was so good, but OOF!  I have quite the ice cream baby tonight

I’ve gotten several questions about the book I’m reading, Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project.

While I’m usually a die-hard fiction kind of gal and would never think of reading anything even remotely resembling a self-help book, this caught my eye.  Gretchen Rubin, a full-time writer, mom and New Yorker, had an Aha! moment when she realized that while she wasn’t unhappy- and was certainly not depressed- she thought she could be happier.  So she mapped out a year-long plan, with overarching goals (or “Resolutions”) for each month, such as Boost Energy, Lighten Up, Make Time for Friends, Remember Love, etc., and sub-categories to help her reach them.

With my busy reading schedule I’m only able to read for pleasure during my commute to and from work, so I’m only about a third of the way through the book.   Thus far, I’ve gotten some interesting ideas.  While much of Rubin’s findings are pretty general (there are many sentences beginning with “Studies find…”), she holds herself accountable for her goals by tracking them with a daily log and monitoring her progress month-to-month.

Two suggestions most appealing to me are:

• Get more sleep
• De-clutter the living space

On her blog, she has a list of Twenty Very Easy Tips For Lowering Your Daily Stress Level. I’ve tailored this a little for my own needs, and come up with:

• Go to bed 30 minutes earlier.  I’ve been going to bed between 11 and 12, but I’m going to try to be in bed at 10 with the lights and computer off at 10:30.
• Before sleep, prepare for the morning.  Pack lunch, lay out work clothes and gym clothes.
• Make a list. Making it now!
• Exercise. I’ve been better about this lately; I’ve been more consistent these past few weeks when I get up early to go in the morning.
• Put a Bandaid in your wallet.  I have a pack in my purse and a box in my desk, and lordy knows I need them when I wear heels!
• Make your bed. This is key.  Coming home to a made bed (or making it even if I’ll be home during the day) makes things so much neater and just gives the day a more positive, organized feel.  I’m grateful to Ari who makes it every morning after he wakes up (he sleeps several hours later than I do) so I’m greeted with a tidy living area when I get home.

I’ve been procrastinating about cleaning the closet; even though it’s not a big deal, it seems like an insurmountable task! But I made a promise to Ari that it’ll be taken care of when he comes home on Saturday, and I intend to keep it.

What are your tips for making day-to-day life less stressful?

Well, I’m off to go make my first point a reality! Night

I woke up at 8:30 this morning feeling refreshed and rested, ready to get the day started.  I waited a little to eat breakfast, [...]]]> Evening! Hope you’ve all greatly enjoyed your Mondays.  Mine wasn’t too shabby: got some housework done, some workwork done, and am even enjoying a few minutes of Marley & Me.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning feeling refreshed and rested, ready to get the day started.  I waited a little to eat breakfast, then made the new classic combo:

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• pumpkin
• pumpkin butter
• lemon curd
• chunky peanut butter
• cinnamon
• stevia

Mmm! I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of this one.

After breakfast I took myself to a nearby coffee shop; I sipped on a skim dirty chai (chai latte with espresso) for a couple hours while I read.  The chai was a little too sweet; they made it from powder instead of the liquid mix and it just didn’t taste right.  Only Luke can make them the way I like ‘em.

I went home to make lunch, and decided I wanted a hard-boiled egg.  This is pretty rare for me: I’m very picky about my eggs, and if the insides are green- or worse, gray- I won’t eat them.  But the main reason I don’t boil eggs very often is that I can never remember how.  Embarrassing, I know… a girl who cooks all the time and doesn’t even know how to boil an egg! Today, I conquered the elusive hard-boiled egg.  On the off-chance that someone else out there doesn’t know how to do this seemingly simple thing, I’ll walk you through it!

How To Hard-Boil An Egg

Step 1.  Place your egg(s) in a small pot and cover with cold water.  The water should reach about an inch higher than the egg.

Step 2. Bring water to a boil over medium heat.  As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 8 minutes.

Step 3. Drain water and rinse eggs with cold water to cool them off and stop them from cooking.

Step 4. Peel! The longer you wait to peel the shell, the harder it is.  There’s nothing more tedious than picking off millions of pieces of shell!

Voila! Perfectly cooked eggs

One egg went right into my salad, the other will be saved for later in the week.

In the mix:

• mixed greens
• cooked white asparagus
• 1 tomato
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• pumpkin seeds
• goji berries, soaked
• feta
• chili flakes
• dressing: agave, dijon mustard, olive oil, rice wine vinegar
• yes, that’s cinnamon you see! It was an accident, but a tasty one at that!

After lunch I took went to the grocery store and got everything on my list.

Ever since I started meal planning, I’m so much more efficient when I shop.  I spend less money, and spend less time wandering aimlessly through the aisles.  Plus, when I get home I know exactly what I have to do to get dinner on the table!

Before you shop for groceries, clothes, household items, etc., do you make a list? Do you stick to it?

I was a hungry beast while I worked, and snacked on a Chocolate Peanut Butter Forze Bar and a navel orange.

Around 5 I started to get a little stir-crazy so I brought my work to the gym and pedaled away on the bike for 30 minutes, climbed stairs for 10, worked my arms and abs. (I wore my heart-rate monitor but it wasn’t working so I don’t have the stats today, sorry!)

Dinner was a no-brainer: Coconut Barley Pilaf with Shrimp, steamed green beans, and a small sweet potato with Smart Beat, cinnamon and agave.

For dessert I had the last of the Mint Galactica ice cream with a square of melted dark chocolate and 1/2 banana.

I also couldn’t resist one of Gina‘s macaroons… they’re too good to go uneaten

Back to Marley & Me I go.. Ari’s away for the week so I’m going to go try to make my way through some of the Netflix picks he isn’t so keen on.  Have a great night!

This morning I did not want to get out of bed.  I snoozed and snoozed, finally rousing myself at 7:20 to put a pot of coffee on.  Showering at night saves so much time! [...]]]> Evening and happy humpday! Even though this is a four-day week, it definitely felt like a steep climb towards Wednesday.

This morning I did not want to get out of bed.  I snoozed and snoozed, finally rousing myself at 7:20 to put a pot of coffee on.  Showering at night saves so much time! I made a bowl of Tutti Frutti Nutti Oats and climbed back into bed to watch the news.

• 1/2 cup oats made with 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp unsweetened coconut
• 1 banana
• 2 dried apricots
• 1 scoop flaxy peanut butter (almost finished with the jar!)
• cinnamon
• stevia

I was pretty busy today, but I managed to snack on a Fuji apple during a calm moment.

At 1, Danielle and I took our lunch outside to eat.

I had a bowl of Moroccan Gazpacho with pita and a small salad with romaine, mushrooms, green beans and tomato (they’re under there, I promise!).

This soup is a keeper! Instead of using pine nuts (as the recipe calls for),  I used chopped almonds.  And because I’d made this soup on Monday the raisins were nice and plump, and the sweet spicy flavor was really brought out.

When I got back to my desk, I had a vegan energy bar. So much for waiting until later in the afternoon! It did hold me over for the rest of the day, though.

After work, Leslie and I met at Galaxy Global Eatery for dinner.  I’ve passed it hundreds of times and had no idea what it was.  Even when inside, Leslie and I couldn’t quite figure out what kind of atmosphere GBE was going for! It was sort of like a combination dive bar, old-school diner, and health-food restaurant.

We shared an order of sweet potato tamales with cilantro butter, which came out less than two minutes after we ordered them.  They were okay, but I definitely prefer Peacefood‘s. The cilantro butter definitely made the dish!

Leslie and I ordered the same entrée, thte Starlight Caesar Salad with romaine hearts, frissé, fried caper blossoms, cornmeal crusted tofu, avocado, lotus crostini & vegan hemp caesar dressing.

Galaxy Global Eatery may not have been my favorite restaurant, but the company made it memorable.  We’ll have to get together again soon, Leslie!

I was more than ready for dessert when I got home, and headed straight for the freezer before I even took off my coat.  I had Naked, Mint Galactica, and Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge Coconut Bliss Ice Cream, eaten straight out of the carton, topped with chipotle and cardamom hot fudge.

It’s almost 9:30, and my goal is to be in bed having showered, made tomorrow’s lunch, watched Grey’s Anatomy (from last week) and practiced light yoga by 11.  Doable? You know it!

On a scale of 1-10, how stressful is your average day?

Last night I made a breakfast cookie for this morning using chia seeds!  I figured they’d have time [...]]]> Hey there, chickadees.  Talk about a humpday! I didn’t even realize it was Wednesday until it was almost 5:00… this week is going by so slowly.  It must be an after-effect of the holidays, but seriously!

Last night I made a breakfast cookie for this morning using chia seeds!  I figured they’d have time to plump up and turn into the “gel” if they soaked over night.

In the cookie:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• big splash of skim milk
• 1 tsp almond butter
• toppings: cinnamon, 1 almond nose, 2 prune eyes, goji berry smile (makes Jim look a little bit creepy!)

I made Ari one, too, but added more oats and left out the chia.  (He must not have been feeling this particular mixture; there were only two little spoonfuls missing when I got home from work.)

I thought I took my time to get ready this morning, but when I got to work I realized that while I’d thought I’d applied brown eyeliner, it had really been purple!  Whoopsies.  But hey, why not pretend you’re at the club when it’s 9 AM on a Wednesday? Spice up your day!

Around 11, I snacked on a tangerine (and ate another one at 3).

For lunch, I had the last of the Tomatoey Spiced Chickpeas with mixed greens and pita bread.   I actually ate with my coworkers and not at my desk,  but since I’m still new I didn’t want to explain the blog to a big group of people all at once (although some do know).

At 4:30, as the work day was coming to a close, I had half of a Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Clif Bar.   I really wasn’t all that hungry, I just wanted something to chew on.

When I got home, the band was packing up and getting ready to leave for tour.  I helped load the van (no need to strength train when you date a musician… music gear is heavy!) then made dinner.  I’ve been wanting to make Heidi Swanson’s Sushi Bowl for ages, and I did!  I made a few adjustments for time and taste, starting with substituting her tofu for Gliding Calm’s.  I also added sesame seeds to the marinade.

Instead of cooking a new batch of rice, I used up the last of the Harvest Grains blend.  This is a keeper! You don’t even really need to use the recipe (although the dressing is mighty fine).

I sipped a glass of The Big Red Monster wine with dinner… the beast was unleashed.

Anticipating the next month’s Arilessness, I made myself a huge bowl of Coconut Bliss ice cream (Mint Galactica, Naked Coconut, Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge) with homemade chocolate sauce (two kinds of melted chocolate chips + water).

You can bet you’ll see a lot of that in the next few weeks.  I miss my boy already.

Hi there and happy humpday! Is there a better way to kick off Wednesday- and the day before New Year’s Eve!- with ice cream talk?  I don’t think so!

A week or so ago, the lovely Kiley from Luna & Larry’s Organic Coconut Bliss was kind enough to send me coupons for [...]]]> Yoo hoo!

Hi there and happy humpday! Is there a better way to kick off Wednesday- and the day before New Year’s Eve!- with ice cream talk?  I don’t think so!

A week or so ago, the lovely Kiley from Luna & Larry’s Organic Coconut Bliss was kind enough to send me coupons for pints of their coconut milk-based ice cream to review for the blog.  If I know you guys- and I think I do!- you’ll go bananas (or coconutty!) for their products.  From their website:

People are continually asking us how we came up with Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss. We’d like to say we are entrepreneurial geniuses, but the truth is much humbler—we just wanted a tasty frozen dessert that we could enjoy eating without feeling bad afterwards. We had both given up dairy for health and ethical reasons, and tried all the soy- and rice-based alternatives, but weren’t satisfied with any of them. They either didn’t taste good, or we felt sick after eating them, or they had a long list of ingredients that didn’t really sound like food. One day Luna said ‘what about coconut milk?’  We’d used it a lot in Thai-style cooking and it seemed ideal. It was naturally rich and creamy and had great nutritional properties. So with the aid of a two-dollar hand-cranked ice cream maker from Goodwill we made our first batch. As soon as we tried it, we knew we were on to something special. As time went by and we shared it with our friends, who also loved it, it became apparent to us that we should focus our energy on this and make it available to more people.

Our company, Bliss Unlimited, LLC, is dedicated to creating unique and exquisitely delicious desserts, consciously prepared from the most nutritious and wholesome organic ingredients available, and bringing them to market in ways that express our reverence for both people and the planet. We are located in Eugene, Oregon (the home of many wonderful natural food companies), where we make Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss with care and love.

I took my coupons to Whole Foods and picked out three flavors: Mint Galactica, Naked Coconut & Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge.  If their ice cream was anything as unique as their packaging, I knew I was in for a treat!

Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge

Verdict: Chocolate-hazelnut is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations.  I love the deep, rich cocoa taste, the swirls of fudge and the chunks of hazelnuts.  The first bite has a little pre-taste of alcohol, but after the first bite it goes right away and tastes creamy and delicious!

Mint Galactica

Verdict: Has a very strong peppermint flavor; also a little “alcoholic” upon first bite.  I love the mint chips.  I’m not usually a “mint person”. but I really enjoyed this! Each bite got better and better, and d the initial strong flavor dissapeared.  This would be GREAT in hot chocolate! (This was also Ari’s favorite.)

Naked Coconut

Verdict: I LOVE this… it’s easily my favorite flavor. It tastes like the freshly made coconut ice cream ladies sell from a wooden ice bucket on the streets in Guadeloupe, and I had almost a Proustian experience eating it!

Click here for additional nutritional information about the ingredients used in Coconut Bliss ice cream.

Bottom line: These rich, creamy desserts illustrate that you don’t need butter, eggs or heavy cream for a delicious taste.

It’s also a wonderful alternative for people who don’t eat soy products. I felt good about putting these organic ingredients into my body.  And did I mention that the chocolate they use is fair trade certified?

I will definitely be buying this once my stash runs out.  I can’t wait to try the other flavors!

Thanks again, Kiley!

Want to try Coconut Bliss for yourself? Two lucky winners will win one coupon each for a free pint of ice cream! Contest open to US and Canadian residents only.

Here are three ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment telling me about your favorite ice cream and how you like to eat it.

2) If you have a blog, link back to this page on a post, then leave me a comment to tell me you did so.

3) If you don’t have a blog, go to the Coconut Bliss website and tell me one thing you learned about coconuts!

4) Tweet this: I want to win Coconut Bliss ice cream! http://bit.ly/8iEMpD @ lilveggiepatch

Good luck! I will choose two winners on Sunday, January 3.