Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Aboard the USS Underwood

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Only in Chile…

Katherine, Me, Julia, and Captain Pete

…would 3 American women end up aboard a US Navy ship.

Our officer-friends, Pete and Michael, gave us a tour of a their ship, the USS Underwood.  This was not your boring 5th grade field trip tour.  We were privileged to a ~3 hour behind the scenes view of the ship.  Touring the ship was certainly a highlight of our trip to Chile.  SO cool!

The USS Underwood was commissioned in 1983 (an excellent year, if I may say so).  This thing was HUGE.  I would get lost on there.  The guided missile ship is 453 feet long and houses a helicopter!  It also has machine guns and torpedoes.  I felt like I was in a 10 year old’s fantasy land. 🙂

Here are a few highlights:

Clockwise, Left to Right: Captain’s coffee mug, the surf board the Captain keeps in his office/room, radar room (in additions to enemies, they have to watch for whales!), the Chilean ship parked next door, view of Valparaiso from the deck, look out, weights so they can work on their fitness, us posing with a machine gun, staring down the barrel, the on-board helicopter, us IN the helicopter, the flag in the back of the boat

Fun fact of the day: Navy men are fans of Beachbody.  During our tour we ran across a group of guys doing one of the Insanity DVDs!  I wanted to join them, but didn’t have the right attire. *sigh*

The Captain knew about my food obsession and offered to let us take a peek into the ship’s kitchen.  It would be so hard to live on their diet – they can’t keep a lot of fresh fruits and veggies on board because it goes bad after a few days at sea.  The chef, Livingston, was nice enough to let us intrude as he was preparing for dinner.

We finished up the tour at the front of the ship.

One fun fact: the bell you see in the middle-left pic below doubles as a baptismal pool.  If you are assigned to a ship when your child is ready to be baptized, the bell is turned upside down and filled with water for the baby to be dunked in.  Afterwards the baby’s name is engraved inside – it remains there for the life of the ship!

To our friends aboard the USS Underwood: Thank you so much for your hospitality, and for your service.  We wish you the best on the rest of your journey!

Please ignore the fact that I look sickly in a baseball cap.

The ship’s motto:

“Whensoever hostile aggressions . . . require a resort to war, we must meet our duty and convince the world that we are just friends and brave enemies.”  -Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Andrew Jackson, December 3, 1806

On an entirely different note, please click here to hop over the Lindsay’s blog, The Lean Green Bean, today and check out my guest post.  While she’s vacationing in the sunshine, I’m home baking these no-sugar-added, gluten-free Banana-Maple Zucchini Muffins:

There is a vegan option, of course. 🙂

***

Recaps = over!  Back to your regularly scheduled food blog.

What is you favorite type of muffin?

Can you imagine trying to find something to eat aboard a ship for months at a time?  Poor guys!

Sweet Potato Leek Soup

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It’s a good thing I can’t reach the bottom of my Vitamix with my tongue…

…because I would have sliced it open trying to lap up the remnants of this soup.

Sweet potato with onion-y leek and rich garlic.  Add a little mid-eastern spice blend and some nutritional yeast.  Perfection.  Who cares if it is 85 degrees outside!

The spice lend I used is called ras hanout.  You can find the recipe here with my Babaganoush Soup post.  The base is cumin, ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon.  What’s not to love?

I was inspired to make this when I saw a few Potato-Leek Soup recipes pop up around the web.  The problem with those is that I don’t like white potatoes.  Only the orange for me!

I questioned how the sweet potato would be with the leek, but it actually works well with the mild onion.  Once sautéed, both the leek and the garlic flavors develop a richness that is perfect for a roasted sweet potato soup!

Sweet Potato Leek Soup

  • 1 C vegetable stock (I used low sodium)
  • 1 small sweet potato, pre-baked
  • 1 leek, sliced about 1/4 in thin
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 T nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp ras hanout spice mix
  • Cilantro (optional, to garnish)

In a medium-sized pan (or pot if not using Vitamix), saute leeks with a bit of water, oil, and/or vinegar (basically, you’re just adding some liquid so they don’t dry out and burn) over medium heat just until tender (~7-8 mins).  Add garlic and saute ~2 mins more until golden and fragrant.

If using a Vitamix: Place all ingredients in Vitamix and blend on high until hot (6-7 mins).

If using stove top: Mash sweet potato (doesn’t have to be perfect – a rough mash with a fork works).  Combine all ingredients in the pot and stir to combine.  Let the mixture come to a boil for 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to combine.  Remove from heat.  Pour into a blender or use an immersion blender to mix until smooth.

Optional: Garnish with cilantro and freshly ground pepper.

Makes 1 large or 2 small servings.

***

One more day until ARGENTINA!!!  P.S. That giant bag of spinach is almost gone.

Do you eat soup in the summer?

What is your favorite airplane snack?  I need some trip-packing inspiration!

Zombies are Coming + WIAW

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Zombies have taken over the South.

Well, the idea of zombies has.  Seriously – zombies are “cool” now.  Clearly I am not cool because I don’t get it.  They taped an episode of some zombie TV show outside of my office a few months ago, people are all about zombie movies… and today I saw this while driving:

If they are coming, at least I was behind a Zombie Apocalypse Response Vehicle.

Time for something I DO understand: What I Ate Wednesday.  How about a zombie themed WIAW next, Jenn?

Check out my eats below; then click here to hop on to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to see what everyone else ate Wednesday!

Breakfast:

I had an appointment with a trainer later in the afternoon, so this morning I skipped over my traditional protein smoothie in favor of the last Pumpkin Zucchini Muffin in my freezer.

I topped it with a peanut icing (peanut flour, almond milk, and cinnamon), and enjoyed it with Banana Cream Pie yogurt… which I stirred more peanut flour and cinnamon into.  Nom.

Lunch:

Total salad porn.  It tasted just as decadent as it looks.

In my salad:

  • Spinach
  • Cabbage
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Tomato
  • Sprouted adzuki beans
  • Cashew pieces
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Local, farm-fresh runny egg

Dinner:

After the first Italian Baked Broccoli Slaw win, I had to try it again.

This one was similar, but I used a few different veggies.  I think I like this even better!  The red onion was the perfect addition.  Other additions:

  • 1/2 package broccoli slaw
  • Portobello mushroom
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Zucchini
  • Radishes
  • Red onion
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Herbs de Provence
  • 1 C roasted garlic marinara sauce
 I just realized how weird that combo sounds… but really, what isn’t good when slathered in marinara sauce?

Snacks:

It was a snack-y day.  This may not look like much, but check out my lunch and dinner.  You better believe I snacked on all those veggies while I was chopping them for each meal.

Clockwise from the top left: Sweet Potato Pie Protein Shake (in a bowl with a cherry on top), watermelon (the first perfect one of the season!), Fitmixer Berry BCAA Powder mixed in water, carrot sticks, and a new late-night muffin creation (recipe to come).

***

Needless to say, I just got carried away stocked up at the Farmer’s Market.  You would think I had a family of 5 with all the veggies in my fridge.

Are zombies “in” where you live?  Do you get it?

What is the best thing you ate this Wednesday?

Edamame and Jicama Salad

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What do you do when its 20 degrees warmer than usual?

Embrace it with big green salads for lunch!

This creation was inspired by a wandering trip through the grocery store.  I am someone who reads menus or looks at ingredients and can get a sense of what a flavor combination will taste like.  As I strolled through Whole Foods (and it was a stroll – 2 hours!), I began tossing the ingredients in my cart and a refreshing summer salad idea formed in my head.

Edamame has long been a favorite snack, but for some reason I rarely use it as the “main event” in a dish.  Having picked up a huge jicama, I began to imagine the contrast of the textures – the soft edamame with the crunchy apple-like fruit.

Jicama always makes me crave cilantro, which also make me want to toss onion in the mix (have I mentioned that I love Mexican food?).  A little jalapeño for some heat and lemon zest for brightness brought the dish to life.

Best of all, this light dish comes together in less than 10 mins!

The measurements are just guidelines – I literally just tossed this in a large bowl.  Add or adjust ingredients to your liking.

I loaded up extra cilantro and jalapeño on mine and served it alongside gazpacho and broccoli slaw.

Edamame and Jicama Salad

Edamame Jicama Salad

  • 1 C edamame seeds
  • 3/4 C jicama, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1/2 jalapeno, minced
  • 1/2 C cilantro
  • 1/3 C yellow onion
  • Juice of 1/2 small lemon
  • S+P, to taste

Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy!

Serves 2-4.

***

The rest of my family ate this in lieu of fries alongside their (grilled) Chick-fil-a sandwiches.

Have you tried jicama before?  How do you like to eat it?

Are you planning an Easter brunch?  What are you serving?

Building Blocks

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The human body is pretty incredible.

25 days ago (pre-cleanse) I was nowhere near the abs I wanted.  My diet was not terrible, but could use improvement.  I was lifting weights, but had hit a plateau with my upper body and all but neglecting legs.  It was time to take the next step in building a better me.

The pictures below are my progress:

The top pic is upper body.  I’ve managed to up my weight on many exercises, not the least of which is lat raises.  Those has always been a weak point for me.

The bottom left ab pic was taken at week 2 of the cleanse and the right was taken yesterday (11 days later… I promise I washed this outfit in that time).  I wish I’d had a before!  I’ve ALWAYS wanted 6-pack abs and I’m so close right now it hurts.

This is thanks to 25 days of pushing harder and building a solid foundation with a clean, plant-based diet.  It can be done!

Believe in yourself and anything is possible.

I also have to make a confession – I almost didn’t post the ab pic.  In fact, yesterday I posted it on Instagram and purposefully didn’t like it to Twitter.  I was scared to share my progress with a larger audience!

Then I remembered this post by Lindsay where she showed off her incredible abdominals.  She posted her post-baby ab pic to celebrate hard work, to motivate, and because she was PROUD.  And she should take pride in her hard work paying off!

Change is hard!  It’s overwhelming to begin cleaning up your diet.

In the spirit of building, here’s how I built a healthy lunchtime wrap.  At least it was supposed to be a wrap… I got a little carried away with the fillings. 🙂

Step 1:

Prep veggies and slather a tortilla with spread.  I used my Raw Sweet Potato Hummus.

Step 2:

Layer your veggies on the tortilla.

My Fillings:

  • Kale
  • Broccoli and mustard sprouts
  • Beets (raw)
  • Asparagus (raw)
  • Onion
  • Carrots
  • Lentils  – ***These are key to making your wrap filling.  Lentils are prepared for the week every Sunday so I can quickly add bulk and protein to veggie dishes.***

Step 3:

Attempt to wrap the monstrosity up!  I had to eat the carrots in the side to make way for the lentils.

Step 4:

Devour.

***

Tomorrow I am trying out CrossFit for the first time!  I love a new workout. 🙂

Have you ever tried CrossFit?  Do you have any tips to share?

Celebrate Friday with some self-love – What accomplishment are you proud of?

Raw Sweet Potato Hummus + WIAW

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Can eating too much orange food really tint your skin?

I think I may be in danger.  

Between the carrots and sweet potatoes I’ve been eating today, I’m going to look like a Jersey Girl.  GTL!

For real – it’s called Carotenosis.

 

Luckily Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday doesn’t go green until March.  Orange fits perfectly with the February vegetable theme.

 

Breakfast:

This morning I met my boss for breakfast a “famous” local breakfast spot, The Flying Biscuit.  While boss-man is used to my picture-taking, my stomach wasn’t used to waiting so late to eat.  Totally forgot to take a picture.

No matter.  My tofu scramble wasn’t that great.  I would have rather had my homemade Indian-Inspired Tofu Scramble:

Lunch:

My Foodie Penpal, Laura, has created a monster.  I made another round of Bibimbap using the ingredients she sent me in this month’s package.

It’s an addiction.  That crunchy rice and  spicy sauce ain’t whack.

Click here to check out the recipe I posted yesterday.  The only change today was that I served it with cucumber rather than carrots.

Snacks:

First us was my first juice creation in the Vitamix.  It was all veggie and all delish!  This was a post workout snack, so I added my Sun Warrior protein powder.  I was worried that would make it a weird consistency, but it was quite pleasant!

In my juice:

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp maca
  • 1 C spinach
  • Handful of wheat grass
  • 1/4 C parsley
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1 in piece of ginger
  • 3-4 drops stevia
  • 2 in piece of cinnamon (I tossed a real stick in and it WORKED!)
  • 1/2 C water

Snack #2 was a recipe I’ve had marked from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen.  Can you guess what this deliciousness is?

RAW Sweet Potato Hummus.  It was insanely good, and an embarrassing amount was consumed… much of it straight from the blender.  I made a few modifications (recipe at the end of this post).

The only difference in using a raw sweet potato is that it isn’t quite as sweet as it would be if it had cooked and caramelized a bit.  To me, this makes it a perfect hummus candidate.

The liquid smoke added a neat dimension with the nutty-sweet tahini, and the spices were just enough to give it a kick on the end.  Even cooler was the addition of Meyer lemon and miso.  These added some sweetness, along with a little tang and saltiness!

Of course, I also had my daily Kombucha!  Served from my growler of Buchi Fire from Whole Foods.

Dinner:

The orange didn’t stop at snack time.  Even post-cleanse I have been craving an increasing amount of raw food.  For dinner I ate the rainbow in the form of this giant salad.

In my salad:

  • Spinach
  • Broccoli and radish sprouts
  • Shredded red cabbage
  • Cucumber
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Tomato
  • Onions
  • Sweet Potato Hummus Dressing (1 T hummus + 1 T apple cider vinegar + 2 drops stevia)
  • Angela @ Oh She Glows’ Endurance Crackers

Angela’s Endurance Crackers have been on my list to try for a long time as well.  I needed something to go with all that hummus, so today seemed the perfect day to try them out!  My only modification was to use 2 tsp of the Ras al Hanout spice blend made for my Babaganoush Soup rather than her onion-salt-herb blend.

If you haven’t tried this recipe, I highly recommend it.  I’d love to try a sweet-cinnamon version in the future!

Dessert:

Cinnamon-Vanilla Ice Cream.  The Vitamix was me on a wintertime ice cream bender.  I was working late and felt yet another treat bowl was in order.  Thank god it can be made healthy!  This purple bowl inefficiently hides a “secret” ingredient.

The ice cream blend is really easy – unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla, stevia, cinnamon, and ice… and the secret ingredient.  Purple Cabbage.

I know you think I’ve lost it, but I swear on my shoe collection that not a trace of cabbage taste could be detected.

 

Sweet Potato Hummus

Modified from this recipe from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen

  • 1 medium sweet potato (raw and unpeeled)
  • 2 T tahini
  • 4-5 drops liquid smoke
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 Meyer lemon
  • 1 T water
  • 1 tsp yellow miso
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 T fresh thyme

Toss everything in food processor or blender and until smooth.

Note: If using Vitamix, toss the whole lemon in; otherwise, only use the juice of the lemon.

Make 1.5 cups.

***

Spicie Foodie’s “Your Best Recipe” for the month of Feburary is up today!  Hop over to her site to check out my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes and everyone else’s awesome contributions!

Do you ever intentionally try to eat more raw food?

Do you watch Jersey Shore?  I’m amazed at how passionate people are about it!

Foodie Penpal Delivers – Vegan Bibimbap

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Monday was a day for firsts.

 

Thank you for all of the supportive comments yesterday!  Many of you asked what my first post-cleanse meal was… I don’t know if you could count it as a meal, but at midnight on Sunday I ate a massive spoonful of peanut butter.  It was everything I hoped it would be. 🙂

Monday morning I had a PB&J protein shake post workout.  I had good intentions of taking a picture, but got a little too excited.

 

Many of you commented that giving up caffeine would be hard, but a cup of coffee didn’t even cross my mind yesterday morning!

 

For an afternoon snack I enjoyed a carrot + PB “sandwich”:

 

Oh, and there was a handful of pistachios for snack too.  I love nuts.  You can quote me on that. 😉

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I’m really excited about today’s recipe – it was courtesy from my Foodie Penal this month, Laura @ Laura Lives Life.  In one of the most creative penpal boxes I’ve heard of, Laura sent me the (non-perishable) ingredients to make her favorite meal: Bimbibap.

 

 

Thank to Laura, the other first on Monday was my first time making the Korean dish.  The traditional version is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed vegetables, gochujang (chili pepper paste), a raw or fried egg, and beef.

Asian foods are some of my favorite, so I couldn’t wait to try out my own version of her recipe (and this NYT recipe she based it on) and share it with you all!  I took un-traditional, vegan liberties.

 

 

The coolest part about this dish was the crispy rice.  I was nervous about it because, as Laura mentions in her post, this is usually made in a clay pot.  Making it in a skillet worked out perfectly though!  Mine certainly didn’t stay in perfect pieces, but it had a fantastic crunch.  I don’t know how I’ll ever eat rice the “normal” way again!

 

 

The other thing I loved about this dish was the nutty flavor from the sesame seeds and the rich saltiness from miso tamari.  It perfectly complimented the zucchini and the meaty shiitakes.  Add to that the sweet, raw carrots… it was texture nirvana.

 

You guys know how I love heat, so I was of course in love with the gochujang.  It is a chili paste, but is different from sriracha in that it has just a hint of sweetness.  I tossed in a few more red pepper flakes for good measure. 🙂

 

 

This recipe is several steps, but you can have the rice going while you prepare the veggies.  It actually helps since you forget about the rice long enough for it to get a proper crunch.  I would have been messing with it too much if the rice had been given my undivided attention!

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Before we get to the recipe… don’t you want a cool Foodie Penpal too???

 

 

To sign up for a Foodie PenPals in March, send an email to the great and wonderful Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com with the following deets:

-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address (if you’ve got one)
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)
-Whether you are a US resident or Canadian

Join in by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th!

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Vegan Bibimbap

  • 1 C wild rice, cooked (or rice of choice)
  • 1 medium zucchini, cut into ~1/3 in thick quarters
  • 1 tsp dark sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3-4 drops stevia, or other sweetener
  • 1 C thinly sliced shiitake caps
  • 1/2 tsp miso tamari (or soy sauce)
  • 2 C packed spinach leaves
  • 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, julienned in 2-inch lengths
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 T Korean red chili sauce (gochujang)
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Cilantro
  • Slice of lime

 

Prepare rice according to package instructions.  Spray a medium-sized skillet with lubricant (oil or PAM) and place over medium heat.  Add cooked rice and flatten to form a pancake-like covering bottom of pan (~1/4 in thick).  Cook until crisp and light brown on underside (7-8 mins).  With spatula, flip rice over, and continue cooking until crisp (~5 mins.  Remove from heat until veggies are prepared.

In a medium skillet a medium skillet over medium heat, and add 1/2 tsp sesame oil, zucchini, garlic, and stevia.  Sauté until zucchini is tender (7-8 mins).  Transfer to a plate and set aside.  

Return pan to burner and add remaining 1/2 tsp teaspoon sesame oil, shiitakes, and miso tamari.  Sauté until tender (5-6 mins), then transfer to plate and set aside.

Return pan to burner and spinach with rice wine vinegar.  Sauté until just wilting (4-5 mins), adding green onions in for the last 30 seconds (just long enough to warm them).  Remove from burner.

On a large plate, arrange rice in a layer across the bottom.  Next, place vegetables on top in individual piles.  Top with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, chili sauce, and red pepper flakes.  Serve with lime wedges.

Makes 2 servings (easily doubled).

***

Major plus to being single: I have the second serving for lunch today. 🙂

Have you ever made a traditional Korean or Asian dish?

If you were going to mail ingredients to a penpal, what dish would it be for?

 

Cleanse Recap + A New Addition

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There is a new addition in my family.

 

Hang with me and you’ll see what the addition is and why I went for it…

Friday night we had another cleanse buddies dinner.  My friend Kathleen decided to begin the cleanse on Friday, so Mallory and I had a great time re-hashing our experiences with her.  (Click here for the “rules” and post #1.)

 

My first experience doing this cleanse was in November of 2010.  It was HARD.  My eating habits were not clean – I ate too many burgers, drank too much booze, and had a sugar addiction.  Needless to say, the first few days were a shock to my body.  I was tried, cold, and grouchy.  And constipated.

1 week before the 2010 cleanse

 

This time around I didn’t have as difficult a time.  My eating habits had remained fairly clean since that first cleanse; however, I noticed some old habits beginning to creep in and wanted to give my body a little reminder of how good clean feels.

 

Some observations:

  • Caffeine wasn’t as hard as I thought to give up.  My friend, Mallory, who also cleansed noted that after day 4 she actually had MORE energy without her previous 5-6 caffeinated beverages a day habit.
  • My overall energy level was excellent.  I slept better and the circles under my eyes lightened.
  • Digestively speaking… I’ve always struggled with “regularity.”  That was all better by day 3 of the cleanse.
  • At the risk of TMI, I must warn you to beware of gas – all of those greens are potent.  It’s healthy, but others around you may not appreciate that. 😉
  • My daily exercise didn’t change, and there wasn’t any difference with the amount of effort I was able to exert.  In fact, I increased my weight toward then end of week 2.  Popeye was on to something!
  • Creatively this cleanse has been a win.  Tighter food parameters force you to think outside of the box, which has resulted in some of the best meals I’ve had in a while.
  • Weight loss was NOT my goal.  I maintained my weight throughout the cleanse.  Again, my eating habits didn’t drastically change and I made an effort to have an extra protein shake or chia pudding every day.  My cleanse buddy’s eating habits changed pretty drastically… she lost 10 lbs!!!  Congrats, my bestie!
  • Hunger was never a problem.  People were always asking “aren’t you starving?”  Nope.  You would be shocked how filling veggies can be.  I actually was forcing myself to eat more some days!  I also planned ahead (see tips below) to make sure I was never caught without a food option.

 

 

The most common question I’ve been asked is surrounding how time-consuming making all of this food is.  The short answer is that yes, it takes more time.

The longer answer is that it isn’t that hard if you PLAN.  I have a full-time job and am perpetually running late – I’m not someone who has hours to spend on cooking during the week.  My cleanse-buddy has a full-time job, a 7 month old baby, and a husband that travels all week.  If we can eat clean, you can too!

 

 

Here are some ways to make clean eating easier, whether you are cleansing or simply trying to eat better.

Preparation tips:

  • Bookmark/pin/note recipes you like and write down your weekly menu.  This way when you go to make your grocery list and/or prepare meals, you can do so quickly and not worry about scrounging through the fridge to see what you could throw together.
  • Reserve time to prepare food.  On Sunday nights I make a big pot of soup, roast veggies (squash, beets, eggplant, etc), pre-cook wild rice and/or lentils, and pre-cut veggies.
  • Always keep snacks on hand.  If you are anything like me, when you don’t have anything to eat you go into “panic” mode and have the urge to grab whatever is nearby.  Don’t let that happen!  Keep veggie sticks, fresh fruit, and other healthy snack items on hand so you never have to worry.
  • Don’t be afraid to get creative.  Creative doesn’t mean difficult (these roasted tomatoes looked impressive, but were incredibly easy), but it does mean you won’t get bored with your food and abandon clean eating.  There’s no need to eat a salad every meal.
  • Prepare extra food.  Leftovers make great work-bag lunches and are easy to grab when you end up getting home later than you intended.
  • Get a good blender.  Smoothies are fast and easy, especially in the morning as you’re rushing to get ready for work.  They are also an easy way to get extra protein by adding a scoop of a good (low-sugar) protein powder, and an extra serving of veggies add a cup of spinach (the only evidence is the color).  I love my Magic Bullet because it makes the drink right in the cup… I also love my new toy.

 

A HUGE bonus to the cleanse was cost savings.  My pre-cleanse spending habits cost me about $300 more each week than I spent on the cleanse.  That means I’ve saved $900 in 3 weeks.

My bad influence friend Kathleen suggested that I take that some of that money and use it on something to help me maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Aaaaaand that brings me to the new addition.

 

I got a VITAMIX!!! I’ve had it for 2 days and it has already changed my life.  They are pricy…. but I think it’s going to be worth every penny.

Saturday night I celebrated with Sweet Potato Ice Cream.

Vitamix > Magic Bullet

 

Sunday morning I celebrated with a thick Carrot-Mango-Ginger Smoothie.  I’ve never had such a smooth, delicious breakfast.  I’ll be adding ginger to everything I can now; it added a great zing without overshadowing the sweetness from the carrot and the mango.

Check out the recipe at the bottom of this post.  I’m dying of happiness.

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This week was a little ADD in terms of workouts.  I didn’t have a clear focus of what I wanted to do and have (once again) been slacking on cardio.  I find it really hard to do without being able to run!

I DID do my final BodyRock fit test.  Extreme soreness had me waiting a couple of days, and clearly I didn’t stick to the 30 days exactly.  Each move is done for 50 seconds, with a 10 second rest in between.  I didn’t really except to see much more progress… but I did make a little more!  Funny thing is that I’m getting worse at burpees.  I blame the push-ups leading in to them.

 

There were a couple of fun new workouts this week.  Atlanta Fitness Diva gym contacted me asking if I’d like to try a workout.  Of course I would!  That took place Thursday and kicked my butt.  Literally.  We focused on glutes and I am STILL sore.  They are a but pricey to join, but I really enjoyed the small-group circuits we did.

 

The other new addition was the GAINfitness app.  Cait @ Beyond Bananas posted about it last week.  This app will let you tell it time, equipment available, and what you want to focus on and then put together a workout for you.  All you do it hit “start” and it walks you through with a timer for rest periods!  Check out  Cait’s post for a more thorough explanation.

 

Workout Recap (2/20 – 2/26)

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Carrot-Mango-Ginger Smoothie

  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1/4 large mango
  • 1-in piece of fresh ginger
  • 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk (or other liquid)
  • 1 tsp maca (optional)
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 capful vanilla extract
  • 6-7 drops liquid stevia
  • Ice, to taste (I used a LOT)

 

Place everything in blender and mix to combine.

Top as desired (I sprinkled some flax and cinnamon), and enjoy!

***

Sunday I was honored to make the FoodBuzz Top 9 for my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Roasted Tomatoes.  Thank you for the Buzz, and welcome new friends! 🙂

Also, it’s time for the February edition of Spicie Foodie’s Your Best Recipe.  Click the badge for more info on joining, and be sure to check back when recipes are posted on March 1st!

Do you have a Vitamix?  Please share recipes! 🙂

Do you have any tips for eating well?

 

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