Don't stress

Like I mentioned before, I wrote this blog earlier this weekend with the intention of finishing it up and posting it on Sunday afternoon. After hearing the news of Jenna’s tragedy, I felt funny posting this, because reading it, while the feelings are both very true and emotionally close to my heart, sometimes all it takes is hearing about something absolutely tragic someone else is going through, to make you realize what a blessing your life has been, and what an amazing life you are surrounded with. I shouldn’t be constantly worried about eating a little too much, or writing about it- I am surrounded by the most amazing people, family and friends (you included), I should be thankful for what I have, not complaining about little things like eating a few extra raisinets. Life is just too short.

Monday is here again!
Another weekend come and gone, but the end of this one marks the beginning of my last three days of classes!

Saturday

Saturday afternoon I took a fun trip to Whole Foods with my mom and sister. I picked up some essentials- soy milk, rice and couscous from the bulk bins, some fruit, avocados(!), hummus, some bars- and some not-so-essentials; like 2/$4 baked Kettle chips and a new eco-friendly sling bag-

We ate lunch at the salad bar, which I was so excited about- it’s been far too long! I piled up half my bowl with a big bunch of greens topped with various raw veggies, and I drizzled it with a tiny bit of coconut dressing. The dressing was great- I couldn’t find it in the store though! =(
I piled the other half with a bunch of various salads- I don’t know what was what at this point, but I remember a fabulous buffalo chicken salad, brown rice and edamame salad, ginger quinoa salad, vegan chicken salad, and a bunch of different tofu and tempeh pieces (including my favorite sesame tofu!) I loved having a bite of everything, and it filled me all afternoon!

I snacked on a small baggie of grapes I stole from my parents’ house in the afternoon on my way to pick up my friend Evie.

We got our hair done, and I didn’t get much of a trim because I’m trying to grow my hair out, but I got a touchup on my color and some hilights, which I think look great, my hairstylist Nicole does a wonderful job =)

We were pretty hungry when we got back to my house later that evening, so I set out to make us dinner- tacos with lean beef (cooked with diced onions and taco seasonings), baked beans, reduced fat Mexican cheese, salsa and sour cream. I had two-

and I was still hungry so I downed one more.

and I was perfectly full. BUT then Danielle came home and brought out the coldstone cupcakes-

I also had a bit of candy throughout the night.

The night was a fun Saturday night with friends- but it was yet another wakeup call- I realized my trigger for eating so horrible sometimes, and I’ve got to say it’s social- when I’m having fun with my friends I think, why not eat bad? They are, I’ll get back to eating healthy the next day!
But then I hang out with them again, and end up eating too much again. I need to learn to say NO, something I used to be able to do, but seemed to lose when I gained some weight and my friends praised me for eating more and not restricting myself too much. Well, not too much has become not at all, and theres where my problem lies. I love food. But I love good food. Food that tastes great, and makes you feel just as great.
Junk food doesn’t make me feel great. So why do I eat it?
Exactly. I have no idea. So I shouldn’t be eating it. Because I have no reason to. I’d rather fill up on healthy, delicious foods with smarter, less frequent treat choices. Because I love my body, and I love being healthy, and my body deserves to be treated well =)

Plus, after the race yesterday, I realized how much I really want to BE back in training.

I said it before, but I’m saying it again, for real this time- I WANT to be back in training. I want to get back to eating clean, LESS JUNK, more whole, clean, foods. I’ve talked to Nick about it, he understands that I want to start running more and clean up my diet, and he’s been amazingly understanding about it. I want to eat less big, filling meals, and more smaller, lighter meal. Now I just have to see if he’ll eat grilled tofu, haha.

Since my schedule is lightening up soon, I will be able to post more in depth about my training, how I’m feeling throughout, and how my diet is affecting it. Hopefully it will help some of you runners with your training struggles as well!

It’s an ongoing battle, but I think when I’m finally done with all the stress of school, and now that I’ve officially decided I AM back in training, it will all even out- and I appreciate all of your wonderful support throughout!

Sunday

Sunday I woke up bright and early, a bit tired from staying up so late the night before, but I hopped right out of bed, got changed and made myself a filling breakfast before work. I had another Better Whey yogurt- my favorite one yet, the Vanilla flavor! I topped it with ½ cup Nature’s Path flax granola and a sliced banana.

I also grabbed a French vanilla iced coffee with skim milk (no sweetener) at Dunkin Donuts on the way to work.

This held me until I dug into my packed food- some of Mom’s famous minestrone soup I love so much, along with grapes for lunch, and for snacks a Thinkthin bar I split between mid-morning and mid afternoon.

It was a beautiful day out; actually reaching upwards of 90 degrees, so after a long day of work, I relaxed at my parents’ house on their new deck, in my bikini, with my laptop so I could read some blogs and do some school work. I relaxed for a couple of hours, my mom brought me home a cup of Del’s frozen lemonade-

And I had a handful of delicious fresh strawberries as well, unpictured.

Nick decided he wanted to go skimboarding after sailing (They finished second this weekend!) so he headed to the beach, and I went home and hung out with Danielle for a while before making dinner.

I made one of my favorite simple, tasty, healthy meals- it really only has 5 ingredients, not including spices: chicken, brown rice, broccoli, cream of chicken soup and cheese.
Here’s the simple recipe:

Creamy Chicken Casserole for two

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, thin sliced
2.5 cups fresh broccoli spears
1 cup uncooked brown rice
reduced fat shredded cheese (I used cheddar and montery jack)
98% fat free cream of chicken soup
oregano
garlic powder
onion powder
black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Start two pots of water to boil
Add rice in 1 pot, cook as package directs
Season chicken with spices, place on skillet coated in cooking spray and cook a few minutes on each side, until just cooked
Meanwhile, chop broccoli and blanch in boiling water for 1-2 minutes
Drain broccoli and set aside.
Remove chicken from pan, coarsely chop
Remove rice from pan, add to casserole dish (8x8 works best, I used a slightly longer one because my 8x8 was dirty)
Add in chicken, broccoli, half can of soup and half can of water and stir
Add more soup to desired creaminess
Top with reduced fat cheeses
Bake in oven for 10 minutes uncovered until cheeses are melted
Divide in two and enjoy!

I LOVED that I had a huge plate of food, that I could eat happily knowing it was all healthy, but still delicious.


That was all I needed that night; no desserts for me.

Monday
This morning I woke up to another bright and sunny day.
I made myself my lunch, and got together breakfast before heading to the gym.

Breakfast was simple again; 1 cup of Kashi GoLean and 1 sliced banana in 1 cup skim milk.

Perfect fuel for my 35/35 cardio & upper body strength workout.

For lunch, I packed a delicious vegan wrap- 1 whole wheat wrap-itz tortilla smeared with ~3tbsp sweet red pepper hummus, a handful of fresh spinach and 1/3 of an avocado. Love those healthy fats!

I had some grapes on the side, and it was the perfect filling lunch.

For snacks I packed a babybel light I had after the gym, and an apple and a honey Chobani to have before class.

I have SO much work to do today, it’s insane! But I’m confident I’ll get it done during the day, because I have a nice healthy dinner planned for this evening and then I’d like to relax! Can’t get too stressed out for exams, that’s for sure.