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!

For the Love of Greens

I have been obsessed with spinach for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure one of my birthday wishes when I turned 13 was to have an entire plate of spinach for dinner. I'm not sure if I ever got that wish, but I sure satisfied my love for greens with last night's dinner.

Fresh beet greens, spinach, guacamole, and collards. I have never had a more delicious meal. All the greens and the avocado were from local farm stands in New Hampshire. This was seriously the best spinach I have ever had in my life.

All the greens were topped with vinegar and salt (my favorite) and then the guacamole was made with 1/2 an avocado, a dollop of salsa, salt, pepper, and lime juice. It's even better if it has chopped cilantro and red onion. 

What am I going to do when I go back to North Carolina and I don't have access to all this fresh deliciousness?? I need to start my own garden...

Walpole Farmer's Market

Yesterday Sarah and I took a quick visit to the Walpole Farmer's Market. It is so fun to buy vegetables straight from the farmers and not imported into some grocery store. Sarah had to basically drag me away from all the homemade cinnamon rolls, pizzas, doughnuts, and let's not forget the fresh cannoli stand.

I still have absolutely no idea how I resisted these... It took some crazy will power...

We ended up leaving with two huge bundles of golden beets, two bundles of kale, 3 small japanese marinated chicken breasts, and a jar of pickles.

For dinner I prepared the kale following this recipe, and we had it along with some raw carrots and seasoned ground turkey. Quite delish!

I was able to make it on a 3 mile run yesterday, but I literally was having the most unenjoyable time because of ALL the hills here. My poor calves are going to burst. Hopefully when I get home running will seem like a piece of cake. I guess we shall see...