It's About Balance, Right?!

So, technically I would consider this a health and fitness blog, but a healthy lifestyle is all about balance, right? So alongside my kale and broccoli, I prefer to indulge in the following:

1. Oh, Chocolate Chip Pancakes... does it really get better than this...? I honestly don't think so. Especially when they're fresh buttermilk pancakes from Guglhupf in Durham.

2. Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, a Christmas morning tradition, forever and always!! My favorite recipe is Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls from AverieCooks.

3. Chocolate and Peanut Butter is always a winning combo... especially when it's in the form of Big Spoon's Peanut Cocoa spread.

4. If you haven't tried the combination of bacon+chocolate, you need to. ASAP. Whether I am dipping my own bacon into bowls of melted chocolate or indulging in one of Mo's Dark Bar by Vosges, it NEVER disappoints.

5. A hot, fresh donut is always a winner. Whether its an apple cider donut from Monuts Donuts, or a homemade baked donut, I'm a fan.

6. Sunflower Seed Butter. Yes. Just Yes.

7. And last, but very far from least, an Iced Chocolate Coffee from Bean Traders. If I'm ever missing, just call Bean Traders. Odds are, I'll be there :)

And that concludes my current list of favorite indulgences. Now back to studying biomechanics. Oh how I wish I could just continue daydreaming about food. (As I contemplate grabbing my jar of sunflower seed butter...)

Five February Favorites

1. NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia -- stevia is an all natural, zero-calorie sweetener, and this is by far my favorite brand. I add a couple drops to my coffee, tea, plain yogurt, homemade desserts, etc.

2. Chocolate PB2 -- I really like the original PB2, but this one has cocoa powder added and tastes magical blended up with flavorless protein powder, a frozen banana, and a cup of unsweet almond milk! My perfect post workout snack.

3. Quest Bars -- 20 grams of protein, ~1 gram of sugar, all natural... enough said.

4. Almond Milk Lattes -- more specifically, almond milk lattes from Bean Traders. I could have one every single day, and I pretty much do.

5. Organic Darkest Cacao Truffles by LivingRaw -- AMAZING. (and expensive...) You can find them at WholeFoods, which is much cheaper than ordering them online. www.livingrawtreats.com

Reese's Protein Drink

So I know I have raved about PB2 before, but I have recently found another delicious use for it. After my workout this morning I put a scoop of Cytosport Whey Protein Isolate Chocolate in my shaker bottle, along with a tablespoon of PB2. Then I just added about 8oz of water and shook the bottle to mix. It was so amazing! I seriously felt like I was drinking a Reese's peanut butter cup! It is definitely worth a try. Not to mention I just realized that WholeFoods now carries PB2, although it is MUCH cheaper if you buy it online in a larger quantity. (You can buy it here.)

The drink has 115 calories and 22 grams of protein.

Today's workout (Shoulders, Bi's, and Tri's):

Seated DB Bicep Curl 3x10/arm

Arnold Press 3x10

Bodyweight Dips 3x8

Barbell Bicep Curl 3x10

Overhead Cable Shoulder Press 3x10

Tricep Rope Extension 3x10

Rope Bicep Curl 3x10

DB Shoulder Press 3x10

Overhead DB Tricep Extension 3x10

100 Reps of Abs

Ramblin' Rose Half

What a fun day! Stephanie and I woke up at 5am to eat my typical pre-race breakfast: toast with peanut butter. Then we headed back to bed to sleep until 6am. We arrived at the race at 7 and we were so ready to start running. The hardest part to me is the first couple of miles because you know you have 13.1 ahead of you.

Once we started I knew that I was going to have to be pretty uncomfortable the whole time if I wanted to get a decent time. I never listen to an iPod or wear a watch while I am running because I like the mental aspect of racing. I like pushing myself as hard as I can and then finding out my time once I have crossed the finish line versus trying to keep a set speed throughout the race. 

I have never felt so uncomfortable while running. Mentally I was completely there, but I felt dehydrated and I had a headache beginning at mile 1. The course was incredibly hilly and my calves hurt from reducing shock to my knees as I went downhill and my quads hurt climbing up all the hills. I was reminiscing about the Tobacco Road Half Marathon, where the course was almost completely flat.

I remember the sense of joy as I turned the corner and saw the finish line. As I got closer and closer I could read the clock and I saw that I was going to PR! I sprinted through the finish line (or what felt like sprinting at that point) and finished with a time of 1:52:31. I PR'ed by a minute and a half.

I finished 4th in my age group and 79th overall (out of 785) with an 8:35 mile pace.

I definitely think that my lululemon running skirt helped score the PR. I mean it's a lot easier to run fast when you look cute doing it...

After the race we went to my favorite cafe in Durham, Nosh. My mom and I split the peanut butter, banana, and honey stuffed french toast, along with a side of cheese grits. It was incredible. And fattening. But so incredible.

Then I headed to lululemon where my boyfriend rewarded me with a new pair of running crops. The Run Inspire Crops are seriously my all time favorite pants ever. Ever ever ever.

And then to top it all off, I went and got a pedicure with my cousin. My disgusting feet look much better now!! But they still have quite a few callouses and blisters. They could use some rest!

Healthy Sweets

I made these "healthy" desserts a while back, but I haven't had time to put the pictures up. The cookies are the same protein cookies that I posted here, but this time I froze the batter into balls and just kept them in the freezer. That way when a craving hit I could just grab out one or two and bake them.

The next dessert I made was extremely delicious, and extremely high in fat :) Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups! That is the way I prefer my desserts: high in fat, but low in sugar. I prefer rich over sweet any day. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it can be found here.

Because the recipe used coconut oil, the cups had to be stored in the fridge. Otherwise they would turn very oily as the coconut oil tried to separate out. They were super delish, but next time I want to use a sweetener other than honey. I think the honey taste is too strong.

Last night I found a healthy recipe for orange chicken. It was amazing!! I'll put the recipe up soon.

I am trying Pure Barre for the first time on Friday! I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. We'll see how it goes, considering I have absolutely no dancing skills. I am hoping it is primary core work and not actually ballet...

Peanut Butter Pasta

Sadly it's back to dorm life and I can no longer cook delicious meals all the time. Here is a quick whole wheat pasta dish that I made this summer. It was so good. Basically it is a thai peanut pasta, but it is my made-up version... So it's more "peanut buttery" and less "thai peanutty."

Peanut Butter Pasta:

1/2 c. Whole Wheat Spaghetti (cooked)

1 tbsp. Peanut Butter

2 tsp. Sesame Oil

1 Green Onion (chopped)

2 tbsp. Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until it becomes runny. Mix in the sesame oil, and set aside. Chop up the cooked whole wheat spaghetti and stir in the green onion and cilantro. Pour over the peanut butter sauce and mix it all together until evenly combined. Enjoy!

This makes me miss summer break... and good, healthy food...

Leg lift later today!! And I need to do 4x800 sprints. Thank goodness it is short distance today, after a long ten mile run on Sunday.

Melty, Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies (that are healthy)

I have been eyeballing a recipe that I found on Pinterest for some time now. It is a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe, similar to my favorite Brownie Batter recipe in that is uses chickpeas, but this one is sweetened with honey instead of dates. Also, it is cooked so they are actually cookies and not just the dough.

When I got to my first period class this morning I couldn't figure out why one other girl and I were the only two people there. We soon realized, thanks to the technology of an iPhone, that class had been cancelled. In celebration I decided to make this cookie recipe!

They were/are AMAZING. They didn't taste like "healthy" chocolate chip cookies at all. I got them from Texanerin Baking from this post here.

MMM... I want to go in the kitchen and grab one more right now :)

The Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 c. Canned, Drained Chickpeas
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 c. and 2 tbsp. Peanut Butter
1/4 c. Honey
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 c. Chocolate Chips (if they are grain-sweetened, then this recipe is "clean")

I put all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in my food processor and processed till very smooth. Then I mixed in the chocolate chips and spooned them on to a non-stick baking pan. I cooked them for 10 minutes and then ate one fresh from the oven!

In order for them not to break, you'll need to let them cool before taking them off the tray.

The original creator of this recipe said that she didn't like them cold, but honestly I thought they were just as good cold. Maybe it is because I am used to "healthy" desserts, but my roommates agreed with me as well.

Melty, chocolately, gooey cookies. I think I succeeded in canceling out any cardio that I did this morning...

... But it was so worth it. :)

This morning's workout:

Incline Chest Press x12, 10, 8

Narrow Grip Bench Press 3x8

Barbell Shoulder Split Press 3x12

Dumbbell Row 3x8/arm

Reverse Pushup 3x10

Bicep Curl 3x10

Ab Leg Raises 3x20

2 minute incline walking, 2 minute hard run, 1 minute recovery (repeated 3 times total)

That's all for today. I look forward to going to dinner with my friend Kate :) Have a good Thursday!!

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 :)

Mother's Day Meal

Happy Mother's Day!! My mom is my absolute best friend in the whole world. I don't know what I would do without her in my life.

Today my mom and I travelled to visit my grandmother. She fixed us a delicious meal and we spent a relaxing afternoon at my grandparent's house.

Aren't my grandmother and mom the most adorable people?!

When we got home, I got together with my best friend Meagan and we went to Whole Foods to pick up all the ingredients we needed to make dinner for our moms. (Oh, and we stopped by another store to get pink balloons and pink poster board!) 

Our moms had such a wonderful time, but most importantly the food was DELICIOUS. Seriously, everyone and their mother needs to make this chicken recipe. I really want to make it like once a week now. It's that good.

I got both the recipe's from my favorite clean eating blog: The Gracious Pantry. The chicken was her Grilled Chicken Souvlaki recipe and the pasta was from her Penne in Lemon Basil Sauce recipe. The only changes I made was using 100% whole wheat spaghetti instead of penne, and then we didn't add the chicken from the lemon basil recipe since we were using the chicken souvlaki instead.

The chicken was so tender and marinated perfectly... I want more now.

Mother's Day flowers in the background, courtesy of my father :)

Dinner is served.

Tomorrow I officially begin clean eating (aka: The Death of my Sugar Addiction). I have been eating clean for the past couple days and it has been going really well. Hopefully as I get better I can start creating recipes of my own and stop taking every single one from The Gracious Pantry!!

Oh yeah, and we also made these Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert. Best meal ever. Although I must admit, we added regular chocolate chips, not grain-sweetened, so they technically weren't 100% clean... but oh well :)