Nashville Eats

Whenever I travel, I love to find local "hippie food," or at least that's what I like to call it. Basically, I look for local foodie stops that are full of delicious, unique, and healthy menu items. If it's a road trip, I usually spend 80% of the car ride surfing websites like HappyCow, planning where I am going to eat each meal, and calculating how I can fit as many food stops as possible into one short trip.

Well this past weekend I road tripped to Nashville... (Which will hopefully become my home in August...) And boy, this city did not disappoint the foodie inside of me.

After using Yelp to look up the best coffee shops, it became clear that Crema was a must-go. I ordered an americano (per usual) and let's just say I will be frequenting this joint once I become a Nashville resident.

While I enjoyed many delicious treats on this trip, my favorite meal was from The Wild Cow. It is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant located in East Nashville. I ordered the pistachio and pear salad, which included beets, quinoa, grilled tofu, and tahini dressing.

Pistachio and Pear Salad

This salad was so incredible. I am craving it while I write this... I've also never been a huge fan of tofu, but this place has changed my opinion entirely. Additional table eats included cashew "cheese" dip, BBQ tofu, and couscous salad. It was all delicious.

Vegan Cashew Cheese Dip

BBQ Tofu with a side of Pearl Couscous Salad

Other notable yumminess included a green smoothie from Lynne Lorraine's and brunch from Marche Artisan Foods.

I can't wait to move to Nashville and explore all the other delicious gems this city has to offer!

Humbling

If one word could sum up my entire year it would be this: humbling.

Time and time again I was humbled by how little power I actually possess. My life is completely orchestrated by an omnipotent God, and for that I am very grateful.

2012 has been the hardest year in my life, bar none. In January, my little brother was abruptly taken from the world and it left me feeling confused about the purpose of life. If life can be so easily ended then what is the point of working towards a goal?

I pushed on through the entire spring semester and then continued pushing through the summer in efforts to continue my plan of graduating college a semester early. Once fall rolled around I wasn't ready to start school again. Reluctantly, I struggled through the semester finally finishing up my general education requirements (forcing me to sit in classes I had no interest in... aka China150). All that time I  wondered about my passion for health and fitness. Why do I spend so much time interested in healthy foods? Why do I beat myself up over eating 3 pieces of dark chocolate cheesecake? Why do I put down my computer and go run 8 miles on a freezing cold morning when I could have just stayed in bed watching Netflix?

It all seemed so pointless to me.

My little brother Blake was in incredible shape. He had just finished training for 3 weeks at a tennis academy and he had a 6 pack to show for it! (I'm serious). But none of that mattered on the afternoon of January 28th.

Thinking about all this would make me want to spend a week binging on cookies because "none of my hard work really matters anyways." As 2012 comes to a close I realize that it does matter. Eating healthy and exercising helps me feel so much better in my day to day life. By putting my health first, I am able to be a sweeter daughter, a better sister, a kinder friend, and most of all, I am able to love myself and stop being so critical of my flaws.

So beginning today, December 31st, I started a 3 day veggie "cleanse." It's not really a cleanse, but I am eating only vegetables and 3 fruits per day. The 3 fruits are all consumed in the form of a Glowing Green Smoothie. So basically I am drinking 64 oz of a vegetable/fruit smoothie throughout the day and then the occasional brussel sprouts, okra, etc.



I am excited for 2013 to begin and I am ready to take it on full force with healthy eating, running, weight lifting, crossfitting, yoga, pilates, you name it!

I do these things so I can be my best self for others. As I read this morning in 2 Corinthians 3, as a Christian I am a letter of recommendation for Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God. I think a healthy lifestyle is just another way for me to accomplish this task.

Bring it, 2013!

To read more about my brother and his life click here. (this is a blog post written by my cousin Jenni)
Also, check out his website at www.blakesstory.com

A Boost to the Immune System

So I woke up yesterday morning and my symptoms from my terrible sickness from the other week were coming back! My tonsils were extremely red and swollen and my energy level was super low. I went to the doctor this morning and told them I NEED to get better because I have a half marathon on Sunday. They gave me some medicine and I am going to pray it works because I am running in this race no matter what. I can't just train for 12 weeks and then not run the race. That would be awful.

I went on my last training run this morning after the doctors appointment, and it was not good. I only had to run 2 miles, and afterwards my body felt like I had just run 20. So I decided that I was going to spend the next two days completely resting and eating lots of dark leafy greens and citrus fruits that are high in Vitamin C.

I got out the blender and made a huge green smoothie. I filled an entire Nalgene bottle (32 oz) and I even had a cup left over that I drank immediately. My plan is to drink this immune boosting drink intermittently throughout today and tomorrow in hopes of restoring my sick little body in time for my race.

"Boost Your Immune System" Smoothie:

1 Frozen Banana

6 Strawberries

3/4 c. Unsweet Almond Milk

2 Huge Handfuls of Baby Kale

1 Handful of Baby Spinach

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

Juice of 1/2 of a lime

This will make a large smoothie, but don't fear, it won't make as much as I did. I doubled this recipe and was very generous on the portions. This will serve 2 regular people or one extremely hungry, post-workout person. ;)

I need to heal!!!! Only 3 days till race day!

Top 4 Breakfasts and Kale Chips

I love breakfast! I feel like when I wake up I always have a million ideas, but in the end I stick with my go-to 4:

1. Green Smoothie

2. Peanut Butter Oatmeal

3. Protein Pancake

4. Plain Greek Yogurt with Honey

These 4 never let me down. I love them :) Recently #4 has been the winner. I don't like the fruit-flavored greek yogurts because they have so much added sugar. Instead, I buy the plain and either add a little honey or sprinkle some blueberries. It makes it so much better and takes out all the excess fruit goo.

I had some kale in the fridge that I was worried was going to go bad so I decided to make my own kale chips! They were really yummy, but I added too much salt. I modified the recipe and can't wait to try it again with less salt. They are a great way to eat greens on-the-go.

Ingredients:
Pieces of Kale to Fill One Pan Without Overlapping
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Finely Cut Fresh Basil (optional)
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Fresh Ground Pepper

Instructions:
Place the kale pieces into a bowl and pour the olive oil and the remaining ingredients on top. Mix around so that all the kale is moistened by the olive oil. Lay the pieces of kale out on a pan so that they do not overlap. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness.

Is it possible to make a picture of crispy kale look good? I really don't think so...


Today is a much needed rest day after a long week of weights and a 5 mile run yesterday. Maybe I'll take a walk on the beach later :)

Today's Eats

Today was just one of those days filled with delicious food. I started off my morning with 2 protein pancakes. I adapted the recipe from my friend Meredith. It can be found here on her blog. 

The only thing I changed to her recipe was I added a blended banana (so it was completely liquid), and I added 2 tsp. agave nectar instead of stevia. I also put my 1/2 cup of oatmeal in a food processor so it was more like oat flour than oatmeal. It is such delicious and filling breakfast. I had 2 of them! I had already consumed one by the time I took this picture... I just couldn't wait.

And for lunch I had the rest of my Avocado Egg Salad, and a Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie!!

The ingredients were as follows:

1 Banana (unfrozen)

1/2 c. Water

1 c. Frozen Pineapple and Mango Cubes

1 Heaping T. of Ground Flax Seed

2 Huge Handfuls of Spinach

First I blended the water and the banana together to create a liquid base. Next, I added the frozen pineapple and mango. This came in a back from Target; it also has strawberries in it, I just didn't put them in this smoothie. Then once all that was blended, I dump in the flax and spinach. Ta-Da!

My dinner was truly something to behold. I made it with my adorable mom and we had such a great time stuffing ourselves on delicious fruits and veggies. I will post pictures of my dinner tomorrow, but as for now I will just tell you what we ate: cooked spinach (always with salt and vinegar), homemade guacamole that we dipped raw carrots in, leftover mediterranean chicken, and finally watermelon mango salsa!! The salsa is divine and I will post the recipe and pictures tomorrow.

Oh, and I almost forgot, we topped off dinner with a bit of dark chocolate. A perfect day.

I fit in a 6 mile run today at a 9:17 mile pace. Felt great to run after taking a week off from sickness!

Goodnight!

Community Event

Today I frantically woke up and ran to school to take a Portuguese exam... miserable. After it was over I came back home in order to see all my friends for a community 5k, tennis tournament, and golf tournament in celebration of my little brother's 15th birthday. It's a beautiful day, perfect for visiting with old friends!

My Mom and I at the Event

I had a delicious green smoothie today: banana, apple, lemon juice, strawberries, and spinach. So refreshing! They never get old...

And for lunch I was able to have leftover honey baked ham from Easter! That makes a tasty sandwich!

Yesterday's lift:

Full Body:

Incline Chest Press 3x10

Squats on Smith Machine 2x10

Bulgarian Squats 2x10 per leg

Lat Pull Down 3x8

Triceps Rope Extension 3x10

Reverse Pushup 3x10

Dumbbell Hamstring Dead Lift 3x10

Bicep Curl with EZ Bar 3x10

Ab Plank with Knee Tucks 3x20 per side

Happy 15th Birthday Blake! I love you! :) Learn About Blake's Story Here

Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon

I had such a fun couple of days in Raleigh visiting my best friend Meagan. We pretty much spent the whole evening shopping (at lululemon) and then eating dinner at Chipotle. Veggie burrito bowl with a huge hunk of guac was definitely the perfect pre-race dinner. Afterwards we walked around NC State's campus and made complete fools of ourselves.

Cool Painted Tunnel on NC State's Campus

I think I pulled like four muscles when I jumped. #fail

It's a Meag-in-the-Box!

Riding the Wolf (I received some judging glances while doing this.)

Luckily, Meagan lives very close to the start of the race, so we only had to wake up at 6am. Such a relief. Overall, the race was pretty uninspiring. It had a late start, pretty lame bands, no pacers, and a pretty small turnout. Not that impressed.

But, I was impressed with my friend Kristina's time! It was her first ever half marathon and she finished in under 2 hours!!! (official times have yet to be posted)

The race was fairly hilly so I am hoping for a PR, but won't be very surprised if I didn't get it. Oh well, there's always next time! I wish they would hurry up and post the results so I can know!

Trying to convince myself I'm ready to run

Happily Waving!!

Thumbs UP! (Note: we've only been running 1 mile)

Working On My Form :)

Thank Goodness I'm Done!

Celebratory High-Five

Don't worry, I didn't make the sign for myself

Foam Rolling It Out. Feel the Pain.

Ahh... that makes half marathon #3. Check!

And for the final day of the Seven Day Green Smoothie Challenge I made a smoothie with banana, water, apple, spinach, coconut, and chia seeds. Yummy recovery.

New workout will be posted tomorrow!!

Synergy: Raspberry Chia

When I got to my first period this morning, I realized it had been cancelled. I quickly ran to get my favorite soy latte (because I am running on 4 hours of sleep) and a Synergy drink for later. 

I tried a new flavor: Raspberry Chia!

It looked so beautiful and bright and had a delicious flavor, but having thousands of chia seeds flow down my throat is just a little too weird. Kind of grossed me out... But I am a fan of chia seeds. They have 8 times the omega-3's found in salmon, more antioxidants than blueberries, and more fiber than oatmeal. Wow... that's a powerful little seed. I am just hoping it won't make me grow hair like a chia pet.

After my post on Monday about the green smoothie, I visited Peanut Butter Runner, one of my favorite blogs, and found out about her 7 day green smoothie challenge! Of course I had to join.

So here is my green smoothie I drank from Whole Foods, because I was too busy to make my own yesterday. It had kale, spinach, lemon, and apples in it. It was good, but more watered down than I prefer. (Side note: don't judge this picture. It is only proof that I am completing the challenge. It was taken by my iPhone in my car. Did I mention I was in a hurry?)

Moving on to today's lift...

Legs, Shoulders and Back:

Squat 3x10

Shoulder Split Press 3x10

Hamstring Let-Downs with Partner 3x10

Wide Grip Pull-up 3x8-10

Wall Sit with Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x10

Dumbbell Row 3x10/side

Russian Twists on Decline Bench 3x15/side

Leg Lower, Hip Lift 3x10 (slow)

Happy Hump Day!

Tasting Is Believing

You've heard people raving over green smoothies and you continually put it behind you thinking, "There's no way I'm screwing up a perfectly good fruit smoothie with spinach." Well I think it is time that people stop talking and start drinking. Green smoothies, that is.

Ahhh so insanely good!!! I think between this green smoothie and the peanut butter smoothie from Nosh I could have a completely liquid diet. They will never get old. Ever.

Here's what I put in my green smoothie: (although this can obviously be altered to add any of your favorite fruits, protein powders, nut butters, chia seeds, ground flax... you get the point)

1 large frozen banana
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cored and sliced apple
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup dried unsweet coconut

Ta-da!!

(I had a total of 5 green smoothies in the past 4 days...)

On a completely random note, I have an amazing friend named Meagan who gave me a birthday present this year that simply can't be topped. (I'd like to quickly point out that it was an extremely belated gift.) Being the talented design student that she is, Meagan made a book for me. Like literally made the binding and pages and filled it with awesome pictures, quotes, Bible verses, etc. Pretty much the best thing ever, and because words don't do it justice, I have provided pictures.

And a quick pic of meagan and me just for fun :)

My weekend was filled with homework, but I did manage to fit in a 9 mile run yesterday. Today's lift has not yet happened, but I'm about to go complete it. Here's the plan:

Full Body:

Back-loaded Lunges 3x10/leg

Incline DB Chest Press 3x10

Bulgarian Squats 3x10/leg

EZ Bar Bicep Curl 3x10

Tricep Extension with Rope 3x10

Reverse Push-up 3x10

Vertical Leg Crunch with Med Ball 3x50

BOSU Ball Full Range Crunch 3x10

Slow Bicycle Crunch 3x15/side

Oh Monday's... How I despise you.