Sorry I have been so busy I haven’t had much time to write blog posts. However, I am always in search for inspiration. So this one is just a little cute something for all my yoga followers. I can’t remember where I found this, but I hope you can relate to it, and have a laugh.
Enjoy!
P.S. I will be posting some longer more quality posts in the next couple days. So keep your eye open, for some book reviews and my half marathon recap.
It is funny how… once I changed my eating habits and started eating clean, eating fresh organic whole foods, I no longer crave junk. And on the rare occasions I do, weakly give in, I soooo regret it. My stomach can no longer tolerate the high fat, processed shit, like it use to.
DINNERS
I wanted to show you a couple photos of past dinners I have made…
This is the dinner I ate tonight. It is vegan and organic. It consists of broccoli, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, squash, brussel sprouts, spinach/kale, salt, olive oil. All of these ingredients are poured over quinoa.
This is a dinner I had earlier this week. It is organic. Â I love Whole Foods Market. They have vegetables already washed, cut up, and prepared. All you have to do is saute them over the stove. I used one of these prepackaged vegetable platters and cooked it over the stove adding spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. I pored the veggies over rice. Poached an egg, and sliced up a side of avocado. This is a well balanced meal, including healthy fats, protein, and colorful veggies infused with antioxidants.
This dinner was one I ate last week. It consists of onions, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, capers, spinach, poured over rice with a side of wild caught salmon. This meal is very well balanced with healthy fats, protein, omega 3s, carbs, and colorful veggies infused with vitamins and antioxidants.
This meal is a dinner I ate last week. It consists of similar ingredients but includes pine nuts. Again, it is an organic, well balanced meal. These dinners are also very easy and fast meals to cook. They are simple, but full of color, flavor, and texture.
LUNCH
Most days I eat a variety of salads for lunch.
Breakfast
Everyday, I drink a Chai Latte. Somedays, I eat a greek yogurt or oatmeal.
Snack
Fruit, such as strawberries and nutella. Â Hummus and raw veggies or pita. Toast with Almond Butter. Smoothie with Vega protein powder. Â All of these are great snack ideas.
My problem is never eating to much. I always have the problem of not eating enough. But just as your car need gas, your body needs food. Food is fuel for your body. So eat clean on regular intervals, so your body can continue strong through out the day, full of energy.
What is your favorite healthy snack?
© 2012 sweatdaily
Now that’s a backbend!
This morning I woke up with stiff shoulders and a sore back! Can you remember the last time you did a backbend? Backbends are so healing, and we don’t do enough of them. Make sure you get your backbends in daily. Christy Turlington does her backbends in a dress.
Because of Sandy, I have become enlightened. There are things about myself I never knew. The first thing is that along with everyone else, ever since Sandy rolled on through, my schedule is royally effed. And now I am beginning to realize how much I love a regular routine.
Because I am a hairstylist, my income relies on my daily appointments with my clients. Because of Sandy, clients are coming late, canceling and rescheduling. I am trying to be understanding and accepting. I mean, I get it, stuff happens out of our control, that’s life!
Because of Sandy, I also have No Power. Having no power really got me thinking. What did they do back in the old days? I began to feel grateful to live in a country that has power available at all times. Can I survive with out power? Can I act like a minimalist, and rough it out for a day or two?
Well yes I can. I have tons of magazines to read, mostly health and fitness themed. I have tons of books to read. I am an artist who would love to use this time to get my fingers smudged with charcoal. I also knit and have a fabulous yarn stash, for those who are interested, you may follow me on my knitting/art blog, Cashmeresilk.
Other than my schedule changes at work, the only other negative aspect Sandy brought on was the change in my work out routine. As you all know, I am a serious runner. And running daily outside is a necessity for me. It is good for my health- physically, emotionally, and menally. But the storm was too dangerous, so I took a rest day yesterday and then again today. And now I am rested, actually overly rested.
I can’t believe I feel so anxious right now. Yesterday, Sandy came through, and the whole East Coast shut down. I am hoping everyone is safe and sound, but can life get back to normal now?!
I’m so well rested I feel like I could climb a mountain!
Questions for You
How was your schedule interrupted from Sandy?
Did you run or bike during Sandy?
Today, Friday, October 25th, 2012, I ran a 5 mile loop on the Mount Vernon Trail. Because it is my day off, I didn’t feel obligated to wake up early and rush out the door to get a run in. So I headed out around 11:45.
The trail was gorgeous. Fall is finally here, and it seems like all the leaves have changed overnight. We are also expecting a hurricane to come through so the skies have been overcast and the air has been breezy- perfect running weather, in my opinion.
My run felt really good, averaging an easy 8.30 to 9 minute mile in my Newtons. I also am just beginning to get use to my new iPhone 5. But I brought it along with me, and was able to take some really cool photos.
I thought I would share this with you because it is sooo true!
These words are true, not just in relation to a work out, but in relation to everything Life throws your way.
I have always had a love/ hate relationship with food.Â
Let me explain…
Here is the love part: I love food. I have always considered myself some what of a foodie. When I was a child, I hated Mac & Cheese. I hated grilled cheese. I just wasn’t down with the kid’s menu. Instead, I always indulged with maybe a plate of hot wings, mussels, or a half dozen Maryland Bay Crabs. The point is I have always enjoyed unique food with big flavor. I am not scared to explore, and I am always open to try new foods from all nationalities.
Now here is the hate part:Â The problem with enjoying a variety of different foods, is that sometimes I feel that I have a hard time disciplining myself to eat a certain way. I would love to be vegan, and although I know eating a plant based diet is by far one of the healthiest ways to eat, I just can’t label myself. I’m not going to lie, some mornings I just want an iced Chai Lattes with skim milk. So for now, I am eating mainly plant based, and meat/dairy is consumed in moderation – some days are meatless, some days are dairy free. Plus I try to purchase all of my meat/dairy as organic, and on the rare occasions when organic isn’t available I go for kosher.
Some nevers and always:Â I rarely eat red meat. I rarely eat pork products. I never eat ground meats of any kind. I never eat processed meats or eggs. I never buy milk. I always buy wild caught fish.
More of the hate part:Â I don’t think I am a bad cook, but I am still learning, and sometimes my 30 minute meals takes two hours. So as you can see, cooking is time consuming. It also takes a lot of planning. You need to plan the meal, buy the ingredients. All of this is a struggle for me. Sometimes it is just easier to eat out.
My favorite types of Blogs
So my new obsession is actually health food blogs, especially vegan ones. I love reading them, and learning new ways to prepare veggies. One blog that I just recently came across is called Super Foodie Adventure. Last night, I actually made one of the recipes found on her blog and it came out awesome. The recipe is called  Beetroot and Pumpkin Dahl with smashed Avocado and Coriander.
Here are some pictures of my attempt of cooking this recipe.
chopped up onions, good in most meals.
3 garlic cloves, smashed up, way better than finely chopped.
By cooking this soup, I got to use pumpkin for the first time. I never took a whole pumpkin and pealed it and cut it into cubes, until now. My whole house smelled lovely.
Also in my recipe I used golden beets instead of the purple ones used in the original recipe. This was my first time cooking and eating golden beets. They have less messy juice, and they taste a little less strong.
Everything in the pot cooking.
I really also love the Indian flavors used in the dish.  I also found it really shocking of how satisfied and full I felt.
I used this rice and lentil medley in the soup as well. Everything is very healthy, filling, full of flavor. When all ingredients are cooked you put the soup in a blender or food processor to blend and pulse the soup, then you top it off with smashed up avocado and cilantro.
Anyway, those are the pictures I have so far of the healthy ingredients I used for this recipe. I am really enjoying reading food blogs. It is making me try new food combos I would have never thought of trying. It is also educating me on healthy foods especially produce I would have never bought or cooked.
Always open minded, and pushing my limits physically and mentally.Â
Questions for you…
© 2012
Motivation
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try boxing yesterday. L, bailed on me last minute, because of a family emergency. I know that sounds like a big fat excuse, and yes I could have gone with out her, however, the experience wouldn’t have been the same. She is the one that has been nagging me to try it, so I will wait until we can find time to go together.
So instead of boxing, I went running. And running never disappoints me. The weather was cool, crisp, and sunny – a beautiful fall day. Â I parked my car five minutes away, in my old neighborhood, the hood I grew up in. I ran from my mom’s house to the airport and back, an easy 4 mile loop.
The only thing about my run that was a little bit annoying was the Susan G. Komen 3 day Breast Cancer Walk.
Let me start out with… I totally support the Susan G. Komen 3 day Breast Cancer Walk. It is a great way to raise money for a good cause. It is great to get a group together that are all passionate about the same thing, and support each other’s stories and experiences. But… please share the trail.
My run ended up being a little bit difficult because there were about 100 plus  people dressed up in pink and tutu’s for the Susan G. Komen 3 day Breast Cancer Walk, walking slowly, chatting up a storm, taking up both sides of the trail. At one point I was running by the side of the trail in the grass, just to get around them. The other time I had to pass 20 people on the far left side. I bet the cyclists were even more pissed, most of them clipped into their bikes. I feel bad complaining about this, but I just think it was a safety hazard, and thank goodness there were no accidents.
Next time the Susan G. Komen 3 day Breast Cancer Walk, walks on the trail, someone needs to inform them of the rules and  how to be safe on the trail. If I was in charge, I would simply say no one is allowed to walk left of the yellow line. And everyone is required to walk in a single file line as far right as they can, leaving space for runners and cyclists. Because let me tell ya, the cyclists on the trail, go super fast.  The commuters have meetings to get to. And the road bikes all think they are Lance Armstrong. Trust me, I know, because if I am not running, I am on my road bike.
So there you have it, I want to end this post with a big shout out!
Good Luck to everyone participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 day Breast Cancer Walk!
found on photo on site.
© 2012
I have been craving Yoga lately. Maybe I’ll go tomorrow?! This photo (found on tumblr) is absolutely beautiful and inspiring!