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We don’t mess around with salads.
Two of my best friends and I had a group text going on about where we wanted to go for dinner. Why are girls so indecisive? Especially with food!
Three very different tastes (they are pro-Mexican food…I am not), but we all agreed on one thing: we wanted something super healthy. After throwing out restaurant ideas we decided to just put together our own dinner at my place. Which I prefer anyways because we get to talk and hang out in the kitchen before eating, where we can be sillier than in public ;)
Easiest thing EVER to make: a colorful salad bar. We don’t mess around when it comes to salad-building.
The base was spinach leaves.
Diced carrots, bell peppers, tomato, and avocado.
Olives and black beans (I skipped those.)
Apple chunks and strawberry slices.
Feta cheese & dried cranberries.
Raspberry vinagrette.
With a side of (unpictured) baked sweet potato crisps.
5 stars for the most un-boring salad. :)
Allllllll the nutrients and vitamins in this beautiful salad were counterbalanced with a couple cocktails later when we explored downtown. We experimented with fizzy and flavored waters for homemade cocktails at home first, and discovered the super simple blend: Sparkling Peach Water with Malibu Rum. 100 calories for 2 ounces of rum in 8 ounces of water, with ice.
All these veggies are good for the brain, which I NEED right now becauuuse……
I’ll be taking the GRE in 24 days. I have no general direction for my life after May, but I figured I best keep Graduate School in the realm of possibilities. Application deadlines are quickly approaching, so I secured my spot in one of next month’s examinations. An hour after registering, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble deciding which test prep book looked the prettiest most helpful. I got good ole’ vocabulary flashcards to go with it…
WHAT THE PHONICS!? Who made these up. “Diurnal.” “Xenophobia.” “Vituperate.” I don’t know these words! When was the last time you heard anyone say “polyglot” in a sentence? My roommate is studying with me, and we decided to do “Words of the Day.” Therefore…I think I will fall asleep early tonight because this studying is soporific. ;)
Sam Hunt is killin’ it with the playlists on Youtube….he’s like country meets coffee shop. Pure perfection for my study session. So I’m trading Monday Night Football in the clubhouse gym for Monday Night Flashcards (plus pumpkin coffee/Sam Hunt covers/big sweatshirt/Sprout’s snacks/roomie bonding/lemon candles/intermittant dance breaks / Sports Center app updates.)
More brain food to come!
Lately.
Because there is more than just workouts and recipes. And because rainy nights make the best time for brewing coffee, burning a pumpkin candle, and blogging.
So what’s happening lately. Well I’ve been watching Angel’s games, adding sugar-free pumpkin spice creamer to my oatmeal, using far too many emoji’s in group texts, feng-shuing the apartment furniture, and falling asleep before 10pm. We’re experiencing weird side effects from the tropical storms and there is a weird limbo period right now between summer and fall. Most mornings I’m not sure if I should wear a sundress or a scarf.
Lately I’ve been thinking about where I’m going after graduation. All summer long, I basically researched cities in Washington, Idaho, Virginia, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee and every where in between. Where am I going after graduation? Not here. Not home. My heart kept going back to North Carolina. And the more I felt pulled towards Carolina, the more it would pop up. My two FAVORITE bloggers moved to Charlotte over the summer (Simply Taralynn and Peanut Butter Fingers). Their pictures and posts are filled with Charlotte-this and Charlotte-that. Meanwhile, I’m looking for a post-graduation career in sports marketing. Charlotte = NASCAR capital, not to mention part of the “triad” (an area of D1 schools with incredible athletic programs). The character in the book I’m reading – NC native. My new athletic marketing boss – NC graduate. My running buddy at my local running club – ran for NC collegiate team.
Coincidence?!?!
One city that is too cute to be true: Wilmington, NC. I have to go there. I have to at least see it. I’ve spent hours on the internet, researching the demographics, the history, the culture. Drooling over pictures of the historic downtown, picturesque boardwalks and scenic parks. It’s basically a straight-line on the I-40 from here to Wilmington and I honestly day-dream about what an amazing roadtrip that will make after graduation.
Plus, Chase Rice is from North Carolina. I’m doing my part to keep the cd industry alive and picked up his new Ignite the Night album the other day because my car pre-dates modern technology to plug in iPods and I wanted some new music to drive around to. Good Lord. After listening to the album start to finish, I searched for Mr. Rice’s concert tour dates. He’ll be two hours away next month. Aaaand now so will I :)
At the risk of looking reeeaallll creepy…..I totally looked up Chase Rice’s instagram and fell in love when I saw this picture.
Lately, I also searched the Spotify workout playlists for some fun new upbeat stuff to fill my iPod.
Current playlist —-> Habits (Stay High) by Tove Lo; Black Widow by Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora; Ugly Heart by G.R.L.; Ex to See by Sam Hunt; We Can Glow by Royal Teeth; Animals by Maroon 5; and I’ll totally admit it……Shake it Off by Taylor Swift.
My fitness routine is a whole lot different than 5 months ago because I’ve learned that for ME personally Cardio >>> Weight Lifting.
I do HIIT regularly with body weight strength exercises but prefer to get sweaty than get swole. Cardio of choice: forever and always running.
So lately, there’s been some running on the treadmill:
And running on the road:
Running at running club. And tonight I’m running with an old teammate :)
So that’s me lately. :)
Meal Prepping // Clean Eating
Guess what DAY it is?!
………….
Meal Prep Day!
Not really, Meal Prep Day was actually Sunday. But today we get to talk about it. :)
When I began Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Program, I committed to the nutrition plan which is 100% clean eating. This means 12 weeks of egg white omelettes, lean protein and greens, whey protein shakes, and lots of veggies & fruits. In an effort to ease my hectic school week and stay on track with my diet, I took 4 hours on Sunday to make a week’s worth of clean lunches and dinners. My own little lean cuisines ;)
ON THE MENU:
- Baked seasoned white meat chicken
- Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Brown Rice
- Steamed Broccoli and Green Beans
- Sauteed zucchini & bell peppers
- Chopped spinach, tomatoes and bell peppers (for omelettes)
- Jamie Eason’s Turkey Meatballs
- Jamie Eason’s Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread (girl’s gotta have dessert too.)
Cooking 6 day’s worth of lunches and dinners in one afternoon is an undertaking. My kitchen was covered in piles of cutting boards and measuring cups and tupperware and vegetables.
Packaging them all up into individual portions was fun…I had a whole Mix n’ Match thing going on so that no single meal was exactly the same. Variety, my friends.
I even finished off by baking a CLEAN batch of Jamie Eason’s Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread. Gluten-free, with no added sugar, fats, or butter. This bread is made with ground oats, applesauce, almond milk, protein powder, stevia, & cinnamon. Super healthy/pretty/delicious/clean/&GONE (800 calories for the entire freakin’ pan…)
I’m going to be inside due to impending rain this weekend so I plan on experimenting to make a banana, mocha, and possibly pumpkin version of this. I’ll share next week :)
***Those green things are Stevia packets. I made the rookie mistake of buying a box of 40 packets versus buying an actual box of bulk Stevia. No wonder it was $3 cheaper… I tore and measured out the packets & will get the real deal next time ;) ***
Now that I’ve made it through the first week of meal prepping I’ve learned the importance of organization.
Start here: Get the chicken cleaned and in oven —-> Move on to veggie chopping —-> While the greens are steaming, start up a batch of rice —-> After the chicken comes out of the oven, swap in the sweet potatoes —-> While they bake, start cleaning up dishes —-> After everything is cool enough, weigh and measure out portions and package into containers —-> pop into the fridge or freezer depending on how long they need to last —-> feel accomplished :)
