Guess who?

Hellooooooo!

Thanks so much you lovely people who left comments on my last post. I’m so glad I took a break for myself because I really, really learned a lot about stress the past week or so. I feel like I’m breaking some new ground

I’m not back 100% yet but I had such a good night that I couldn’t help but want to share it with you guys. First, a new vino!

I picked up this Bubo Pinot Grigio at Whole Foods yesterday along with a red of another brand I will try at a later date. I love trying new wines and this one stood out to me because of the cute owl on the label.

Did you know that “Bubo” means “owl” in Latin?

I tend to prefer reds over whites because I don’t like anything real sweet, but this one wasn’t at all. And it also wasn’t as “strong” like a chardonnay. I’m no wine expert so I hope my little “review” made sense!

For dinner, I made roasted chickpeas, mixed veggies and this whole wheat couscous. It does exist!!

I love couscous but one of the things that bothered me was the low fiber and not being a “whole grain” so I’m glad to have found this variety. It packs several grams of fiber and protein. Woo hoo!

Since I had a gift card to use at Whole Foods, I decided to try a new dessert as a celebration for finding my happy balance and a pre-celebration for the half marathon on Saturday!

When I still ate dairy, one of my favorite flavors of ice cream was coffee, so I was hoping this would be a good replacement!

And it was!

The best part about last night was that I felt totally in tune with my body. I waited to eat dinner until I was hungry (even though I hadn’t had anything in five hours), I only had one glass of wine and one serving of ice cream. It was all I needed and my full stomach and happy heart let me know.

It’s amazing how when I’m not incredibly stressed out, bored, tired, etc. I don’t “need” that second glass or cup. Instead, I treated myself to a nice hot bath with relaxing music.

Looking forward to more nights like this!

I’m back again!

Thank you so much for all the supportive comments on my last post. I’m really grateful to have such kind readers.

Hope you are ready for a full day’s worth!

For breakfast this morning, I had THE BEST green(ish) smoothie ever

I think what made this one special was a new protein powder I picked up at Amazing Grace, a local health food store (this packet cost me less than $1).

This smoothie contained 1 cup Silk vanilla soy milk, the NutriBiotic chocolate rice protein powder (which I will be buying again), 1 frozen banana, a few handfuls of spinach and a tablespoon of natural almond butter.

It sort of ended up with a split pea soup tint, huh?

It was so delicious and so filling! I did not eat my mid-morning snack until after noon

But I think this might also have had something to do with it:

I was so excited when FINALLY this showed up on Whole Foods shelves here in Louisville. It’s as good as it looks!

When I finally did break into my snack, I enjoyed some delicious almonds. Ever since I read on Gina’s blog that almonds were a good source of calcium, I have been trying to include them more in my diet.

Lunch was so good (or I was so hungry) that it managed to escape my camera entirely!

I tried the Black Bean Mango chili from Health Valley. It was good but not the best I’ve ever had.

Later in the afternoon, I enjoyed some Peeled Snacks!

I was contacted by this company last week and they sent me some free samples to review for the blog.

Today, I tried the Pine-4-Pineapple since dried pineapple is one of my favorite dried fruits.

This dried fruit is unlike any other I have had. I’m used to dried fruit that is really sweet, almost candy-like and I always eat too much of it.

The Peeled Snacks actually looks like the “real” fruit, they are organic and taste much less processed with no added anything.

The bags are also portion controlled which is great for someone like me who needs help in that area

You can find these snacks at most Starbucks locations, but I didn’t look to see how much they are. But if you are a fan of dried fruit I suggest you check them out.

After enjoying this snack, I went on an amazing 4 mile run!

For dinner, I had my usual Monday pasta only this time I had Barilla whole grain penne with 365 brand organic pasta sauce, cauliflower and Gimme Lean “sausage” for some protein.

I also had a slice of whole wheat toast with Smart Balance Light and a Zevia soda (reviews coming soon).

For dessert, I had a small cup of oatmeal (1/4 cup) with almond butter and a couple pieces of Green & Black’s bittersweet dark chocolate. Holy heck it was good!

Once it melted, I stirred it up and dove in with my spoon

Great day of eats, all tracked and accounted for. The 9:00 rule holding steady. Awesome run. Everything is good!

Man it feels good to be blogging again. I think I might finally be getting out of this funk!

I’m going out of town later in the week and I’m setting up some really great guest posts for you guys.

Hopefully I’ll be able to check in a little bit while I’m gone too.

Thanks for always being so kind to me. “See” you tomorrow

Two months

Happy December everyone! I can’t believe it’s here already. Thanks everyone for your sweet comments, I had a much better day today

I have been vegan for 2 whole months now. It sure seems like it’s been a lot longer than that and slight mishaps aside, I think it is going really well.

For breakfast this morning, I had pumpkin oat bran with raisins, chocolate chips and peanut butter.

This breakfast almost held me until lunch but around 10:30, I got a little hungry so I snacked on some almonds.

Lunch was totally awesome today! I didn’t blog about it before but I made this awesome tofu on Sunday night:

And then today, I had the leftovers, plus some broccoli topped with salsa!

I had just the broccoli but wanted to put something on it badly. This was a great choice, I highly recommend it. I think next time, I’ll try hummus. But sometimes I do like broccoli plain, just not today.

Lately, I have been buying the Kroger brand tofu and I have to say, it is really good. I might actually prefer it. The texture is great and it bakes really well (425* for 20 minutes).

Later in the afternoon, I had half of this Clif bar:

Then I hit the gym for some weights!

I warmed up with 15 minutes of running on the treadmill (about 1.3 miles) and then got to pumpkin pumping iron

• Chest presses
• Military shoulder presses
• Bicep curls
• Tricep extensions
• Lateral raises
• Front raises
• Squats
• Lunges
• Calf raises
• Core: Back extensions, crunches, side crunches, reverse crunches, leg lifts, etc.

After the workout, I ate the other half of my Clif bar. I’ve noticed it makes a big difference to eat before and after a workout to keep me from being ravenous when I get home from work.

On the way home, I started thinking about what I wanted to have for dinner. Brown rice and vegetables just sounded so boring, plus I’d already had a few vegetables today.

Hmm…what to have for dinner?

PB&J oatmeal, of course!

Sometimes you just have to go with what you are craving. This was delicious and really hit the spot, especially on a cold night.

After my dinner settled, I went for a walk with my friend Candy again. She is due to have a baby any day now so we’re trying to move things along, ha ha. But it was a good walk and I was hungry again when I got home!

Times two! Tortilla chips are a food I love a little too much but I finished off the bag and won’t replace it any time soon

Hope Tuesday and the first day of a new month has treated you well. I love the beginning of a new month, it makes me so motivated to try something new or start implementing a new healthy habit.

What new goals are you setting for this month?

Good night friends!