Much ado about nothing

 I've had an action packed (all food related of course) weekend.

Let's start with breakfast shall we?

Saturday morning I was laying in bed reading some blog related news. It was then that
Ohh May's newest add-in, nutritional yeast. Now, I use nutritional yeast all the time but not with sweet foods... interest. Her premise is that adding nutritional yeast to smoothies or desserts add a "cheesecake" flavor (nutritional yeast has a subtile, cheesey flavor). Let's try out this theory of Mae's.

Cheesecake Oatmeal
Ingredients:

• 1/2 rolled oats
• water to cover oats
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp tahini
• 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
• fresh or frozen fruit of choice (blueberries and goji's for me)
• stevia
• chia seeds (just for fun)
• lucuma powder (if available)
  

Heat the oats and water in microwave until water is gone and oats are fluffy (1-2 minutes). To the cooked oats, add the rest of the ingredients. Eat.

And Mae, you are a genious! Nutritional yeast in sweet creations is amazing! I was happily surprised.
Those oats were good.

And then onto lunch. 

Nori rolled mess

Nori smeared with miso paste and topped with cabbage and spices

Atop this came the beans, qunioa, *Kim Chee, and nutritional yeast (yes, I may be obessed)

 

Close up of the beast

*Side note. This stuff is amazing. I love making my own Kim Chee, but when laziness sets in, buy this.

 

(at most Whole Foods')

And, it's dinner already!

I told you there was a lot of food related activites...

 

Japanese sweet potato fries about to make their way into the oven

Boyfriend pouring his beer

About this beer: The boyfriend and I were watching Three Sheets Hawaii, Travel Channel, and this beer was one of the featured beers. It sounded good so I tracked it down (rare) and bought it. 

Maui Brewing Company's Coconut Porter

 

I'm not a big beer drinker but I can appreciate a good beer. This was really good.

And it was made with coconut... automatically I have to try it.

Anyway, back to the food.

Japanese Inspired Dinner

 

Vegan Wasabi "Mayo"

to top the sweet potato fries

 

 

Tuna Poke

made by Sascha (boyfriend)

these came out perfect!

Mine didn't make the transfer to my plate well

 

And Japanese soup of miso broth, shrimp, mung bean sprouts, radish shoots, king mushrooms, and a soft pouched egg

Honestly, there was so much food that I had only a few bites of the soup. 

(And had extra sweet potato fries... I love sweet potatoes...)

The Tuna Poke is something you have to try. It's so simple and tasty and completely clean eating.

I promise to post the recipe later on after my boyfriend wakes up (lazy!) and I can ask to list the exact ingredients. But do try!

And that's about it for Saturday's meals. And since it's early on this (finally sunny) Sunday morning, not much to report yet for meals.

Virabhadrasana Friday

Or, as probably better known, Warriors III.

 

(source)

Yep, you guessed it, this morning I attended a Yoga Source yoga class. It was nice to stretch my muscles and decrease the cardio workout from all the awesome mixed martial arts classes I've taken this week.

I would show you a picture of me doing Warrior III but wouldn't you rather see a cute little kid doing a yoga asana instead?? That's what I thought.

 

My coworker's daughter showing off her flexibility at the office

After yoga I enjoyed my daily green smoothie, same concoction from yesterday, I read over the green smoothie ideas you commented with (again from yesterday's post). Those smoothie ideas were great! And again, it's all about trial and error. I challenge you to make one... just one... and try it. Keep it simple. Throw some fruit and a handful or two of some type of leafy green, into a blender and see how it tastes. I bet you'll be surprised.

Anyway, rewind to last night. Dinner was especially tasty with a simple salad dressing loaded with flavor.

Creamy Avo-Miso Dressing

This recipe includes literally ALL of my favorite food "condiments"

Avocado

Miso paste

Tahini

Lemon juice

Shoyu (or soy sauce)

Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Garlic, crushed
Agave, just a splash

Cilantro

Cayenne and black pepper, cumin, and salt, to taste

Add some other veggies if you wish, as seen below, cucumbers

Smash and mix all the ingredients together

 

Close up of the mess

Add some greens (cabbage and spinach added here)

Toss, taste, adjust seasonings, eat.

This salad got rave reviews by all that tasted it last night. 

 

Salad, eggplant marinara bake, and Mary's Crackers

Well, that's about all I have to report for today. Short post. Oh, and it's Friday, but I'm sure you already knew that. Enjoy the Friday!

In your blender

Question: What do you get when you mix up, blend, baby, blend, three giant and beautifully ripe strawberries, young coconut water and some of it's meat, chocolate hemp protein powder, half a handful of plump raisins, lots of fresh spinach, carob and lucuma powder, and a few drops of Sweet Leaf Chocolate Stevia? Oh and do not forget the large spoonful of raw almond butter. Mustn't forget that.

Answer: The most amazing green smoothie ever to come in contact with my taste buds. And boy, were my buds happy!

Just pretend that it looks pretty...

Because it tastes pretty damn good.

The magic of green smoothie making is to play around with flavors, fruits, greens, superfood add-ins. And the trick to starting out, go simple. Sometimes adding too many items/flavors to your green smoothie creation, does not make for good drinks. Trust me. Lesson learned for me. But over time you will find combinations of fruits, greens, powders that do work for your liking. It's all about experimenting, trial and error, and the secret ingredient: the love put into the smoothie. Sounds weird, but really, think love and the smoothie will taste better.

And what could go better with a green smoothie than healthy, vegan, gluten-free Spiced Millet "Sugary" Cookies?! Nothing. Well, yes, I'm sure there are other things that may go great with a smoothie, but for now, just go with it.

Spiced Millet "Sugary" Cookies a Lori adapted recipe from Elana's Pantry
(Not sugary, just tastes that way!)
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups millet flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil (I used olive oil b/c that is what I had. Coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc. would work too)
• 1/3 cup yacon syrup
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
  
• 2 heaping spoonfuls tahini
• handful raisins
• *optional few tsp water when mixing, if batter is too thick
  

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Mix wet ingredients into dry and add raisins. Again, if batter is too dry, add some water.

Place "blobs" onto the parchment paper covering a baking sheet, any desired size.

Half with raisins, half without, pre-baked

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, or until done to your texture liking (crunchy, soft and fluffy, etc.)

Enjoy.

The cookies came out tasting great, although they were a little dry and crumply. This was probably due to using only millet flour without another type of flour. Millet flour is light and gives the cookies a airy, fluffy texture, which I liked. You could also try using 1 cup millet flour with 1/2 brown rice flour or another sub. But overall, the flavoring is great!

And now, to mix it up...

I'm throwing in a recap of my a m a z i n g Thursday morning workout... taken from my training log at DailyMile.com:

MMA Style Kickboxing class filled with cardio moves. Today's class kicked my ass. Period. Best workout I've had in a LONG time. One hour of pure circuit cardio with push-ups, kicks, abs, core, abs, core, more abs, more core, jump ropes, punches, etc. I stayed around after class for the instructor (my friend) to complete my workout... Private session with 20 minutes of punches, kicks, knees (each side 10 reps, all repeated 3 times), *push-up punches (repeated 2 times), and bicycles. I WILL be sore tonight. (*push-up punches: wearing boxing gloves (added weight), do one push-up, as you come up, punch the pad (held by instructor) with left hand. Do another push-up, as you come up, punch pad with right hand. Repeat 40 times, twice.)

Glourious, glorious workout. Honestly, this was one of the best workouts I've ever had. I loooooove when those come along.

So, that's a wrap with the post. One more question before I leave you...

What's in your green smoothie? What combinations sound good to you? What is a smoothie you think is original? Creativity counts! Throw out some ideas. I'd love to try them and report back!

Random is my middle name

The title says it all about this post.

If you do nothing else today, you must read this. It's hilarious. I honestly, laughed out loud multiple times (good thing no patients saw me). Men, read this too. It's written for you. The side comments capture every man’s inner thoughts, whether or not us women want to know them.

And if you are in the mood for some baked goods; wonderful, fresh, homemade with love from bloggers, baked goods, then head on over to online bake sale for Haiti. It's a good cause. You get good food.

This morning, besides reading and bidding on cookies, I took another MMA Boot Camp class at my gym (first one was on Monday morning). Man, I'm telling you, best workout ever. We even used kettle bells. Those things work. I can't wait until I start taking the  Muai Thai classes. Then I'll be reading for fighting. Only with my boyfriend though. I'm just wanting the workout, of course.

And I wanted to tell all of you some great exciting amazing news! Today, after the boot camp class, did my first handstand. I know, this may not be a big deal to you, but to me, it's great! I was really excited, looking around the empty gym room, looking for someone to share my happiness with... alas, I was alone. After trying for what seems like forever in yoga classes and on my own, it finally happened. And the verdict? It was way easier than I thought it would be. All it took was the courage to let myself be in the upside down position. Hmmm. The mind is so powerful with influence. Something to think about.

Last night's note-worthy dinner consisted of a giant green salad (staple) and kelp noodles with a "cheesey" nutritional yeast sauce. I honestly just threw things into a bowl but the ingredients that I can remeber were miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, nama shoyu, cayenne, and paprika and some chopped cilantro. This was one of the best sauces I've made for a cheesey taste. I'll repeat soon and post a recipe.

Looks good, doesn't it!

It was.

Adios.

Eating MMA style

Howdy! I hope that everyone is having a dry day while the rain (at least here) comes down. 

If you haven't yet, click on over to yesterday's guest post by Heather. Thanks again Heather! What a great post that was! The protein debate is definitely a hot topic. High protein, low protein, low carb, high fat, whatever your nutrient intake may be, I bet it's different for you than for your neighbor. What does work for you?? Myself, I need a balance of everything. I cannot eat tons and tons of almond butter (ooooh but I wish wish WISH I could...) and hope not to gain a pound. I can't eat only green smoothies everyday either, although I need my daily morning one. Personally I need a little of everything, or whatever my body is craving. And honestly, if I try to cut one thing out of my diet, I usually just end up needing that forbidden food in the end.

So, whatever does work for you, I hope that you are listening to your body and giving it the energy it needs to perform the best it possibly can.

And what was my body telling me it wanted today??

6 a.m. Cardio Kickboxing class at the gym. Mixed Martial Arts style, baby. We did squats, jumping jacks, high knees, punches, upper cuts, jabs, back kicks, front kicks, abs, abs, and more abs. Oh it was glorious. I may be adding the gym's MMA classes to my workout routine, because honestly, it's a hell of a workout. And have you ever seen a scrony MMA fighter? No. Their muscles are cut. And after the class, my stomach told me exactly what it wanted for breakfast...

Thank you Whole Foods!

Fresh, still warm, vegan blackberry scone (with whole wheat flour and oats).

I do not normally eat baked goods that I haven't made but really, it was calling my name...

Last night we had a slightly different kind of meal. Ethiopian food to be exact, i.e. living-room-picnic style.

Might not be the loveliest meal, but full of flavor

Injera, I love you.

Now that you've (and I) have had our fill of food pictures, take a trip on over to The Chic Life where Diana is hosting an online bake sale for Haiti. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. This is a wonderful cause and you get to bid on some homemade magic (baked goods!).

See ya later!

Guest Post: The Great Protein Debate

Happy Monday!
Starting your day out right is important. It is a fact that we should be eating a solid breakfast in order to optimize our day. Along with breakfast, blog reading is another essential element to a stellar day, well at least mine. Yes, I love to read the news and catch up on current issues, but peaking into a bloggers day of meals, exercises, and thoughts, just makes me happy. 
So, thank you to all of you who blog. It takes time, dedication, a camera, and creativity, and we look forward to reading it. So, thanks!

Since today is Monday (again) and I would like you to start off your day, and week, right. Today includes a special guest post by a talented woman; Someone who has helped to put Almond Butter on the map! Well, at least she's made almond butter a household name for those dedicated readers of her blog. She eats like a champ, posts great reads, and creates amazing pancake recipes to boot! Without further introduction, Heather from Heather Eats Almond Butter.

First off, many thanks to Lori for allowing me to guest post on Run.Lori.Run. Lori, I'm honored. :)
OK, so let's talk protein...
...1 gram per pound of bodyweight...2 grams per kilogram...no no no, that's way too high, just use this calculator to determine your daily protein requirements...Anyone else out there confused about how much protein our bodies require? I am!
Anything health or fitness related always interests me, and the amount of protein we truly need seems to be a pretty hot topic. After all, the body is made up of over 50% protein, and we have to get the essential amino acids our bodies require from the food we eat. But again, how much do we need to eat?
See, the thing is, I want to look lean and muscular. To me, there is nothing more beautiful on a woman than a sculpted  arm. In fact, I've been known to approach complete strangers to ask how did you get such amazing biceps? Well, I have come to learn that even though a large part is diet, it takes some work to gain those muscles. Protein alone does not = bigger muscles. However, in attempt to gain lean muscle mass, I keep making the mistake of eating lean lean lean protein even though my body says no no no. Upping my protein intake has never given me bigger muscles, just a bigger stomach.
 Every time I try eating a diet higher in protein, I give up meals like this...

2 whole eggs with sweet potato fries and almond butter.

for meals like this...

Green Protein Shake

So not fun, and the thing is every time I try eating higher protein, I gain weight...and trust me, it's not on my biceps. I know what works for me, and I don't know why I keep straying from a diet high in fat, with moderate carbs and protein, as it's the way of eating that helped me lose weight as well as maintain my current weight. So, for me, no more counting grams of protein. Since I eat meat, I know I'm getting plenty, and if it's stronger biceps I want, then I'll hit the yoga mat for some chaturangas. In the past, they've done more for my arms than any amount of egg white omelets ever did.
My point to this whole post is to remind all of you that what works for some is not going to work for others. I know that many people thrive on a high protein diet. I don't...my body simply converts the excess protein into glucose, and it goes straight to my belly. For me, the focus needs to be on higher amounts of fat, not protein. Trust me, I've learned the hard way. Listen to YOUR body my friends, and it will tell you what it needs.
What about you? Are you a protein junkie, a lover of all fats, or a carb addict? What works best for YOU?

Thanks Heather!!

Have a great day everyone! Hope that filled you up!

I am whole

Hey everyone! Happy Sunday!

I managed to get today started superbly! After laying in bed this morning, for quite a while, catching up on some of my favorite blogs, I took a trip over to heathereatsalmondbutter.com, knowing that Heather always has great looking pancake recipes. In the mood for a green smoothie breakfast break (only a slight break), I decided to try out one of her recipes. Now, I need to point out that her pancakes are not like conventional pancakes, filled with sugar, floury gluten, and dairy. Heather's pancakes have a different texture, as they are allergy free and loaded with good for you proteins. After browsing her recipes for a while, I decided to make a mixture between her Coconut Flour Pancakes and the Protein Pancakes.

Oats, coconut flour, chocolate hemp protein powder, egg whites, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder

The verdict? Some of the most uniquely delicious pancakes ever. And they were topped with one of my favorite things... Tahini (and agave)! So good. Definitely hit the spot.

I just couldn't help but suffocate them with the good stuff (tahini)

After, I cleared my plate, I hurried out the door to the yoga studio. This morning we had an amazing power yoga class. And really, who needs a steam room/sauna when you attend a VERY crowded power class?? Not I. It was glorious.

Later, to my surprise (best day of my life), the Whole Foods Market, located only 20 miles from my house, opened up a Cafe Gratitude inside. Honestly, I could not be happier. You just do not understand. I love Cafe Gratitude. A raw, vegan, delicious, (expensive), cafe. My paradise. And needless to say, I wandered over to become Whole with their macrobiotic bowl of shredded kale, sea vegetables, steamed quinoa, house made kim chee and sprouts with garlic-tahini sauce and teriyaki almonds.

I am Whole.

Raw food dream come true.

Yes, it was amazingly good. I also decided to become a little Effervesecent with the house gingerale (Ginger, lemon, agave and naturally sparkling water on ice). Refreshing.

My day has been fulfilled. All I need to do now is get a new cell phone (fiasco described at the end of the post). It's been two full weeks without one. And actually, it's kind of nice not having one. But, I'm caving and purchasing one tonight.

Get ready for Monday!

I give you my heart

Hi everyone!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I do love Fridays. Hope your Thursday night went well. I wanted to recap for everyone my week in exercise land. I am posting what I did in terms of calorie busting sessions just in case you'd like some variety in your exercise regimen. I love variety when it comes to working out and I've definitely been making sure I'm mixing up my workouts. And honestly, the P90X program helps out a lot with this. (For any clarification of an exercise, just let me know)

Sunday
P90X: Chest & Back
Done straight through, then repeated
Standard push-up- 20 regular, 30 total (10 on knees) x 2
Wide front pull-up- using band, 30 x 2
Military push-up- 25 on knees
Reverse grip chin-up using band- 23; 20
Wide fly push-ups- 18 reg, 30 total; 20 reg, 35 total
Closed grip overhand pull-up- 22; 20
Decline push-ups- 17 reg, 30 total x2
Heavy pants- 15 reps @ 15# x 2
Diamond push-ups- 24 on knees x 2
Lawnmowers- 15 reps @ 25# x 2
Dive-bomber push-ups- 7 reg, 20 total; 30 on knees
Back flys- 15 reps @ 10# x 2

P90X: Ab Ripper X
All exercises 25 reps
In & outs
Seated bicycle
Seated bicycle reverse
Seated crunchy frog
Crossed leg/ wide leg sit-up
Fifer scissor
Hip rock 'n raise
Pulse-ups/ heel-ups
Roll-up/ v-up combo
Oblique v-up
Leg climb
Mason twist- 50 reps
1 hr, 15 min

Monday
Power Vinyasa Flow
90 minutes

Tuesday
P90X: Plyometrics 
All done for 30 seconds, 4th move done for 60 seconds.
Jump squat
Run-stance squat
Airborne Heisman
Swing kick
repeat 1-4
Squat reach jump
Run-stance squat switch pick-up
Double airborne Heisman
Circle run
repeat 1-4
Jump knee tuck
Mary Katherine lunge
Leapfrog squat
Twist combo
repeat 1-4
Rock star hop
Gap jump
Squat jacks
Military march
repeat 1-4
Run squat 180 jump switch
Lateral leapfrog squat
Monster truck tires
Hot foot
repeat 1-4
Bonus round, all 60 seconds
Pitch & catch
Jump shot
Football hero
58 min

Wednesday
P90X: Shoulders & Arms
Alternating shoulder press- 15 reps @ 15#
In & out bicep curls- 15 reps @ 15#; 20 reps @ 10#
Two-arm tricep kickbacks- 15 reps @ 10#
repeat
Deep swimmer's press- 15 reps @ 10#
Full supination concentration curls- 15 reps @ 15#
Chair dips- 30 reps
repeat
Upright rows- 15 reps @ 15#
Static arm curl- 15 reps @ 15#
Flip-grip twist tricep kickbacks- 18 reps @ 10#
repeat
Two-angle shoulder flys- 16 reps @ 10; 20 reps @ 5#
Crouching Cohen curls- 15 reps @ 10#; 18 reps @ 10#
Lying-down tricep extensions- 20 reps @ 10#
repeat
Bonus round
In & out straight-arm shoulder flys- 16 reps @ 10#
Congdon curls- 15 reps @ 15#
Side tri-rises- 22 reps
repeat 

P90X: Ab Ripper X
See above
1 hr, 15 min

Thursday
P90X: Cardio X
15 minutes Yoga
15 minutes Kenpo (karate/kickboxing)
15 minutes Plyo
15 minutes Core synergistics
60 min

Friday
Foundations of Flow/ Vinyasa Yoga
90 minutes

And after all of this exercise, a girl gets huuuuuuuungry!

Last night we had falafels with cabbage salad and tahini sauce. SO GOOD. One of my favorites.

 

And then with the amazing leftovers, today's lunch was grand.

Giant salad with tahini dressing

And for dessert, Chocolate Almond Butter Hearts (raw and vegan)!

A mixture of recipes by wonderful Averie with her Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (her's looked much better than mine...) and Ani Phyo's Liquid Chocolate from one of her books.

To make:

Put some almond butter, agave, nutritional yeast, vanilla, and salt into a bowl

Put into a mold of choice, filling mold half way, leaving room for chocolate layer

...then...

Melt some cacao butter

Stir in some cacao powder, agave, and vanilla

 Pour over the almond butter layer in the mold

(Hearts! Thanks Ikea!)

Place in fridge or freezer until hard and pop out of mold.

Enjoy. From one heart to another!

Again, happy Friday! Enjoy your night!