Unplugging

Hello loves!

Firstly, I’m sorry for the unannounced absence. I wasn’t planning on it; I was only planning on not blogging for my weekend (two weekends ago now) spent at Chicago pride, but I figured out while I wasn’t blogging that this just isn’t right for me at this time in my life. Blogging and taking pictures of my food causes me to spend way more time than I would like thinking about food. I love the blogosphere though, all you girls are amazing! So probably once I have the kind of relationship with food that I want, a healthier one, I’ll be back. And until then, I’ll post when I feel like it, but that’ll probably be pretty sporadic.

Anywho, picture catch-up time!

best salad everrrr

While in Chicago, Alex took me out to lunch at a raw restaurant, Karyn’s Fresh Corner! I got the house salad, which came with vegan cesear dressing on the side (I didn’t even have to ask for the dressing on side! I can never order salads with the dressing already mixed in.. ). I loved my meal, but Alex’s wasn’t so good. She had the raw ravioli, which ended up tasting mostly like salt and, well, salt. Ick. I would totally recommend the salad though. I don’t remember everything that was in it.. I do remember that there were candied walnuts that were AMAZING.

Ohmigod, pride was awesome! It felt great to be in a place where being gay was really celebrated. It’s not that I feel discriminated against most of time (I don’t!), but this was a completely new and bright atmosphere. It made me so happy.

ADDICTED. green smoothie + strawberries + puffins!

Enough said.

LOVE.

I try to restrain, but we were at Whole Foods and I just couldn’t resist. I liked the Botanic No. 9 better than the Trilogy (that one was Alex’s), but the Botanic No. 7 is my favorite. I love that Alex is holding these for me to take a picture. We were at the train station and I had to get a photograph before I drank the whole thing on the way home. I think she’s more comfortable with me taking pictures of food in public than I am sometimes :p

Taken at a wedding we went to last Saturday

That’s all for now. I love you all and I’ll still be stalking reading your blogs and tweeting. Have a wonderful (WIA)Wednesday!

xoxo.

WEEKEND

Good morning, lovelies!

I’ve felt a little off the past few days. You know when you just get in a weird mood and can’t snap out of it? I finally did. I woke up too early this morning, before my 5:30am alarm and heard rain hitting my window. Since running always makes me feel better, I had of course planned a nice, easy run this morning.

So I woke up and though, “Oh sh!t.”

Then I threw on some running clothes anyway and walked out the door and had the best run I’ve had in a long while.

excuse the messy hair - it was pretty early

See how well I match when I run? :p I think I had a pink and green striped polo when I was in middle school. I was such a little prep.

I didn’t even have to feel ridiculous about lip synching along to my iPod seeing as I was already soaked the second I walked out the door and probably looked a little ridiculous anyway. But it was the perfect temperature outside, the rain kept me cool, and the streets were empty.

I got back from my run a bit early and seriously wanted pancakes for breakfast instead of the green smoothie I had planned on, so that’s what I did.

Cinnamon raisin cookie pancakes topped with pb frosting (pb and almond milk) and Crofter’s cherry preserves. So good.

Anyway, I should get going before I’m late to work! I’m going to Chicago for the weekend and leaving as soon as I get home today then moving into a new apartment on Tuesday, so I might not get a chance to post again until a bit later next week! I’ll have an exciting weekend re-cap and TJ’s and Whole Foods adventures to share though. Have a great weekend, babes.

xoxo.

 

 

Happy Summer/WIAW!!

Hey babes, Happy Summer! Did you do anything to celebrate? I spent the day working in an office, ick. Only two more days until a three day weekend though, so I can’t complain.

Happy WIAW, woo! I decided this one is going to be a breakfast edition since breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day and I might have eaten breakfast twice today…

This is actually pretty funny. Check it out.

Breakfast:

oatbran, almond milk, stevia, raisins, frozen raspberries, cinnamon puffins, chia seeds, cherry preserves, vanilla cherry pb

This was the best. Loved it. I spent at least 20 minutes enjoying this and still made it to work on time.

Dinner:

See above.

Predictable much? I fell in love with Cinnamon Puffins today though. I can’t wait to try the pb puffins; I don’t know why I didn’t buy them when I saw them at the health food store last week.

I had a salad topped with refried beans, salsa, and nutritional yeast for lunch, followed several hours later by steamed broccoli with hummus, and also snacked on grapes, frozen raspberries, and an apricot mid-morning.

I was planning on running today when I got home, but it started raining buckets like WOAH. Today was a good day for a rest day though, I felt pretty tired all day. And hey, that’s what I get for skipping my morning run two days in a row. :p I’ve got to run tomorrow morning. Even if I don’t feel like it when my alarm goes off, I know that it’ll be a good start to my day.

Anyway, the rainbow outside my apartment made the mandatory rest day totally worth it.

I hope you all had a great Tuesday!

xoxo.

Pride Weekend

Hey babes!

I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend! Mine has been busy and so much fun! It’s pride weekend here, so I went to the festival yesterday with Alex (my girl) and some friends. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures! I’m a bad blogger sometimes. :p My favorite part was the drag show; I love drag shows, especially the drag kings.

Pride weekend also means going out to the bar two nights in a row, which is so unusual for me. I usually go to bed super early so I can wake up early and run, so I’m a bit tired today, but it was so worth it. The girl was going to sing karaoke (I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles), but the line was too long, so she didn’t get a chance. That’ll have to happen next weekend when we go to Chicago for Chicago Pride! I’ve never been, I am so excited! Also, I need help!! I’m going to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods while I’m there; What do I have to get?? What are your favorite things from TJ’s and Whole Foods??

today's outfit

 

I know it’s a little ridiculous, but I can’t help loving this shirt I got yesterday.

No big deal.

Other than that, my weekend has consisted of a lot of this

Steel cut oats with coconut butter, pb, and raisins

and this.

LOVE

source

I’m super addicted to steel cut oats and oatbran again. And I’ve doing vanilla for so long now! I used to love the chocolate oats, but I just haven’t been feeling it lately. And vanilla oats fuel my runs just fine I got in about 30 miles this week with two rest days, woo!

I’m super excited for the next couple weeks! I’ve got a 4 day week coming up, then pride weekend, then I’m moving into a new apartment next Tuesday!!! I can’t wait! Sorry in advance if I’m a little MIA then. I’ll try to keep up.

What did you do this weekend?

If you’ve been to Chicago, give me some suggestions! What vegan restaurants are the best? Favorite clothing or health food stores?

xoxo.

Running & Oats

Hey lovelies!

I had kind of an off day today because I was stressed out last night after my appointment with the dietician, so I didn’t feel like eating. Consequently, I was really hungry alllll day today. Seriously, my appetite was insatiable. And the dietician asked me to keep a food diary for a week with measured amounts. It kinda stressed me out to have to measure things like peanut butter before eating it. I don’t know. Hopefully I’ll get used to it. Anyway, it’s only a week.

I went to talk to the dietician though because my running has been so off lately. I just haven’t had any energy. I ran this morning, but I was waaay too hungry. I should have eaten before, but I learned my lesson. I wanted to run again after work since my morning runs are never very far (3 miles), and seriously, I crave it after sitting all day. I didn’t look at my watch and just turned around when I felt like it, and I got in such a good run!

L.O.V.E. this app!

I am so back on the breakfast for dinner thing with Irish oats for dinner. OMG heaven with homemade granola, frozen raspberries, a square of Endangered Species espresso dark chocolate, cashew butter, coconut butter, and sunflower seed butter. And I didn’t measure these out because I really didn’t want to.

Have any of you had this problem? Any suggestions? I think I’m going to get blood work done to see if I’m anemic or anything. For now, the dietician told me to start by getting more carbs in during the day.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great night!

xoxo.

tweet

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I don’t have time for a real post right now, but I wanted to mention that I got a twitter (@elleeatsvegan). I would love it if you would follow me and let me know your username if you have one so I can follow you too and we can tweet. 

xoxo.

WIAW

Hello lovelies!

Happy Wednesday! I’m so glad this week is already halfway over. I’m looking forward to this weekend (I always am) and the end of the month when I get to move into a new apartment.

Anyway, here’s what you all came for.

What I ate:

Breakfast:

chia seed pudding + kamut puffs + homemade chocolate granola!

I love chia seed pudding lately. I just mix together almond milk, a couple tablespoons of chia seeds, and cinnamon and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours until the chia seeds puff up, then add toppings. It’s perfect for a mid-morning snack, which is actually what this was. I had a small bowl of oatbran for breakfast.

Lunch:

asparagus + refried beans

The asparagus is from the Farmer’s Market. So good!

Post-run Snackage:

Some people tell me it’s strange, but I really enjoy fruit in salads. This one has dates, banana, and frozen raspberries, and lettuce, pecans, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar.

Dinner:

veggie tofu scramble + spelt flour pancakes (with DCD and pb, of course)

Breakfast is my favorite meal and I strongly believe that it can be eaten at all times of the day. I’m also in love with spelt flour pancakes. I added cinnamon, oatmeal, and raisins to these ones and they tasted kinda like oatmeal raisin cookies. It was awesome.

What was the best thing you ate today?

The best thing I ate was those pancakes. So good! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo.

Make-up Free and a Gift!

Hello, lovelies!

Happy Tuesday! Getting out of work early and going for an afternoon run in the perfect sun makes me a happy girl. Aaaaand, it was the first run I did with my new iPhone!! I downloaded the mapmyrun app so I can track my pace and distance. It is so easy to use and I am ridiculously excited about it. It was time to renew my family’s phone contract, and my dad surprised me when he said to go ahead and get an iPhone.

first recorded run

My pace isn’t great, but for me it’s something to work with. Hopefully I’ll have more energy after I figure out how to eat better. I get to see a dietician tomorrow, so that should help.

On other news, when I looked at Katie’s post today, I had to follow suit and post a picture of me make-up free. Honestly I wouldn’t have done this several months ago; I would have been too self-conscious or something like that. I hated that I felt like I had to wear make-up all the time though, and decided one day several months ago to give it up for awhile. After a couple weeks without it, I didn’t even think about putting make-up on before walking out the door and I love it. I feel so much more comfortable and confident because I don’t feel the need to “correct” any imperfections on my face.

 

It’s not that I’m never going to wear make-up again, but I’m going to wear it for me when I want to. I think make-up can look really awesome when worn correctly, and it’s fun!

I was going to post a sweaty post-run picture too, but decided against it last minute. My face gets so red when I workout when it’s so hot outside! :/ I’ll post a picture of something prettier.

 

pre-run snackage

I don’t know what I did before I discovered dates. These are the perfect pre-workout snack, especially the times when my workouts are squeezed in whenever possible, usually after I haven’t eaten for 3 hours or so.

How do you stay motivated to run or exercise?

 

My motivation has been lacking a little lately, but I think knowing my pace and distance and setting goals (like road races soon!) will help me a lot. 

 

xoxo.

Back Again

Hey babes,

Ahh, It’s been so long since I last posted! I don’t know how this happens. It was a busy week, but I have only a couple more weeks until I get a day off of work for pride in Chicago (!!!), then another day off to move into a new apartment the week after! I am so excited for a new apartment. It’s going to be beautiful… Nevermind that my roommate and I don’t actually have a place picked yet. It’ll happen.

Anyway, I’m off to get a new phone, so I’ll leave you with some food porn from the last couple days. There were actually not very many pictures on my camera from the last week! I just didn’t feel like photographing my food, so I didn’t.

LOVE

Omg, I seriously fell in love. I was really hesitant to buy this. I wouldn’t have if the girl hadn’t been telling me too. But she’s always right (and more willing to try new things than I am sometimes :p). This stuff is SO GOOD. Seriously, go try it now. The cinnamon adds a nice spiciness.

I go through jars of nut seed butter really quickly.

veggie burger + swiss chard + sweet potato fries

I learned that sweet potato fries cooked in coconut oil are so delicious. They’re even better the next day when covered in coconut butter.

And leftovers make for the best lunches.

today's lunch - asparagus, sweet potato fries, refried beans

Like today’s lunch for example. Asparagus from the Farmer’s Market, leftover sweet potato fries (the second time I made them in less than a week), and refried beans, which I have recently become quite infatuated with. This was second lunch by the way. I had a salad for first lunch.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

xoxo.

Granola Makes Mondays Better

Hey babes!

I was in a serious baking mood last night and had to make more granola. Nevermind that I’m pretty much addicted to this stuff and had just almost ran out.

This granola has been my afternoon snack for the past couple weeks. No big deal, I eat the same foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all the time. I don’t know how I don’t get sick of eating the same foods every day, but I don’t. I was kind of excited when I woke up and didn’t want oatmeal for breakfast for the first time in forever. I was also a little lost. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know how to function in the morning without oatmeal for breakfast. Oh, this granola is perfect for breakfast too. Actually, I think it’s perfect all the time.

Maple-Cinnamon Granola

• 3 c. oats
• almonds and pecans
• coconut
• pinch salt
• generous sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/3 c. applesauce
• 2 T. safflower oil
• ¼ c. maple syrup
• raisins, chocolate chips, whatever you want

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the dry ingredients first, then stir together the applesauce, oil, and syrup in a separate bowl. Pour this over your dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for  about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 – 20 minutes. Add your mix-ins and make sure you let it cool completely before putting in a jar (because everyone puts their granola in a pb jar, right?). p.s. If you add the chocolate chips before it cools completely, they melt and make really awesome chocolately clusters like omg so good.

blueberry cobbler bar

 

Pretty, right? Just granola didn’t satiate my baking needs. I’m glad it didn’t though because this is really freaking good. I topped it with a scoop of So Delicious coconut milk vanilla ice cream (which is amazing, by the way!). The girl reallyyy liked this one, so I’ll have to recreate and figure out the recipe soon. I never measure things precisely when I bake and I don’t usually take the time to write down the recipe, which just means that I have to make everything at least twice. No big deal.

Ooh, I made an appointment with a dietician today because I haven’t had any energy for the last couple months, especially when I try to run. I’m super excited about it! I hope that this will help me figure out how to eat to make my body feel the best, or at least better than it does now.

I hope you all had a great Monday!

xoxo.

Gardening Time

Hey lovelies!

Sorry for the lack of postage this week. I’m kind of taking a break from the computer because I just don’t want to spend any more time on it after spending all day at a computer while I’m at work! :/ So this is going to be a quick catch-up before I run off to the farmer’s market then to my dad’s house to help him garden.

 

last night's dinner - oat bran + fried egg + kale + salt and pepper

 

I tried savory oats for the first time. They were so good! I actually put pb and cherry jam on this after I took the pic (because I just can’t have oats without pb…) and it went together perfectly. This is my go-to dinner for sureee.

 

SO MUCH WATERMELON lately =

I made Katie’s Deep Dish Cookie Pie and it was AMAZING! You should all go make it now. I don’t have a pic because none of them turned out decent, sorry!

 

New pink nail polish! and I have this thing with hands, I really like them. Weird? I don’t know. I love this nail polish though, pansy by essie.

 

Random enough post? mmkay, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo.

New Start

I did something on Monday morning that I thought I would never do again.

the blue ones are my fav

I ate an egg.

But wait, let me explain.

I became vegan on August 11 of last year. Since then, I have developed my food philosophy into what it is now and I feel really good about where I am in terms of making ethical decisions regarding my diet. I have also strived to listen to my body and give it what I feel it needs.

With this being said, I’m going to stick to my philosophy, no exceptions. So how do I justify eating eggs? My parents’ neighbors have chickens, so my parents get eggs from them, from the chickens that are happy and have plenty of room to move and wander wherever they please. I’ve even met the chickens, so I feel comfortable knowing exactly how they’re living and being treated. And since the eggs are not fertilized, there is nothing to be killed. Therefore, I see no ethical problem with eating these eggs.

I spent awhile talking to my dad about it and decided that the extra protein would be a good addition to my diet since I don’t eat very many high protein foods right now. I know it’s totally possible to get adequate protein easily on a completely vegan diet, but I don’t put the effort in sometimes and eggs are really quick and easy.

I’ll still be vegan for the other 9 months of the year when I don’t have access to those eggs, but I’m going to enjoy them until that time comes!

Honestly the hardest part about this decision was giving up my excess pride, but I think it was really good for me to do that. I don’t need the label anymore since I have my philosophy figured out and I’m going to stick to it. I’m also still figuring out what makes my body feel the best, which is more important than being vegan as long as I’m still adhering to my morals.

So anyway, this breakfast was SO GOOD. And I felt perfectly fine and happy after eating it. Breakfast was sauteed kale, zucchini, and summer squash seasoned with salt, pepper, and chili powder; six-grain sourdough bread from a bakery that’s super close to my apartment (almost all of their bread is vegan!) with guacamole; and an egg fried in a little olive oil (that I promptly put on top of the toast after this pic was taken).

I also had a mug of the teeccino chocolate coffee tea I got from Chelsey’s giveaway! I thought it was great; It’s not as strong as coffee is, but I liked the flavor better and I had no adverse effects after drinking it like I always do after drinking coffee.

Now that I’m done with the labels, I don’t know what to call this blog! Any suggestions?

xoxo.

 

Morning Runs and Granola

Hey babes!

I love my mornings. I’ve always loved mornings, but I got in the habit of staying up too late and consequently sleeping in too late the next morning during the last semester. Now that I wake up pretty early for work Monday through Friday, I wake up before 7am on the weekends too. It feels so good to wake up that early without an alarm, especially now that it’s getting hot outside. I get my morning runs done when the weather is perfect and the streets are quiet.

After my run, I re-fueled with a green smoothie, then got to work baking. I swear my granola addiction is getting ridiculous. I can’t believe how easy granola is to make though! It’s wonderful.

This is currently in the oven and my apartment smells awesome. I’ll post the recipe soon!

Work-Out Recap

 

• Monday: REST DAY
• Tuesday: 25 minute run in the morning
• Wednesday: 50 minute run in the evening (I like having the long break between runs when I switch up running before work or after; my body feels more rested!)
• Thursday: REST DAY
• Friday: 50 minute run
• Saturday: 30 minute run
• Sunday: 30 minute run followed by a couple circuits from Jillian Michaels’s BFBM

Enjoy your Sunday!

xoxo.

Just Happy to Be

So this post was supposed to go up yesterday and be five things Friday, but I got a little distracted and you know.. So here are the things that have made my Friday/Saturday morning pretty happy.

Casual Friday at work is really casual Friday for me. Yoga pants + super comfy sweater + flip flops (I’m not allowed to work barefoot; there could be metal shards or something like that on the floor since it’s a Tool & Die shop. And yes, I would go barefoot at work all the time if I could because I love being barefoot.) is my favorite lazy girl outfit.

I got out of work a little early and went to Meijer and Udi’s granola was on sale! I love this stuff, it is SO GOOD. You’ve got to try it. And now I’m on a major granola kick and need to make my own really soon, as in today.

Homemade cashew butter like OHMYGOD. Making it myself is so much cheaper and I love cashew butter! Unfortunately it’s not raw because I couldn’t find raw cashews, but I’ll work on that.

so creamy and thick and good

check it outtt, i LOVE the blue strips on the side!

New pink running shorts! Shopping for running clothes is so much more fun to me than shopping for everyday clothes. And I got in two killer runs between 7pm last night and 9am this morning. Both in these shorts. BAM.

I have been craving green smoothies like crazy lately and it THE BEST. I didn’t eat anything until noon yesterday and did a green smoothie instead (plus another green smoothie as a pre-run/afternoon snack) and I felt so good.

And I get Monday off! The girl is gone for the weekend and I’m happy to spend some time for myself. I haven’t done that enough lately because of work and everything and I run out of time. I’m happy to spend time with my roommates, my bff, and my dad, gardening again. I get to work-out and bake as much as I want and really, I’m just happy for this weekend.

Have a great day, babes!

xoxo.

Fasting and Fabulous Green Smoothies

I tend to jump into things without really thinking them over first. Sometimes this works well for me. Like when I decided what university to attend, it was kind of on a whim, but that university is perfect for me. Other times, not so much. Like yesterday, I thought it would a really good idea for me to try fasting. So I decided to fast the next today, as in today. I decided on a smoothie fast, where I would consume only two green smoothies and a lot of water and lemon water for the day.

It didn’t end well.

Actually, it ended at 4pm today when I ate two dates with peanut butter because I really didn’t want to do it any more. Physically, I felt fine aside from being a little light-headed and tired. Mentally, I was a mess.

The main reason I wanted to fast was because I thought it would be good for me to take a break from thinking about food so often. I really do spend a great deal of time thinking about what I’m going to eat next and whether or not what I want to eat is worth the calories and if it will make me feel bad and all the stuff that isn’t worth thinking about in the way that I do. It just stresses me out. I also wanted to fast because I thought it would be good for my body to have a day to cleanse and detox. I still don’t really know how I feel about that though. I don’t know if I believe it’s really necessary and helpful.

The whole ‘not thinking about food thing for a day’ thing didn’t work. I worked today and my mind always wanders to food after spending hours in that office. I was worried that my metabolism would slow down and I was nervous because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to run when I got out and running always makes me feel so much better, especially when I’m thinking about all the calories I didn’t burn while sitting all day.

I drove the girl to the airport this afternoon, and when I got home I was pretty hungry, although not as hungry as I thought I would be. I more just wanted to eat because I hadn’t all day and I craved solid food. I had a bowl of oat bran with a lot of peanut butter and felt a little sick after that and also sad because I felt guilty for eating. Now I just want to run, but instead I’m going to read for awhile, probably Harry Potter, hang out with the roomies, have a snack before I go to sleep if I feel like it, and run in the morning. I don’t think this whole fasting thing is for me yet.

My love for these green smoothies will never subside though.

There’s a bit about fasting in Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet though if you’re interested. That’s why I was curious about it. She actually recommends fasting one day a week!

Question: How do you feel about fasting?

Anyway, I’m off to read, relax, and enjoy the evening. I hope all you babes had a wonderful Thursday!!

xoxo.

Farmer’s Market and Gardening

Hey Babes!

The Farmer’s Market is back and OMG I’m so happy about it!! I biked there yesterday morning and came home with this:

zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, swiss chard, & sorrel

I promptly made the swiss chard and sorrel into an ugly delicious green monsta (2nd one of the day!) I had to try this with the sorrel after Megan did it; you should do it, it’s so good!

...not exactly green because I added frozen blackberries

After devouring this, I headed over to my parents’ house to help my Dad prep the garden.

SHORTS WEATHER (finally!)

I love my Dad’s garden! He’s so good at it and it was fun going out to the garden to grab veggies for dinner when I was liiittle. I get free veggies for helping him now, which is a great deal for me. I love going over there too because the yard always looks so beautiful! Living in the city is awesome, but it’s nice to come home to this.

lilac tree

I love the wild mint growing down by the creek. My mom would put this in the strawberry-pear soup she made in the summer. It was great, but surprisingly not vegan. It shouldn’t be hard at all to veganize though… I should do that soon.

I made an awesome salad this morning using swiss chard, sorrel, leftover asparagus from last night’s dinner, dates, frozen banana, hummus, and lemon-olive oil-rosemary dressing after my run this morning. The frozen banana made it so good! It was perfect after a super-hot, sweaty run. Yayyy for summer weather!!!

Work-Out Recap

• Monday: REST DAY
• Tuesday: 30 minute run (am); Jillian Michaels’ Banish Fat Boost Metabolism (pm) I love this dvd!! It is an amazing work-out and soooo much fun. 
• Wednesday: 30 minute run followed by 4 circuits from BFBM
• Thursday: 35 minute run
• Friday: 20 minute run
• Saturday: REST DAY I had a late night on Friday, so I felt a little off this day and decided to take a break.
• Sunday: 60 minute run

Tell me about your weekend!

And enjoy the rest of your Sunday, lovelies!

xoxo. 

It’s All Over

at 6pm tomorrow.

Have you heard? The world is ending tomorrow evening! But don’t worry! I have just the cookie recipe if you’re like me and would bake cookies on your last day. I’m also pretty stocked up on coconut butter, pb, veggies and coconut milk cookie dough ice cream. You know, all the necessities for a last meal. :p

It seems ridiculous to me that people actually believe predictions about when the world is ending! Some Christian group came up with this one, and they made some obscene amount of money by donation from people that believed them.

Eh, I was much more concerned with my run and making these cookies today.

PB Banana Chocolate-chip Cookies

These are vegan and sugarfree! 

• 2 T. Earth Balance Butter
• 2 T. peanut butter
• 1/2 overripe banana
• 1/4 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. spelt flour
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1/8 t. baking soda
• 1/3 c. oats
• chocolate chips

Mix the ingredients through the vanilla extract first. I don’t worry too much about thoroughly combining and mashing the banana; the banana chunks taste good! Add the flour (spelt is my favorite), salt, and baking soda, then stir until just combined. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 – 10 minutes. BAM. best cookies EVER. :p

This recipe makes about 5 cookies if you eat at least a cookie in dough. Doesn’t everyone do that? It was a great post-run snack.

Oh, and Katie is doing a feature post of vegan dessert recipes! I adore her blog; she has the best recipes because they’re all so simple, healthy, and delicious!

Question: What would your last meal consist of?

Cookies would be part of mine for sure, along with coconut butter and oatmeal.

 

I hope you all had a great weekend!!

xoxo. 

Rainy Day Runs

I love rainy days. Have any of you read “The Umbrella Man” by Roald Dahl? He was my favorite author when I was in middle school. You should read it if you haven’t.

Rainy days make me feel like I’m not missing much while I’m at work. I can still enjoy how pretty it is from my window just as I would if I were home; I can’t do that with sunny days. I always long to be outside, to be anywhere but work when it’s sunny out. Rainy days just go by faster.

i LOVE spandex :p

The best part of rainy days for me is that running in the rain is the BEST. I run faster when I run in the rain because it makes me so happy! The other best part about my run today? The girl was already prepping salad stuff for dinner when I got back, so it came together super quickly. And the rain stopped so we got to eat outside together.

This salad was AMAZING. Seriously.

Rainy Day Salad

• Bunch of romaine lettuce
• Handful of baby bok choy
• Summer squash
• Carrots
• Tomato
• Green pepper
• Raisins
• Chili powder
• Hummus

Dressing:

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Dried rosemary

I kept all the veggies raw. That’s how I like them best right now. The dressing was really simple, but it made this taste so nice and fresh!

I needed my protein too since this was post-run, so I fried some tempeh in a little olive oil and rosemary and ate it with ketchup. It was surprisingly delicious.

new FAVORITE dessert

  brown rice cake + DCD + pb + banana

Question: How do you feel about rainy days?

I hope you all had a great Thursday, babes!

xoxo

Work-out Recap + Snickerdoodle Pancakes

Hey lovelies!

I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend! I’ve spent the weekend relaxing and grocery shopping; it’s been wonderful. I watched The Labyrinth with David Bowie last night with the girl. Have you guys seen that movie? I loved it when I was younger, I still do really… The girl hadn’t seen it though and that had to be remedied. And I mean really, who doesn’t want to see David Bowie sing and dance while dressed up as the goblin king?

goblin KING :p

Moving on…

Work-out Recap

Monday:

• 40 minute easy run (done in the evening)

Tuesday:

• 25 minute run in the morning
• 15 minute faster-paced run (I didn’t have much time, but I had to get it in ) done in the evening

Wednesday:

• 45 minute easy run in the morning
• 20 minute run in the evening

Thursday:

• 30 minute run in the morning

Friday:

• 20 minute run in the evening

Saturday:

• 30 minute run (midday)

Sunday:

• REST DAY. My body is tired!

I’m still trying to figure out my running schedule because I’m still getting used to work, where I have to spend the entire day sitting. I get so restless and feel the need to run when I get out, but I also love running the mornings. My runs weren’t very good near the end of the week though. I think I tired myself out too much. I’ll have to try something different next week. I also know that I should incorporate some kind of strength stuff, but I always prefer running! That’s something I’ll work on.

Ooh, and please check out the blog my friend, Malachi, and I are doing together! It’s called TheMeInsideUs. He is spending the summer studying in China and his posts are so interesting. I’m excited to learn about the different culture and food in China. Plus he’s pretty much the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet.

Best food I ate yesterday:

Katie’s Snickerdoodle Pancakes

These were amazing! I followed the recipe really closely, except that I used a couple drops of stevia and a little maple syrup in the batter instead of sugar.

What was the best thing you ate or did this weekend?

I’m super excited to spend time with the bff today. I don’t know what we’re doing yet. Earlier in the week, when it was 80 degrees and sunny, we were planning on going to the beach, but it’s about 50 degrees and rainy today, so change of plans was necessary.

Enjoy your Sunday!

WIAT/W

Hey lovelies!!

Another WIAW, woo! So this is going to be kind of both Tuesday and Wednesday because my eats yesterday were pretty great.

First, today and yesterday morning started with a (5:45am!) run. Running first thing in the morning is my favorite way to start the day, but 5:30am is really early for me! I meant to run in the mornings last week too, but I just turned the alarm off instead.. It’s easier now though after doing it a couple times because I really enjoy it. The city is still quiet and not quite bright yet and the air feels perfect, not too hot like it will get later in the day (especially later in the summer). I’ve been really craving runs lately too. I got home from work yesterday and just had to run even though I wasn’t planning on it because the girl and I had an apartment viewing scheduled (!!!). Running is really the only thing that I have found that de-stresses me from work. I wish I could run more but my body can’t keep up right now! Gotta build up my mileage gradually…

Anyway, onto the food:

Tuesday Breakfast

I finally made Chelsey’s chocolate granola! I was meaning to for awhile and I’m glad that I finally did. It is SO GOOD, you should all make it now. I’ve been eating it as a nighttime snack with almond milk and pb, but for a small breakfast right after running it was great.

Wednesday Breakfast

brown rice + almond milk + raisins + cinnamon + agave + banana

I keep getting headaches at work, but they go away after eating something. I don’t know if it’s just from being hungry or staring at a computer screen all day, but I want to figure out how to make it stop! It’s not a big deal now because it’s kind of just my cue to eat when I’m eat work right now.

Tuesday Lunch

Red boston lettuce, raspberries, leftover roasted butternut squash, figs, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar.

Wednesday Lunch

Lettuce, raw zucchini, raisins, hummus, nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinegar.

Snacks

These bars are really good! I liked this flavor better than a lot of Larabars (not the coconut cream pie larabar though – that one is the best!). It’s completely raw too.  

Work Outfit

new sunglasses from my mom!

The sweater tank-top thing was my mom’s. She has great style and is pretty much the same size as me. It’s awesome! All my best clothes are her hand-me-downs.

I hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo.

Weekend Recap :)

Happy Sunday! I have loved this weekend so far. Just the break from work was amazing, and I got to spend all of Saturday with the girl.

Work-out Recap:

 

• Monday: 32.88 minute easy run
• Tuesday: 25 minute easy run
• Wednesday: Rest Day
• Thursday: 30 minute easy run
• Friday: Rest Day
• Saturday: 40 minute easy run
• Sunday: 40 minute easy run

I wasn’t planning on having two rest days in one week and I didn’t do any strength training! ack, gotta fix that. :p I felt tired this week though. I’m planning on waking up early next week (like 5:30 am! ) so that I can get a work-out in before work. I like running in the morning much better anyway. It’s the perfect way to start my day.

Weekend Recap:

8am run, woo! love my morning runs

scottish oats + chia seeds + raisins + banana + cinnamon + pb

My run was followed by a leisurely breakfast with the girl. I forgot how much I love scottish oats! It was beautiful and sunny outside, so we ate breakfast on the porch.

ps. If you haven’t tried this pb yet, you have to! It is so good. I might like it more than the DCD and I love chocolate. :p

The girl and I went to a park in the afternoon and had a picnic (kinda) and napped in the sun. I didn’t take any pictures, but we might go back today and I definitely would then!

butternut squash + spices + lettuce + tofu! + raisins + balsamic vinegar

Oh no! I didn’t realize how late it is. I’ve got to go get ready for mother’s day brunch. I love it only because I get to dress up and see my family, but there probably won’t be much food for me to eat since it’s buffet style… snacks in the purse are a must.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xoxo.

WIAW

Hello lovelies! Ahh, I’m so glad it’s Wednesday. Only two more days until the weekend, yay!

Breakfast:

Recycled picture.. I seriously fell in love with these bowls of orange, chia seeds, and almond milk. I need to get more creative with my breakfasts because I haven’t wanted oatmeal for breakfast in awhile and I don’t know what else to eat! Any suggestions?

I work in an office during the summer, so I spend a lot of time sitting. Consequently I haven’t been eating as much as usual, but then I get too hungry and tired by the time I’m out of work, so it’s hard to run when I get home! I need to plan my days better for sure… But anyway, lunch was super delish.

Lunch:

Tempeh, baby bok choy, lettuce, chili powder, tomatoes, & hummus. 

A couple hours later I had my second ever OIAJ! My first was yesterday, I loved it! Luckily I had a second jar of pb that was nearly empty.

oats with banana, cinnamon, & raisins

Sorry about the picture quality. I have to picture this a little sneakily and quickly while I’m at work. :-p

I also had a banana and pb wrap when I got home, but I didn’t want to take a picture. I was too hungry! And now it’s time for a run and dinner (which I have yet to figure out), so I’ll end here. I hope you all have a good night!

May Flowers

yay, I finally got my posts to switch over to this blog! Now the other one is going to be solely for Malachi and I to write letters.. or that’s what we’re thinking right now. Anyway…

Happy May! I haven’t set any monthly goals in a long time, like really long, and I’m excited for the beginning of May and setting goals.

May Goals:

• Track my runs. Runners, how do you keep track of your miles?? I tried Runner’s World and some other site, but it always took too long to enter my workout, so I always got lazy.. 
• Run a long run that is 8 miles.
• Form a training schedule and (roughly) stick to it. 
• Eat at least 50% raw every day. 

Workouts (since May 1!):

• Sunday: 15 minute warm-up, 10 x 10 second hill repeats, 15 minute cool-down
• Monday: 38.22 minute easy run

I don’t have a way to know how far I’m running right now, so just keeping time will have to do I guess. The girl rode her bike alongside me while I was running today. It was so nice, especially since I end up running much later at night than I’m used to on days that I work all day.

orange + unsweetened almond milk + chia seeds + cinnamon

Breakfast this morning was absolutely amazing. I mixed the chia seeds, almond milk, and cinnamon before I left for work, then poured it over the orange about an hour later so the chia seeds were kind of the texture of tapioca by then. I’m also super happy about Costco cinnamon. It’s spicier than other cinnamon or something. I like it.

mmkay, I’m sorry in advance for the awful lighting of the following picture, but I had to put this on here! I made vegan BLT’s for dinner last night, then had leftovers for lunch today. I fried the tempeh in a little olive oil with oregano, basil, chili powder, salt and pepper. I have to cook tempeh more often, I love it and it’s so fast! I thought these tasted at least a little like a usual BLT, but the girl didn’t think so… She laughs at me for saying that my vegan version of things tastes just like the non-vegan version. She still likes my food though, so I’m not complaining.

tempeh, baby bok choy, hummus, & tomatoes on a FlatOut wrap

Because I can’t end this on that picture with such terrible lighting…

This is from a trip to a gardens place when they were having the butterfly exhibit. I went last weekend. I love the place because the room with the butterflies is so warm and feels tropical! It made for a lovely double date. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

SUMMERTIME

Hey lovelies!

I’ve had the best couple of days. I’m done with school until next Fall, so I celebrated Thursday night. I haven’t had anything to worry about the last couple days because I don’t start work until Monday. It was sooo beautiful outside today, I just finished an awesome run! It was followed by this for dinner.

FlatOut wrap with hummus, baby bok choy, tomatoes, cucumbers, & a little of the dressing my Aunt made for me

My Aunt took me to Costco today and I was so happy to find FlatOut wraps! I am IN LOVE. They have so much fiber and protein for a wrap. I also bought quinoa, oatmeal, pb, bananas, dates, and agave. I didn’t realize everything was so much cheaper there! I’m done buying oatmeal from Meijer in little containers when I can get a 10 lb. box that only costs a little more… Seriously, I don’t know how I go through oatmeal so fast, but it happens.

oatmeal with pb, coconut butter, bananas, cocoa powder, & unsweetened almond milk

I only made a 1/2 serving for breakfast today. I just haven’t been as hungry as usual the past couple days. This kept me full for a good 4 hours, which is unusual for me even when I make a full serving. I don’t know… I guess I’ll just keep listening to my body and eat however much feels right.

Lunch was amazing though. I made a BLT salad with leftovers from the other night. It had tempeh bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and apple.

The girl and I went to my favorite consignment shop yesterday; I was so excited to find this outfit!

new pants and pullover, yayy

Oh, Malachi and I decided that we’re going to write our posts as letters to each other now. What do you think, good idea? I’m excited about it because he’s leaving (to China!) for the summer and I’m usually pretty bad about keeping in touch with people, so this will be a good way for us to keep up.

I hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!

-E

too much math

I really like math. I mean really like math. My roommates would laugh at me for getting super excited about a proof I had just figured out, then I would tell them all about it… and they would listen and pretend that what I was saying was a least a little bit interesting to them. :-p

pretty flower that my girlfriend gave to me

I had two math finals today and I feel like I can hardly think. I’m pretty sure they didn’t go very well, so I’m a little frustrated, but I still have a stats final to study for that I have to take tomorrow. That’s why this post is going to be some of the little things that have made me smile in the last few days. Then, I can study for stats, kill this exam tomorrow evening, and celebrate because finally, it will be SUMMER!!

romaine lettuce + banana + red pepper + hummus + balsamic vinegar + orange + coconut + i don't remember anymore :-p

I’ve been eating so many salads lately and it feels soo good!

Running pretty much makes everything better. This run was especially awesome because it was so nice outside and my legs felt great. I’m pumped for summer because I love running in warm weather and I’ll have the time to run as much as I want!

date with cashew butter!

homemade chocolate granola + pb + banana + unsweetened almond milk

Have you seen Across the Universe? I saw it for the first time last week and I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack.

Question: What was the best part of your day?

-E

nose rings & carrot cake cookies

Hey babes!

I thought it would be a good idea to write about my days once in a while so you all could get to know me better. Good idea?

I woke up this morning and went for a run right away, only 4-ish miles though. I’ve been super tired on my runs lately! I don’t know why yet, but hopefully I’ll figure it out soon. It was still awesome though; the weather was perfect.

Post-run breakfast was an orange, half a banana, and coconut butter fudge (just coconut butter, cocoa powder, and a little agave – so good!).

I seriously can’t go a day without oatmeal, so that’s what I made for a small lunch before heading off to a family gathering to celebrate Easter. I made a serving of carrot cake oatmeal for the girl and I to split since we were going to be eating with my fam soon after. Seriously, best oatmeal ever!

1/2 banana + raisins + cinnamon + chia seeds + grated carrot + cocoa powder + walnuts + coconut butter + DCDpb

Hanging out with the fam was nice, but my grandparents weren’t too happy about my new-to-them nose piercing.. I’m probably working for my grandpa’s company for the summer, and I really hope I don’t have to take it out!

the nose ring looks totally professional enough to work in an office, right?

Seeing my brother was especially nice. I miss him now since we’re both away at college! All of my family parties are centered around food and no one else in my family is vegan, but they’re all very considerate about it. My grandma made me a wonderful salad and baked sweet potatoes.

Dinner was a bowl of raw zucchini, quinoa, raisins, balsamic vinegar, nutritional yeast, and hummus, also not pictured. I was too hungry when I got home to take pics of my food! Dinner was supposed to prepare me to write a paper for my philosophy class, but that obviously didn’t work too well… :p

Ooh, I made carrot cake cookies today too! I’m terrible at posting recipes though. I usually just toss stuff in a bowl and hope it works out, but it usually does. This was some combination of Earth Balance, maple syrup, spelt flour, cinnamon, grated carrot, ground flax seed + water, raisins, coconut, and walnuts. They were awesome, I was so excited! And it was good for me to have dessert to eat for when the rest of my family was eating a very non-vegan friendly red velvet cake.

Anyway, I should really get to work on this paper. Finals are this coming week, then I’m done with classes for the summer, yayy!

I hope you all had a lovely day!

-E