Sunny afternoon, colorful dinner

I got to enjoy plenty of sun this afternoon- I went for my run (my usual hilly 4 mile route), then took the dog into the yard to play for a bit before having a little treat of two PB&J cookies and a pear for a snack.

Later, when my Mom got home we walked up the street to the puppy store to buy Kahlua- get this- Paul Mitchell doggie shampoo. Yes, the hairstylist. Yes, it was expensive. But only the best for our little pup! Hehe
We walked about 30 minutes, and I came home and made dinner afterwards.
For dinner tonight I made another tester recipe from Lindsay, the Happy Herbivore's upcoming cookbook- Chana Palak Masala.
I am a big fan of Indian foods, so this meal was absolutely delicious, and combined a lot of my favorite veggies, spices and beans- plus it was sooo simple to make! I love it, I'll definately be making it again. I actually made enough to have leftovers for work dinners twice this week, and I'm glad I did! I'm sure it will be even better once the spices all meld together.
I had my serving over some brown rice, with a few baby carrots for crunch.


Delicious dinner, warm day... I'm happy! And... tonight I'm going out with a few other friends to see Sex and the City, AGAIN! I'm so excited to see it again, I loved it =)

Too much

Lunch today was fantastic, but wayyy too big! Breakfast and lunch are pretty large meals for me, because I know my body needs the fuel to keep me going during the day more than at night when I'll be resting and sleeping. But today, I just put together a humongous lunch! I still ate most of it though, because it was so yummy =)
I made one of Lindsay's tester recipes- the "Sausage" and mushroom burger! It combined some of my favorites- mushrooms and gravy, faux meat, all on an Ezekiel sprouted bun... mmm mmm good! This burger was messy, and super filling but definately one of the most delicious I've had yet!

On the side, I had the rest of the salad from last night, just some greens and tomatoes drizzled with a bit less than a tablespoon of Annie's goddess dressing. I also had a bowl of HUGE grapes, that I couldn't finish because I was so stuffed! I ate about half, and I'm sure I'll nibble on the rest throughout the afternoon.

This morning was "boring stuff"... just going through paperwork, but it took up my morning, now I'm going to read for a bit and go for a run and then a walk up to the puppy store to pick up Kahlua some doggie shampoo.
I hate sitting around all morning, I need to get more activity in! Luckily this afternoon I should be up and about.

Cereal Delight

These warm mornings have made me crave something crunchy and cool for breakfast; today I had a BIG bowl of cereal, using the rest of the Kashi GoLean- just over a cup, as well as a full cup of Peanut Butter Puffins, in a cup of nonfat soymilk. WOW was that a lot of cereal! I usually don't have more than two cups of cereal! Really filling, but very yummy and should hold me for a good few hours. I also had a small juicy nectarine on the side.

Today my day is open- probably reading and running, as usual, then after dinner I think I'm seeing one of my friends, not sure what we're doing yet... I just want to get out of the house on the wonderful day!
Have a great Monday =)

Cool evening treat

Tonight was such a lovely warm night I decided a cool treat sounded quite nice for dessert- I had about 1/2 cup (maybe a little more) of So delicious creamy vanilla ice cream, with three graham sticks I crumbled on top for some crunch. This was a delicious little treat, just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth and way healthier than regular ice cream (Only 130 kcals, 3 g fat per 1/2 cup!) ! I LOVE the So delicious ice creams... I know with these around I don't ever miss the real stuff!

Mmm....


Time for some reading in bed and some zzzs... just how I like to settle down =)

Newport with the girls

Today was a very nice day, the race went o.k., but I got kicked in the ankle around the first corner so it slowed down my time a little bit. I had a big juicy orange at the end of the race, and we hung around for a while- my dad and sister had some food from the big buffet they had, and I scored a couple free Kashi bars!
When we got home and showered, I had a flax plus granola bar to hold me over, my sister and I took the drive over the bridges (I paid a toll for the first time! haha) to hang around Newport for a while before my mom got out of work.

We did some shopping, and ended up finding an awesome sale at the gap! We both got new flowy summer tops and I got a headband =) We grabbed a tea and decided to wait for my mom outside the new store, and she was happy to see us after a long day! We took the 1-mile walk up the street to Pasta Beach! I LOVE this place... fresh pasta, fresh everything! We ordered a big salad to start, drizzled with a bit of olive oil. (I had 2 servings of the picture)

For my entree, I ordered my FAVORITE dish, fresh homemade pesto over orrechiette. This is my favorite pasta, and I love pesto- this one did have some parmesan, but not too much, I'll definately have to learn how to make my own vegan pesto soon! They gave us big portions, but I was so hungry I ended up eating 3/4 of my plate! Delicious, a wonderful night with my mom and sis.

The weather was lovely and warm with a slight breeze walking back to the car, I love summer nights!
This was a great start to the week, tomorrow I have no plans during the day, I might be going out with a friend in the evening, but I'm pretty much getting three days of relaxation, which is wonderful =)

Prepping pre-race

I'm definately getting nervous about this race... It's sunny now here, but foggy where we're going, so I hope it's not too chilly. It should go pretty well, even though I'm sure my time won't be up to my standards, at least I'm racing like I want to.

I needed something healthy, filling and balanced before the race, so for an early lunch I settled on a variation of my fave pre-race meal, and went with a grilled PB & J made with 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp raspberry preserves and two slices sprouted grain bread that I pressed with two pans, panini style and grilled just to toasted and warm. Yum! I also had a banana for some fruit and a little bowl of baby carrots to get some veggies in.



The race is at 1, so I better go get ready!!

Granola Cravings

This morning, I woke up well rested again! I'm glad, I'll need the energy for my race. For breakfast I had planned on trying my new cereal, but I woke up with a HUGE craving for the chewy-but-crunchy texture of my Honest Food's granola planks... so I had a granola plank (1 plank, 2 servings) crumbled on top of some plain soy yogurt, and a bunch of berries- about 3/4 cup blueberries and the rest of the blackberries (just a few).

This was exactly what I had wanted, and filled me up well! I actually have no plans for this morning, I just started a new book, so I'll probably be relaxing around the house until we head over the bridge to the race, which starts at 1. The weather isn't looking the best, but it is pretty warm- I'm just hoping any rain holds off until later this evening.
After the race, I plan on coming home to shower and then heading over to Newport with my sister to visit her Mom after her new job- hopefully we'll be going to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in town!
I haven't had a "girls night" with my Mom and sister in a while, so it should be fun!