“Trust me, I’m a doctor”

I think I have a thing for doctors. I’m a big fan of Dr. Drew Pinsky, he just seems so genuine and caring. I also love Dr. Oz and what he is doing for people to improve their health.

When it comes to healthy vegan soups, Dr. McDougall is the man!

I’ve had several of these selections before but this was my first time trying the Lentil Couscous.

I love both of those things, so I figured it was a win-win.

And I would be right! This soup was delicious.

At first I thought I had put too much water in but after letting it sit for several minutes, it had thickened right up :) 

I enjoyed this cup of soup along with an apple.

My afternoon snack was a Silk soy yogurt.

Which I had with a cup of coffee. I tried to just drink tea today (I’ve been alternating to reduce my caffeine consumption) but it didn’t happen.

One day at a time, I guess!

This was more like dessert than a snack 🙂

Check out the awesome run I did an hour later! Guess it was good fuel?

What is your go-to pre-run/workout snack?

Day 14, pt. 2: Ladies night

After those awesome Pumpkin Pie pancakes that I had for breakfast yesterday, I knew the rest of the day was going to have a hard time measuring up 🙂

For a snack mid-morning, I had some peanuts. I’ll admit…nuts are starting to get old. I need some new snack ideas!

For lunch, I had another amazing leftover enchilada. I really enjoying making this recipe and I will definitely use it again.

I also took the opportunity to review my Exercise Science flashcards one last time before the exam.

I think I did okay on the test. I was definitely more prepared than the last time but there were some really tricky questions on there. In the cases where I think more than one answer could be right, I just use my initial instincts. Hope that pays off!

I had some Silk yogurt later in the afternoon. I think I’m ready to re-try another brand, no offense Silk.

After work, I met Farrah for a treadmill workout. We alternated walking at 3.5 with running at 6.0 for a quarter-mile each. We did about 3.2’ish miles in 45 minutes. It was a great workout! We also discussed changing up our routine a bit to keep things fresh.

So, starting today, we are going to be running 2 miles (or 20 minutes) before weight training and our workouts are going to focus on more repetitions with lighter weights (we’ve been using heavy weights and doing 12 reps mostly). On the days we only run, we are going to move up to 4 miles instead of 2-3. Should be interesting to have this new challenge!

When I got home from work, I was STARVING, so I snacked on some more peanuts.

Since it’s Wednesday, that means it’s Girl’s Night Potluck dinner time 🙂 Unfortunately, the evening had many hitches. We didn’t get started until rather late, so I had a couple pieces of bread before dinner was even served.

Olive oil with sun dried tomato seasoning for dipping, yum!

When we finally did eat, I just had a bowl of spaghetti with sauce. I’m thankful my friend Beth separated them into proper portion sizes because I hate having to guess at that stuff, especially when I’m so hungry 🙂

And a couple more pieces of bread!

I was pretty full when I was done, so I stopped, drank lots of water and skipped dessert. I know it’s silly but I always feel like I should pat myself on the back when I don’t completely overdo it because there have been so many times in my life when that wasn’t the case at all. So here I go, pat pat.

It was a little hard to sleep last night because Josh has been coughing (poor guy) so he slept on the couch (I did last night) and I had a lot of my mind last night. Nothing bad really, just stuff.  But I did fall asleep eventually and slept pretty good considering it was only 5’ish hours. I need to get to bed early tonight!

Happy Thursday, weekend is almost here 🙂

Day 12: Getting into the groove

Happy Monday everyone! That’s right, I said HAPPY!

I know most people usually dread Mondays but I’m loving them (I actually find Tuesday to be more brutal). It’s the start of a new week and time to start something new, whether it be a fitness goal or cooking up some new recipes!

Something funny to start off the day…I forgot to weigh in! I had no expectations for this week really but I usually do it anyway, just to “check in” with myself. Oops! Oh well.

Breakfast was oats with banana and peanut butter. I chose to put half the banana in while it was cooking and then the other half as a topper. Mmm…

 

I drove to work today, so I parked my car the 1+ mile away from my building and walked in the cold! It was 45 this morning but I wasn’t making excuses to be lazy 😉

Snack this morning was some plain ol’ peanuts. Hooray for good fats!

I also went for a chilly 15-minute walk on my break, which actually ended up warming me up a bit 🙂

Lunch was leftover Tuscan Beans with sage and garlic. Plus some carrots and hummus on the side for more bulk.

I used a new kind of hummus this time. I got this on sale for $2.50 at Meijer.

But I probably won’t get it again. It was okay but nothing near the flavor of Sabra or other kinds I have had – which are only a few cents more expensive. Worth it though!

For my afternoon snack, I had a Silk yogurt in strawberry banana. It was pretty good but a bit too sweet. I want to try some other non-dairy yogurts soon.

I had to walk the 1+ mile back to my car this afternoon, but thankfully it was much warmer 🙂 I was planning to run or do yoga when I got home but in the end, I just didn’t feel like it.

I walked a lot today and that is enough!

For dinner, I made another recipe straight out of Vegan Planet!!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas!

It took some extra time and preparation, but I wasn’t in a hurry so I really took my time and followed the recipe exactly (except cut in half).

I had some topping leftover, so I decided to bake it on top of the enchiladas. Getting ready to go into the oven:

My plate…two enchiladas and lots of topping. The salsa I used was pretty spicy so this dish was exploding with flavor!

There were literally chunks of sweet potato in every bite. I love this combination!

Apparently, I hated them, ha ha ha…

I have to say, as a person who previously enjoyed Mexican food with lots of cheese and sour cream…I don’t miss them AT ALL! In fact, I think they would’ve ruined the flavors of this dish.

As I was packing up the leftovers, I ate some right off the spatula! 😉

I can’t wait to pick out my recipes for next week. Who knew this could be so fun and actually save me money too! I guess I did, somewhere in the back of my mind.

Off to watch Dancing with the Stars! Chuck went first and I totally used all my votes on him already, but I cried when Melissa Joan Hart got her scores from the judges, she was fantastic!

What has gotten into me? Ha ha.

Good night my dear friends! God bless.

p.s. Check me out on Caitlin’s Operation Beautiful site today!

Prioritizing

Happy Thursday y’all! Thank God it’s almost Friday, right? Thank you for all the great comments on my last post about the Bittman article! I appreciate it.

For breakfast this morning, I had two Eggo waffles, a Morningstar Farms patty and some canned pears that I drained and rinsed (can you tell I’m trying to use stuff up)?

I debated over whether to put something on the waffles but in the end I just ate them plain and enjoyed it that way 😉

Mid-morning, I snacked on some mixed nuts and took a 15 minute walk, yay!

For lunch, I reluctantly had the leftover Lentil Rice and Veggie Bake that I made for girls night this week. It was actually kind of better today or perhaps I was just really hungry 😉

Yes, I threw some Brussels on there! I love them and they are high in Vitamin C! That is especially cool with cold and flu season upon us.

After lunch, I had some fruity tea and a piece of dark chocolate. Sorry recycled pic here, the other one disappeared!

For my afternoon snack, I decided to give soy yogurt another try. I’ve been doing some research and it is hard to find non-dairy yogurts that are also low in sugar! I’ve found one brand that I want to look for next time I’m at Whole Foods but for now, this one had to do.

This little container has 18 grams of sugar. This made me realize I need a priority? What is going to take precedence? Sugar or the fact that this is non-dairy?

I’ve long said I would not choose “junk” in favor of avoiding meat or dairy products. There are a lot of restaurants where the only vegetarian or vegan options would be French fries. I’m sort of in a pickle here. Ooh pickles…I digress.

But for now, the soy yogurt was good and I won’t eat it everyday so perhaps it can remain a part of my diet? I also don’t want to overdo soy products. This does have some good points though.

To “bulk” it up a bit, I added two tablespoons of Ezekiel golden flax cereal. I did just a little bit first to try it.

But it was totally yummy so I threw the rest on there and went to town. The yogurt was so creamy and just a bit sweet, not terribly overwhelming like some of the fruit flavors. I’d get it again.

After work, I got to take an hour long yoga class. It was pretty simple, for beginners, but I enjoyed it immensely. I left there feeling relaxed and peaceful which is my favorite thing about yoga.

Our teacher was also really funny! She was an older woman and she made the funniest little jokes during our practice. She said her instructor once told her that if you don’t breathe during your asanas, your brain will freeze, ha ha!

The class was great and when I got home I was STARVING! So I hurried up and made dinner. On the menu tonight…TOFU!

I got a small package of Silken Extra Firm tofu (Mori-Nu), drizzled some canola oil on it, sprinkled on some seasonings and baked it in the oven at 425 for 25 minutes (a bit longer since it’s Silken).

On the side I had some mixed veggies, a pita pocket (plain) and some ketchup for dipping the tofu. It was so delicious!

I’m enjoying a nice cup of peppermint tea and a piece of dark chocolate. This kind that I have, it is vegan and it only contains 5 grams of sugar per 3 pieces! Thank goodness I don’t have to make a choice there 😉

The cool thing is that this is MY diet so I can decide. I hope you do the same for yourself. Good night!