Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  I have been waiting all week for today, so I could go to the pooch parade in Dallas.  Each year Dallas hosts a pooch parade, where people and their dogs dress up.  Its super fun to see what will people dress up each year.  One of themes today was that a family dressed up as was the Walking Dead.

Jeff and I got there right when it started, so we were a little in the back of the crowd.  We brought our own little pooch, but did not participate.  She loved seeing all the other dogs and people.  Also, I saw these cute little collars from the company "Lucky Puppy Adventures".  They are $25, and $5 from the purchase goes to "Paws in the City".  I am not sure if you watched Most Eligible Dallas. One of the main characters from the show, was the founder of the company.  She would go rescue dogs from broken homes.  So when the lady told me about the proceeds, I simply had to the get the collar.

 

 

Before I went to the parade, I ran three miles to start my day off right.  Afterwards, I whipped up a smoothie.  I used this fruit cup from Kroger, for my main ingredients.

 

 

 

This specific one was labeled as "Tropical Fruit", it consisted of pineapples, green grapes, raspberry, blueberries, and black berries.  I took half of the cup with plain greek yogurt, packet of stevia, handful of ice cubes, and splash of milk and blended together.  This replenished my energy level.  I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

 



Bad Habits Die Hard

The past two days I pulled a 12 hour shift.  It was draining, when I would get home I did not want to cook.  That was the last thing I wanted to do.  I really just wanted to crawl into my bed, and cuddle with my dog. On Thursday night Jeff and I ordered pizza.  We thought it was a good idea.  It was not, the next day, after waking up it hit me.  All of the grease from the pizza, made me feel horrible.  I seriously felt as if I was hung over.  It was weird, I use to eat only greasy type of food a couple of years ago.  I never felt that bad back then.  I have heard in the past that when healthy people ate greasy food, they would get a food hangover.  And........that is what happened to me.  For now on, if I pull another 12 hour shift I am going to make Jeff cook dinner.  To be honest, it did not taste that good as I remember it use too.

Pistachio Cranberry Salad

 

If you have not figured it out by now, I love a good salad.  Especially something that fills me up, but it is light enough not to bring me down.  When I whipped up this salad, I was a little skeptical.  It turned out very delicious, though.  I almost ate the whole thing before I realized I did not photograph the salad. 

Pistachio Cranberry Salad.

• Cranberries
• Pistachios
• Blue Cheese Crumbles
• Spinach
• Olive Oil (Dressing)

After eating this salad, I was ready to take on the rest of my day.  I probably would of had more energy if I had a cup of coffee with this salad.  For today I had enough by the morning.

Sunday Runday!

Today, I wanted to start off my day off right, with a good smoothie.  With the right smoothie, I will have good enough energy that will help me keep up with my run. With the one I whipped up today, it gave me the perfect amount of energy to last throughout my run. 

Raspberry/Clementine Smoothie

 

 

 

The smoothie consisted of:

• Handful of raspberries
• Two clementines
• Splash of milk
• Half of container of chobani 6 oz greek yogurt (no special flavor)
• Handful of ice cubes



 

Even with the yogurt I did not need to add sugar, with the fruit it was sweet enough.  After I finished my drink, I went to my apartment gym and ran 5 miles.  It has been too windy around here lately.  It is too bad that the weather has been bad, I really enjoy my time outside.  My weekends are the only time I get any chance to be outside. 

 

 

After my run, I went with a nice clean salad inspired by Andrew Weil, "The Healthy Kitchen".

 



The salad consisted of:

• One celery stalk
• Diced Chicken
• Spinach
• Handful of walnuts
• Slice of green apple diced
• Heart of palm sliced
• Olive Oil.

This salad is super light, but full of flavor.  Even though it is light, you will not be starving in an hour after eating.

Blueberry Smoothie

Good Morning!  This morning I whipped up a delicious smoothie for my pre-run snack, thinking I was going to run.  When I went to turn on my ipod to start working out, it would not turn on.  It was dead, and I am the person that can not run without music.  Sad, but I will use today as my day off for working out. 

Blueberry Smoothie:

• half cup of milk
• two tablespoons of peanut butter
• half of a banana
• half cup to a whole cup of blueberries (I like one cup because it is extra sweet)
• a handful of ice cubes

Enjoy! I hope you have a good day. :)

Tuna Time

I have to admit I am bad about eating fish.  Mainly due to how expensive fish can be.  The other day I was reading an article in Runner's World, it was focused on runners eating fish.  They mentioned that canned fish is good as fresh fish.  Which in my mind it meant I could get my weekly intake of fish, and not pay an arm and a leg.  In my cabinet I have a plethora of canned tuna.  For lunch today I decided I needed some fish.  After a second I decided to make a tuna melt.  Mainly, tuna melts have a bad reputation for not being so healthy with all the mayo that is added.  I did add mayo, but I used Kraft's mayo with olive oil.  They use olive oil instead of the saturated oils that most companys use to make. 

 

 

With this tuna melt I used the following:

• tablespoon of mayo
• a pinch of garlic sea salt
• half of celery stalk chopped up
• two baby carrots chopped
• tablespoon of diced onion
• slice of tomato
• slice of gouda cheese
• can of tuna
• slice of wheat bread

 

I started off preheating the oven at broil.  Then I mixed mayo, celery, carrots, onion, tuna, and garlic sea salt in a bowl.  After mixing I dumped the combination onto the slice of bread, then layed the sandwhich with tomato and then the gouda.

 

Put the sandwhich in the oven for about 4 to 5 minutes, afterwards it was ready to eat!

Benefits of Cross Training

I remember an old co-worker telling me that I should try to run everyday when I started out running, even if its one mile.  The bad part was that, I took this person's advice.  The sad part was that she never ran.  She informed me that she knew someone that ran marathons, and they bestowed her that advice.  To be honest I was burned out from running in a very short amount of time.  In reality you are only suppose to run 3 to 4 times a week.  On those other days, you are suppose to cross-train.  Today was one of those cross-training days!  The bicycle was the lucky choice for today's workout.   While I was on the bike at the gym, I looked up the benefits of cross training, below are a few that I found.

• Prevents Injuries:  On your off days of running, you can substitute with low impact workouts.  This lets your muscles recover from the strain resulted from running.  
• Keeps you Motivated:  You are not the doing the same old thing day after day.  Throwing a new cross train tactic in the mix, keeps your workouts fresh.  You want tYou o be excited to workout, instead of thinking of it as a chore.  If you run consistently every day, it will eventually get boring. 
• Enjoy Other Sports:  You get to explore your options in other sports.  Hey you might be really good at another sport, and enjoy it.

Those are just a few of the benefits of cross training.  There are a vast amount of benefits that comes with this.  Also, there are many options you can choose from when you want a resting day from running such as yoga, strength training, pilates, walking, stair climber, elliptical, and etc.

Greek Salad

I have been really bad about  healthy for the majority of my week.  I have been eating junk food for the past two days.  Today was the day I decided I got the craving for junk food out of my system.  I brought a nice greek salad to work.  I combined chicken, spinach, feta cheese, pepperoncinis, tomatoes, green and kalamta olives with olive oil.  The saltiness of the olives and feta cheese mixed with the sweetness of pepperoncinis are a great blend.

 

Below are the health benefits for the following:

 

Olives:  They contain high monunsaturated fat which links to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and decreasing blood pressure.

Pepperoncini: They contain capsaicin which acts as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and reduces the risk of heart diseases.  Also, pepperoncini has Vitamin C and A.

Olive Oil, for the dressing: With the consumption of olive oil, it lowers your blood pressure, your risk on obtaining heart disease, and osteroporosis, and fights against obesity.

Tomatoes: Vitamin C and A, these two vitamins work to fend off DNA damage from free radicals

Chicken: Vitamin B (good source of energy and boosts immune system), and its a lean protein (good weightloss food).

Spinach: They are loaded with Vitamin A,K,D, and E.  With Vitamin K, it linked to strengthening your bones.

 



 

Parr Park

Yesterday was yet another beautiful day here in Texas on the weekend, but it was super windy.  Even though I felt like I was about to be blown over whenever I would go outside, my friend and I wanted to go on our weekly trail walk.   Her and my life are so hectic, this is the only time of the week we get to see each other.  Rain nor shine  it will not stop us from hanging out for our weekly walk. 

We decided to go to Parr Park.  Along, with the wind, the trail was not very impressive.  When spring hits, it might bloom up, become easier on the eyes.  At one point of the trail, we were on the side of the highway at one point.  We ended up at the bear creek park.  Then coming back (the highway portion) we see this kid barefoot and walking with a guitar on the side of the highway.  This was a little amusing. 

This place was more of a family park.  I remember I use to go to this park when I was a little kid.  Do not remember that much, just that name. I would not recommened this place to run, only to bring your family or you dog.

 

 

This is what the pictures consist of what they have associated with the trail.  I understand why after going on the trail, there was no other good scenery, to take pictures of.



Breakfast for Champions

This week has been exteremly exhausting and stressful. With those two as a combo, it just drains you.  As I mentioned earlier my sister moved to New Zealand, and one of my co workers moved to another property.  With the co worker leaving, that means extra work.  Yes, that means more hours.  More hours means more money!  That is what I keep telling myself. 

With all of that combined, I really need to focus on taking care of my body.  Today was the day I really needed to eat right, to keep up my energy.  I had a summit meeting today with a group coming to our property.  This meeting is my favorite part of my job.  With my hotel I closely work with meeting planners for a couple of months to manage their room blocks at the hotel.  I mostly interact with them through email.  Most of the time you usually do not know what these meeting planners look like. The day is the summit is when you actually get to meet them.  It is always wonderful to meet them.

This morning I started off with my scrambled eggs with fresh fruit (strawberries and kiwi).

 



For lunch I made a lettuce wrap.

 

In the wrap I loaded it up with grilled chicken, diced tomatoes, avocado, quinoa, and a pinch of garlic salt.  Since garlic salt is strong, I put a pinch of it in my hand and sprinkled on top.

 

With some whole food snacks, I got through the day pretty smoothly.  Now I am ready to crawl in bed and relax this weekend.

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So long my little sister

Yesterday my little sister left the country to embark a new journey.  She is going to be living in New Zealand for nine months to a year.  She is exteremly brave.  I would not be able to handle this length of time being away form my loved one.  I barely survived in Europe for ten days.

For her last meal in the United States she decided to go to a Pho Noodle House.  With this noodle house I have not been very adventurous.  I usually get their sushi, and of course their pho.  I decided I did not want fish, just because I have ate plenty of fish this week as it is.  Then I did not want soup for dinner.  I saw what I just needed, korean bbq ribs.  A couple of weeks ago one of my boyfriend's friends introduced us to korean bbq.  I fell in love!  When I saw this menu item, I had to have it.  It was not as good as the first time I had it but it worked for me. 

I have found the marinade for korean bbq at the grocery store the other day.  I am tempted to buy the bottle and test it out.

Motivational Monday

This past week has been extermely windy, Sunday as well.  When running in the wind, I feel as if someone is pushing against me.  Yesterday, I was not in the mood to fight against the wind.  I still really wanted to get my long run in.  I settled for the treadmill.  When I was heading to the gym, I kept thinking how am I going to beat the treadmill boredom.  What came to mind was after each mile I would increase the incline (1.5) for the length of one song, then when I hit a new mile I would repeat. And it did hep the boredom.  By the second mile I was starting to get a little exhausted.  I had to reassure myself your brain quits before your body does. 

During my runs when I start feeling sluggish I remember my pinterest pins such as the one above.  It helps me realized that I can finish my goal.  I suprise myself each week by how much I push myself far each week.  If I did not push myself, I would not get anywhere. 

 

 

Above is a collage of some of the quotes/pictures that help me get through my run weekly.  I mean Victoria Secret Models are on there because they do have wonderful bodies.  They do work hard in the gym.  Their motivation, motivates me to work harder to obtain a similar body like theirs.

 

What motivates you?

Saturday Morning

I love my weekends, with my position I have them off.  Before my promotion, my days off were random.  Even though it is my day off, Jeff works on Saturday.  I still wake up early just to make sure he makes it to work on time.  I suprised him this morning by making breakfast for both of us. 

For breakfast I made scrambled eggs.  I mixed four eggs with two tablespoons of milk.  After cooking I sprinkled just a little cheddar cheese, and  scooped some salsa on top.

I proceeded to workout out afterwards.  I did about four workout vidoes from youtube.  They were from the pop pilates chanel.  I did the following videos below:

• tough love handle workout
• plankathon
• bubble butt (clenching my booty)
• what makes you bootyful

These videos are made by one person, Casey Ho.  She has a string of videos under her pop pilates channel.  She is exteremly challenging, most of the time you are in pain and you have to mentally push yourself.  But Casey makes it fun with her positive and bubbly personality.

As a runner, you do need to do strengh training so you will not lose your muscle mass.  With running you really need a strong core to keep good posture.  Pop pilates has tons of ab workout videos.  Most of the time I can barely make it through the whole video.  Especially with my little puppy involved, she always wants to be a part of my workout.  Today I gave her a new bone, which kept her astray.

So after my workout today, I had a major sweet tooth.  I made a post workout smoothie.

Ususally I do not use skippy peanut butter.  I ran out of my almond butter the other day. So sad to say one of the girls in my department, it was her last day yesterday so she was clearing out her desk and she had a jar of skippys.  That is how I obtained the jar. 

I combined one tablespoon of peanut butter, half of a bannana, one half of a cup of milk, a teaspoon of unsweetend cocoa powder, and a couple of ice cubes to thicken up the shake.

Broccoli

Last night my boyfriend and I had broccoli, and of course we tried something new with it.  We sauteed the broccoli in sesame oil with almond slivers.  At first I applied one tablespoon of the oil to the pan, then added the broccoli and almond slivers.  After a couple of minutes of cooking, I added another tablespoon of oil. 

The sesame oil did overpower the taste of broccoli.  I love seasme oil though! 

With broccoli you can eat them raw or cooked.  With raw you can dip them in ranch or hummus.  A healthy version of ranch can be greek yogurt combined with the hidden valley dry ranch packets! It tastes just like the good old ranch. 

With cooking you can broil, or roast them.  There are different recipes all over pinterest on how to dress your broccoli.