Do You Text And Drive?

You wanna know what the best part about working at a gym is?

24 hour access, baby! I didn't get a chance to run before work so after we closed up, I reopened for myself to workout. On the schedule for today: 5x400. Yeah, I had no idea what that meant. 400 yards? 400 meters? I tried to turn to my friends for help and here are just a few of their responses:

"I think that's running 1/4 mile five times? So like, a mile and a quarter altogether?"
"Wait, you run?" (jerk.)
and
"Uhhh I don't know? Why are you asking me?" - the ever helpful boyfriend

Gee. Thanks guys. Good thing the internet never lets me down! After hitting up google, I found that 5 x 400 means running 400m or 1/4 of a mile (which is two time around the track I use) at race pace then resting before running it again. That didn't sound too hard.

But apparently sounds can be deceiving. I decided to sprint mine for a little bit more of a workout and boy did it kick my little booty!! I can tell that these are going to be the days I have to push myself. Today's agenda involves a three mile run AND strength training. I'll let you know how my poor jello legs hold up.

fresh eats.
I know I'm a little late to the party, but I made my first batch of banana soft serve overnight oats ala OSG. And wow - were they ever good! I think my banana soft serve turned out a bit runny, but still the taste was delicious! I'm excited to try her cherry bomb flavor soon!

Staring lovingly at my BSOO

Sorry about the terrible quality, but note the adoration. If there is anyone out here who, like me, has been living under a rock lately and hasn't tried these yet - you must. Simple as that.

Other eats so far today have included a carrot, orange and apple juice I picked up at Cindy's while grabbing a few essentials.

I've never had carrot juice before either! This is just a day of firsts, now isn't it? After the initial sip, I have to admit I wasn't that turned on to it. But I gave it another go and surprisingly liked it more. After the third sip, I couldn't stop guzzling it and it was crushed in a matter of mere seconds. I will definitely be getting more of those! This is now my second encounter with juice drinks after that delicious grasshopper at Mustard Seed. I really need to be working on finding myself a juicer!

let's talk text.
Sorry to switch it up on you guys, but lately I have been trying to make a conscious effort to not text and drive. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm very guilty of it. I've checked my bank account, texted a friend, tweeted, facebooked - all while not exactly paying attention to the road. I feel like I use the same excuse smokers do: I know it's bad for me, but I just can't stop.

(source)

Well, I want to stop. And I want you to stop too. So in attempt to help that along, I want to share with you a truly heartbreaking story about a girl I went to high school with. She was a couple grades under me and though we were never close friends, we would always talk in the halls and wave when we passed each other. She was just a sweet girl, really nice to everyone. And pretty, so pretty. She had the lightest blue eyes I've ever seen.

About a year ago, she was a sophomore in college and driving to see one of her roommates over winter break. She got a little lost and was on her phone, trying to get directions to her friend's house. They said she must have dropped her phone and reached down to pick it up. In that short amount of time, she went the center line and hit an oncoming van head on. She didn't make it through the crash. What was even more heartbreaking, if possible, was the fact that her boyfriend of 7 years had just proposed to her about a month prior. They had been together since they were 13 years old.

It's crazy to think of all the times I've looked down to see who was calling and looked up to see that I was halfway off the road. Or how many times I've made plans for later that night via text and had to slam on the breaks a little harder than normal once I realized I was way closer to that car ahead of me than I thought. All these times, I got lucky. My friend, however, was not so lucky.

I'm really not trying to get all preachy on you guys, but to me, it makes sense that if I'm going to take care of my body and spend all the extra time and energy to eat healthy and work out - why waste it all by being careless? I'm not so important that that text can't wait the five minutes it takes me to get home. So I'm really going to work on not using my phone at all while I drive, which I admit is very difficult, but I think it's just another part of being healthy.

What do you guys think? Are you guilty of driving under the textfluence? Any stories to share?


You know I always love to hear your views and opinions on things, so don't be shy! I'm off to run some errands, clean my freaking room (!!) and make dinner. Catch ya later loves! (:

Oh Mio My!

Operation Convince Boyfriend to Do Urbanathlon is in full swing!! I think I'm starting to wear him down already guys. My strategy is bulletproof. Mainly I'm showing him pictures of all the beefed up looking guys in the gallery from last year - like I said, I'm not above shaming him! (;

fresh eats.
I seriously made the most delicious, incredible, amazingggg veggie burgers last night! And they're actually already all gone. Even my carnivorous grandparents loved them! Now that's how you know you have a good recipe on your hands. Without further ado, I present you with this awesomeness:

The Best Veggie Burgers You'll Ever Have

1 15oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion (about 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 small carrot

1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

2 scallions

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Kosher salt

Ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, mash the beans in a bowl with a fork or potato masher until slightly chunky. In a food processor, throw in the onion, carrot, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, scallions, parsley, and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Pulse until the mixture is thoroughly combined or as chunky as you want it. Add the mixture in with the beans along with a little salt and pepper and mix together with hands.

In a shallow bowl, pour the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Form the bean mixture into four equal sized patties and coat with bread crumbs. Shake off excess. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add patties and cook 2-3 minutes each side. Remove and top with all your favorites!

This is mind blowingly good. I can put the Fit n Fresh Guarantee on this bad boy. And that's saying something! I got the original recipe from Foodnetwork *loveee* So go get cooking bloggies (:

fit happenings.

So guess what I got today!! The items I won at OSG's Shop 4 A Cause! Hurray!! I was super excited. It came with wayyyy more stuff than I thought it would.

My favorite part you ask?

The mio!! This was the sole reason I bid on this package - I've wanted a heart rate watch for a while and I finally got one! Go me! Thanks so much to Miranda from Miranda's Jeans. You're the absolute best! (:

Of course, I had to use it immediately.

Ohmygosh what's that on my wrist? Oh it's just my sweet new mio, thanks for asking.

I haven't exactly figured out how to work it completely yet, but I'm having tons of fun with it! Yay for nerdy tech gadgets! I think I'm still going to get a garmin however - that will just have to wait until I can afford it three years from now.

What is your favorite fitness gadget? Mine is definitely my iPod armband, which I know isn't really a gadget but I swear I wouldn't make it through some workouts without it supplying my tunes! It counts, trust me. Well I'm off lovebugs, it's boy toy time. I think we're watching Wolf Man tonight - please leave your numbers so I can call you crying for comfort in the middle of the night. I'm the biggest baby, no lie. Wish me luck!

Asparagus Scones

Thank you so much for all your concern about my ankle! It's feeling wayyy better now. I ended up skipping out on the race Saturday, but I did run about four miles yesterday and everything is feeling pretty legit. Hurray!! I just love all of the support you guys give me (:

Speaking of love, I also love new recipes. And I love brunch, so you can see how yesterday was conducive to my overall happiness. While flipping through the Vegetarian Times cookbook I borrowed from the library the other day, I saw an awesome looking breakfast idea: asparagus scones. And I totally had some asparagus from the farmers market just chilling in my fridge, begging to be scone-ified.

Asparagus Scones

12 oz steamed asparagus

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 425° F. Place the asparagus in a shallow bowl with a tablespoon or two of water and microwave for 2 minutes to steam. Remove from the microwave and cut into small ¼ inch pieces. Separate out the tips and put aside for later.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut cold butter into small chunks and rub into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk and mix thoroughly. Fold in asparagus, cheese, cayenne and pepper.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times. Shape the dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle and then slice into three even strips. Cut each strip into five triangles. Coat a baking sheet in cooking spray and place scones spaced an inch or so apart on it. Brush scones with remaining milk and press asparagus tips into tops.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

I don't even know if it's possible for me to fully describe how delicious these were. They were slightly hot from the cayenne, so add less or none at all if you're not a spicy fan. These bad boys just melted in your mouth! And I'll let you in on a little secret - I totally devour three of these before I even got around to making the rest of my brunch. Shhhh!!

The meal I eventually got around to eating also included scrambled eggs and no, not cantelope - orange watermelon!! I love differently colored foods, it's a weakness of mine. Back home, there was an amish farm nearby that always had yellow watermelon and I stopped by nearly every week to buy one. When I saw this hanging out in the ice at Mustard Seed Market, I just had to snatch it!

fit happenings.

So the Beach Booty Challenge is a go! I've already started working on it, I can't wait to get going - my booty's gonna thank me later (and my bikini lol). I'm having way more fun than I should be picking out items for the Booty Giveaway too. Epic.

I also started my half-marathon training today! I decided to roll with the intermediate training plan from Hal Higdon. He seems to be so highly recommended by everyone. Hopefully this will keep me strength training more than usual as well! Wish me luck little bloggies!

There's still more fitness news, I've added a new event to my line up this year - The Men's Health Urbanathlon! The Urbanathlon is a nine mile run with 7 obstacles dispersed throughout the course, like jumping over taxi cabs, scaling walls and crawling under wire. It is seriously looking sickkkkk. They are having the event in two cities: Chicago and New York. I think I'm going to go to the Chicago arena. This is mainly because a. I've never been to Chicago (gasp!) and b. I'd rather not have to fly to NYC. I'm currently in the process of shaming convincing my boyfriend to participate as well. If anyone else is interested in doing this with me, I would definitely not turn down the company!

I'm off to do some whittling! Of the middle variety, of course. I apologize for not getting back to any blogs/comments - my internet has been having a great time being the bane of my existence, but I have beaten it back to submission and all is well. Looking forward to a good three hours of blog reading later (:

It's Gonna Be A Great Day

Thanks again for the support on the guys 5k guys! And a big thank you to Scott for complimenting my pancaking ability! I couldn't find your blog for some reason? Leave it for me if you have one!

However, I must report an unfortunate accident that occured last night at my soccer game - I rolled my ankle. Ahhhh so sad!! It hurt terribly and I immediately took myself out of the game. It was feeling better by the second half so I ended up finishing cause, you know, that's just how I roll (ha! pun!). Today it is feeling pretty much healed, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to race tomorrow or not. I really don't want to push it, but at the same time, if I feel I am capable of running, I totally will. Fingers crossed!

Before the Awful Ankle Roll of June 2010, I was having a pretty stellar day I must say. I hit up the Maxx to see what they had going on. It's true, I've got a problem and if there was a self help group for TJ Maxx Addicts, I'd be spearheading it.

I found a bunch of cute new workout clothes, but I somehow managed to narrow it down to two shirts and a sports bra.

I know, I know, I've got the gift. The gift of impulse buying, that is. I also grabbed a vegan Bumble Bar I saw at the counter. I love all the random healthy food you can find at the Maxx. It makes my shopping trips so much more fulfilling! And look what else I found:

Goji juice! I didn't even know this was an option? What do you think guys, should I run back and get it or leave it looking pretty on the shelf?

After my impromptu Maxx spree, I ran down to the library to turn in my books and get some new ones:

Just flipping through the cookbooks, I can already tell a lot of new, delcious eats are in my - and that means our - future. The first thing I plan on making? The breakfast blueberry quesadilla. Why have I never thought of that!? And if any of you are wondering why I'm picking up sex books at the local library, please don't be alarmed. I promise it's not what it looks like. If any of you are biology nerds out there like me and haven't checked out anything by Sharon Moalem, you really need to. His other book, Survival of the Sickest, will blow your freakin mind.

While glancing through my new (to me) cookbooks, I figured this was now the perfect time to try something new - jicama! Which is apparently pronounced hik-uh-muh and not jik-ah-muh as I had been saying it. Oops. It's like quinoa all over again.

fresh eats.
I've never had jicama before, but when I saw it this past weekend at The Mustard Seed Market, I couldn't leave without it. I scoured the internet for some good uses and decided to mix a couple recipes together to create some vegan cheezy jicama fries. They turned out pretty yummy, but they were crunchier than I thought they'd be. Almost like undercooked potatoes? Is that how they're supposed to be or did I totally mess these up? Anyone know? Either way, I would definitely use this recipe again - but I'd probably switch it out for potatoes!

Cheezy Jicama Fries

1 medium jicama

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the ends off of the jicama and peel the skin. Slice the jicama into half and then into planks. Cut the planks in strips and ta-da! Fries! Toss the fries in the olive oil before laying out on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Take them out and toss them with the remaining spices. Add your favorite burger and enjoy!

I ended up enjoying mine with a grilled BBQ cheese sandwich. I don't know what it is about barbeque, but I'll eat it as a condiment on just about anything. I'll even eat it by the spoonful if no one is looking.

Weird? Perhaps. Delcious? You bet your jicama.

fit happenings.
So I've decided that I am definitely holding a Beach Booty Challenge! I'll have more details available on that front soon, however I hope you all join in. Everyone who does decide to participate will be entered in my Booty for Your Booty Giveaway! You gotta sweat if you want free stuff from this girl (;

I will leave you with the following because: a. Andy Samberg is funny AND hot and b. this video has been making me laugh all week (don't press play if you are easily offended by drug comedy and offensive language). Hopefully this will be me tomorrow. The great day part, I mean!

I'll Take Ashton Kutcher Any Day

Hey bloggies! I was so glad to read that a lot of you eat like crazy when you're tired as well - it made me feel way less guilty about stuffing my silly little face all day - You guys rock!

fresh eats.
For breakfast today, I made some of Beth's Chiacakes!

Topped with blueberry syrup I made by nuking frozen blueberries and syrup together in the microwave. These were so good and so filling! I thought I would be able to taste the chia seeds, but I definitely couldn't. I would advise anyone to make these for a quick yummy breakfast soon!

For the rest of my eats today, I plan on making the jicama I bought over the weekend! Has anyone ever had this veggie before? I decided to make it into little jicama fries so you'll be hearing how that turns out later today. Oh yeahhhh.

fit happenings.
I've decided I am going to do the 5k this Saturday - friends or no friends! I figure I'm pretty bomb at making new friends anyway, so why not go if I want to? Thanks for giving me the encouragement I needed my little blog loves!

Oh and remember how I said I only have a week left of the Whittle My Middle Challenge? Well, now I'm thinking of setting a new challenge for myself. The Beach Booty Challenge!! I'm going to be posting more information soon, but it's going to be along the same guidelines as the WMMC. If anyone wants to join along with me, I'm thinking of having a giveaway at the end for all participants! Booty for your booty, if you know what I'm saying. What do you think? Anyone interested?

Okay before I go, I have something to rant about so stay with me. I'd say it's pretty well known that actors and actresses will devote hours of their time every day to get in shape for an upcoming role. Realistically speaking, if you work a full time job, go to school, take care of a family and still have some kind of social life, it's pretty much impossible to set aside daily three hour chunks to hit the gym. Even if it wasn't, I'm not exactly sure working out that much regularly would be good for you. But this is the kind of thing actors have to do and when it's basically your job to be fit, time isn't really an issue.  I can get that. So when you're done with that movie, I can totally understand why you stop exercising as hard. Apparently, however, Demi Moore doesn't.

According to an interview in British Magazine GMTV, Ashton Kutcher said:

"Unfortunately... I kinda wish that I hadn't (let her see the movie) because now she expects (my body) to look like that and it doesn't. You can't maintain that. That's not possible. I disappoint her every evening. I walk in to get ready to go to bed and she's just, 'Oh'. She's like, 'You know what that's capable of, you're not living up to your potential'."


Now, I'm not one to believe everything I read, but if this interview wasn't taken out of context, I'm seriously disappointed in Demi Moore. To project unrealistic goals on someone else is so wrong. And kinda selfish in my opinion. On the other hand, I'm truly psyched that Ashton Kutcher has enough self-confidence and realism to know that his movie body wasn't something he could keep up. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear differing views on this. You can read the full (albeit short) article here.

Well I'm off to run about a billion errands - stay classy guys!

Hungry Hungry Hippo

That's seriously what I feel like. I've been running on about nine hours of sleep total the last two days and I feel like I just can't get full! Weird, right? I swear there's science behind it, check out more on the topic here. I can't wait to get a full eight hours of sleep tonight and hopefully return to a state where I'm not shoving everything I see into my mouth. Does anyone else eat more when they're tired?

fresh eats.
Breakfast was a sunnyside up egg and jelly on 12 grain toast. I was running late so I literally threw tin foil over this bad boy and took it to work with me. Thinking about it now, maybe that's something I should do more often.

I was hungry again a couple hours later so I snacked on a banana and a Special K bar one of the patrons brought me.

After that, I was hungry again a couple hours later! However, I'm not one to avoid my hunger twangs, so I had an apple and a Nature Valley Oats n Honey bar [unpictured]. No lie - I was hungry again like an hour later! I tossed some TJ's Quinoa Duo in the microwave and gobbled it up with some shrimpies.

Delicious! Mind you, it's only about 1:00 by this time and I've eaten my way through about 1200 calories. What is the deal? Please someone, comfort me.

Dinner was kind of a new thing for me. Would you believe me if I told you I've never had a peanut butter and banana sandwich? Yeah, I'm that guy. Instead of just making a plain PB&B, I decided to put a little spin on it and make it monte cristo style baby!

Drizzled in a little honey and MMM so good. I'm thinking about entering it into The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition - but it needs a little more work first! I promise to post the recipe when it's just right. And you guys should definitely try coming up with a recipe! Who doesn't love peanut butter? And it's okay if someone doesn't because I love it enough to make up for a small peanut-intolerant country.

After work, I ran out to Woodmere for some supplies and maybe secretly for the sole purpose of buy more PB&Co. I saw these at TJ's and just had to grab them:

Honey Plantain Strips! I've never had plantains before though I've always wanted to. If they taste anything like these chips did then I think we're in business. Good job teej!

fit happenings.
In Whittle My Middle news, I'm already more than halfway through the challenge! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. I can hold a plank for two minutes steady now and Kelly and I are slowly working up for more. Yesterday was the midway mark so I took our second set of measurements. I haven't really lost much inch-wise, but I can feel my abs are flatter and more solid already. Kelly, on the other hand, has lost 3 inches total so far!! You freakin go girl!!

I'm also thinking about running another 5k this weekend. That is, if I can find someone to come with me. I hate going by myself - I get lonely, okay!? A few friends of mine have mentioned that they might come with, but that's not exactly concrete for them if you know what I'm saying. Time for Operation Peer Pressure! (:

After all of this snacking (and a WF/TJ run!!), I'm not exactly hungry for dinner. Finally! So I'm gonna shove my booty outside for some running and maybe throw together a smoothie later. What do you think? Peace bloggies!

Fall for the Falls

Yesterday was the day. The start of the farmers market season. I was giddy with delight! I've been so jealous seeing other bloggers scoring dope finds for cheap at their farmers markets and finally my day came!! I practically skipped to the car as my aunt and I set out to the lovely little town of Chagrin Falls.

Get ready for some major picturage.







First of all, let me just say that I love Chagrin Falls. It's such a gorge place, even without the farmers market. Note to self: convince lame friends to spend a day there some time in the near future. If they refuse: find new friends.

There were a bunch of cute little stands, and a few things I wasn't expecting - like this booth selling goat cheese! They had some divine flavors like Cocoa Caprine, Lemon Scone, Herbs de Provence and Black Truffle.



I ended up rolling with the Cranberry Cinnamon Walnut.



Bomb. There was also a stand selling homemade pasta!! I may or may not have let out a little squeal of delight, but I swear, it wasn't really my fault. It's an uncontrollable thing, so please try to understand.



Papardelle is like my all time FAVORITE and it's so hard to find, it's just infuriating. My heart went all aflutter when I saw it amongst the pastas!



Get in my bag.

I also found a cute hippy guy selling hand packeted tea!



It was a tough choice between Green Pomegranate and Red Buzz-Berry, but in the end - Buzz-Berry won me over with all its extra fruitiness.



Ahhh the happiness. And what would shopping be without a little mood music I ask you?



Not nearly as much fun, that's for certain. After carefully stowing away my precious packages (and kissing them goodbye), my aunt wanted to go check out The Popcorn Shop which is this cute little store right on the falls that sells popcorn, nostalgia candy and ice cream.



It's pretty sweet, I gotta admit it.







I was tempted to get some Chocolate Blackout (for the listed medical benefits of course), but opted for some of these instead:



Someone get me a gold star!! I snacked happily on these yummy treats while my aunt went balls to wall. Just as we were about to leave and head to Mustard Seed Market (swoon), my aunt saw one of her favorite places:

Yep. Starbucks. No lie, they've taken over the world. I'm pretty sure that I could be walking down a barren street in Zimbabwe and pass by at least two.



A tall soy chia latte was had by yours truly and we finally continued on to our final destination: Mustard Seed Market!



If you live in the North East Ohio area and have not been to Mustard Seed Market, please stop reading this, get into your car and drive straight there. Don't stop at any red lights. Don't slow down for passersby. Trust me, they'll forgive you and it will be well worth the incarceration period you might receive. Seriously, this place is like a health nut's utopia!!

I got my first green juice here too!



The Grasshopper. This bad boy was packed with a shot of wheatgrass, pear, pineapple juice and mint. It was so good!! It's actually made me want to get a juicer! Any suggestions guys?

I also grabbed a yummy tofu pocket for lunch.



Marinated tofu stuffed with mushrooms, onions, spinach and more tofu! I was speechless. I really need to try to recreate this beauty, but to be honest - I suck at cooking with tofu. Practice makes perfect though, right?

And while I'm asking questions, could you end a perfect shopping trip any better than with a perfect vegan carrot cookie?



My taste buds will undoubtedly refuse anything I try to feed them for the rest of the week. My food is mediocre at best compared to the deliciousness of Mustard Seed Market. So sad.

Well lovies, I still have to run, make dinner and force myself to clean my room! Send me encouraging thoughts... and check out my guest post at Eater Not A Runner if you get hungry later (;