18 Miles Later… August 30, 2009

...this is what I looked like.

It ain’t pretty, but it’s real.

18.15 miles.  2 hours 55 minutes. 9:30 minutes/mile.  Booyah.

A high protein, carbful post-run snack made me look feel slightly better…

Janetha C.C. Ranch Mix, beets + farmer's market plums

Actually, if I am going to be honest with y’all, the run was awesome.  Long, but awesome.  Honestly.  I think since I work out best in the afternoon; going to the farmer’s market in the morning, eating breakfast and then heading out at 1:30pm was like the miracle formula.  The 6 Cran-Razz Clif Shot Bloks I took throughout the run probably helped too.

(P.S. I LOVE how everyone thought the banana was an ice cream cone…ice cream in the mornin’? Heck yah.)

snacks at the grocery store (which were BOTH free - all hail coupon cutting!)

After the run, I tried to eat intuitively; not shove down massive calories because I could (which, don’t get me wrong, was reallllyyyy tempting…).  And it worked!  I would eat, usually feel full for an hour or two then was massively hungry again. Vroom, vroom metabolism!

For dindin, I whipped up a lil’ somethang with my farmer’s market finds…

bed of mixed greens
zucchini + roma tomato (sauteed in EVOO + garlic)
lemon basil
lotsa parmigiano reggiano goodness
a side of 7-grain Kashi crackers

grilled veggie salad with Kashis

Plus, a post-dinner handful of Kashis.  Those things are ridiculously good.

And a dessert a la this girl and that girl…

85% dark choc + AB

Then, being the wild n’ crazy grandma I am, I met up with my fabulous friend Brett for dranks (two Spotted Cow beers to be exact) then went dancing (and played wingwoman for him) at the local gay bar.  I<3 gay men.  Ummm…best. time. in a long time.  If you say dancing after running 18 miles, I am still there.  Good times were had, and I was in bed by 1am.  Perf.

This morning, I had breakfast in bed…

1 cup Stonyfield BaNilla yog
sprinkle o’ flax
sprinkle o’ almond meal
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon cereal

refreshing + delicious

Now I am sitting at a local coffeeshop, swiggin’ my cuppa joe and enjoying the gorgey day.  Happy Sunday 🙂

Are you a coupon cutter? I never used to be, but now I love it!!!

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Welcome to America’s Dairyland! August 22, 2009

Madison a.k.a. the state capital of Wisconsin yo!

Welcome ladies and gents, children and babies, friends and families to the home of cheese – WISCONSIN (pronounced Wiss-cahhhhn-sin if you are from the Midwest)!  I thought y’all might like a little pic of where yours truly roamed her college days as well as current days.  

FYI: The State Capitol’s dome is one of the largest in the world.  Ya heard it here.

 

Flashback to last night…

Believe it or not, I got EVERYTHING done on my to-do list, with a few modifications of course.  I scrapped the Mint thang because online budgeting was too dang confusing.  Instead, I relied on my old friend Excel to whip up a nice lil’ spreadsheet.  Second, I found no plug-in converter at Target and forgot the oven cleaner.  However, I did pick up some cooking spray, butter, a dress and the new Shape magazine.  Damn you Tarjay!

grilled balsamic veggie wrap

1/2 container Siggi's Icelandic yog + raspberry jelly + ground flax

POM Pomegranate Hibiscus Green Tea

The lovely peeps at POM (shoutout to you Molly!) sent me some of their POMx tea to try.  It’s got a new name, new flavors and is light!  It’s real brewed tea with 100% POM juice and other natural flavas.  I’ve also got Pomegranate Lychee Green Tea + Pomegranate Wildberry White to try!

After reading the label (always a must!), I have one small frustration: fructose + erythritol-sweetened.  Although these claim to be “natural,” we all know the truth from the Vitamin Water 10 shenanigans of yore.

 

This mornin’…

With 15 miles on the brain, I set my alarm for 7am.  That way I could eat, wait an hour then venture out around 8am to get the torture party started.  Unfortunately, the allergies + cold that has been brewing all week reared its head when my alarm went off.  Hence, hit the snooze and slept for another hour.  

I woke-up at 8am, still not feeling the greatest (think sinus headache, sore throat + phlegm), but I downed a plain white bagel with a bit o’ buttah and read some bloggies while I let the food settle.  Then I geared up and headed out!

 

Distance: 15.04 miles (according to MapMyRun)

Time: 2:50

Average pace: 10:00/mile

 

No, I don’t have a Garmin – these are estimates done the old-fashioned way!  If you are a math whiz, you will see 10:00/mile for 15 miles does not equal that time.  However, I am taking into consideration a crapload of stoplights I had to wait for, two Clif Shot Blok + water breaks (2-4 minutes each) and MapMyRun error.

By the way, head over to Matt’s blog at No Meat Athlete for an awesome guide to surving a 1/2 or full-marathon!

Overall, the run felt pretty good.  I definitely felt sinusy (is that a word?), so I just kept it nice, steady and slow.  The weather was fabulous (60 degrees when I left the house – PERFECT) and since I did it alone with no music or friends running with me, I was very happy.

Happier to devour this when I got home though…

Pineapple Chobs, Cherry Cashew PURE Bar + strawbs (along with a swimming pool-size water)

I forgot to mention this to ya yesterday, but I got my own swag bag of goodness in the mail yesterday from winning Kristin’s giveaway.  Go check out her DROOLWORTHY photographs and show some love to a fellow Midwestern!

PURE bars, PURE tees and a PURE bag

By the time I got home, talked to the ‘rents, showered, ate + grabbed a Cafe Au Lait (1/2 skim milk + 1/2 coffee), I missed most of the Madtown Farmer’s Market :(.  However, I did score 1 bunch of leeks + 1 bunch of beets for $2 from a stand just closing up.

Then it was time to visit a Madison landmark…Ian’s Pizza!

no need to adjust your screens...that is in fact MAC N' CHEESE pizza!

You have no idea how many pieces of this has been consumed by yours truly at about 2:15am on a Saturday night (slash Sunday morning) back in the college days.

I arrived back at la casa de Holly, having shopped around for about 4 miles.  So yes, my legs hate me right now. Hence why I am going to finish chomping my Banana Nut Cheerios + sunflower seeds and finish dranking my green tea + Emergen-C packet to kick this allergy cold and make some dindin.  Gots lots of fruits and veggies to make up for!

 

Some q’s, just because I like to get to know y’all better…

(1) What is your state capital? Obv, look above.

(2) What is your favorite cheese?  Gruyere…I’m classy like that.

(3) What is your favorite pizza?  Cheese for everyday ordering, Mac n’ Cheese on special occasions.

 

If you want to win those new, elusive Lara flavors, you have until Sunday night!  Write me a lovely limerick about your fave Lara here and get entered for 1 of 3 chances.  Woowoo!

Scatterbrained August 20, 2009

Guess what I did for the first time ever today?  Yeah, that’s right – Miss Scatterbrained forgot her camera at home. The horror!

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, so yours truly has some bangin’ breakfast and dinner eats that will surely make up for the lack of lunchie + snack pics.

Strawberry Oikos + Strawbs alongside a AB+J on Sprouted Spelt Bread

My personal review of Strawberry Oikos?  AY-FREAKIN-MAZING!

Since I’ve joined the bandwagon on Sarah’s breakfast challenge, I had to make something new.  Although the combos are faves, I usually don’t have them for brekkie.  I need to shake it up like this more often!

 

Mid-morning snack: Banana Nut Cheerios + sunflower seeds

Lunch: Green salad (1 big handful mixed greens, 1/2 avocado, 1/4 cup green pepper, sunflower seeds + drizzle of ranch dressing), Musselman’s Raspberry Acai applesauce + Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar

Mid-afternoon snack: 1 1/2 servings honey wheat pretzel twists + Pomegranate Chobani Greek yogurt

 

The Tropical Fruit Tart Larabar + Pomegranate Chobani = two new faves.  Seriously, pick these suckers up.  Now.

For dindin, I headed over to my friend Amy’s house, who I have known since 9th grade.  That doesn’t seem like that long, and then I remember I am 24 years old, which means I’ve known her for 10 years.  Yowza…I am a g-ma! With the help of our fellow Midwesterner Kristin, we had seriously one of the best dinners I’ve had maybe ever…enter Lemon Pepper Chicken with Artichoke Salsa!

gorgeous plates courtesy of Amy + Target

up close and personal

with a glass of pinot grigio

a VEGAN-licious dessert

That would be 1/2 Vegan Monster Chocolate cookie + 1/2 Vegan Chocolate Chip cookie over vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream each.  Perfect topper for a perfect dinner.

Plus, a side of new puppy…

this one is for you Janetha - me and Amy's new pup Charlie (seriously, soooo cute!)

Whoa…I don’t know if in fact I did eat too much today, but I am seriously stuffed!  Must be all that marathon training workin’ up a large appetite :).

After dinner, I raced back to the apartment because one of my best friends Megan made a rest stop here tonight before continuing on a loooonnng car journey tomorrow.  She showed up wearing a t-shirt that says “Polish Kitchen,” which she got at a Polish festival she recently attended – love that girl.

Now, I need to go and snuggle with my Polish gal.  Night y’all!

 

Don’t forget to enter for the chance to win all 3 new flavas of Larabars – you have until Sunday to put your rhyming skills to good use and take home this Lara-licious giveaway.  EVERYONE is welcome to enter!

Running Well, Wedding Bells + Internet Hell August 16, 2009

Yep, that pretty much sums up my weekend.

Let’s start with the good stuff – I got up at 7am bright n’ early on Saturday morning and ate a nice carb-heavy pre-run meal consisting of a 1/2 cup Special K with 1/2 cup skim milk and a chocolate chip granola bar.  There is no better running fuel than pure white carbs.

Then, yours truly did what she has NEVER done before – run 16 miles!

The first 9 miles went well despite the Minnesota heat and humidity.  I made sure to make frequent water stops (also stopping to splash water on my head to cool down) before returning back to my friend Ashley’s where I popped 3 Clif Black Cherry Shot Bloks and some Diet Cherry Pepsi (don’t judge).  Then Ashley headed out with me to finish the last 7 miles, and my other friend Megan joined us for the last 3 miles.  My friends are seriously the best :).

In the end? The run went AWESOME.  I finished in my marathon pace of just under 10:00 minutes/mile, equaling about 2 hours and 40 minutes.  I seriously think I could have gone even further. It was that kind of glorious running day.

post-run Pomegranate Paradise Jamba Juice (with soy protein)

Indian buffet of love from Whole Foods...with a Cilantro Chutney Samosa!

Seriously…if I could marry Indian food I would.  Shhhhh, don’t tell McMac I am cheating on him ;).

After lunchie, it was off to IKEA –  ummm, holy anxiety!  Soooo many people, soooo many things to look at and tooooo little time.  Luckily, I had my trusted Meggy Moo in tow.  If this isn’t a friend, I don’t know what is:

on the floor checking the unmarked chair for a price...that is love right there

Then, I gussied myself up and headed off to my girl Charlotte’s wedding!  Charlotte and I studied abroad together in college in London, and we’ve pretty much been soulmates ever since.  LOVE that girl.  I also got to see Brittany (who also studied abroad with us) for the first time in years.  LOVE that girl too.

Hobag, CharChar Binks and Brittho (our nicknames)

started with a red vino...

then continued on with a berry spinach salad...

followed up by some vegetarian ravioli...

and finished off with turtle cheesecake and a brewsky!

Yeah, that’s right.  My girl Char had a plethora of CHEESECAKES at her wedding instead of regular ol’ wedding cake.  That is reason #4,276 that we are friends.  Brittho and I may have split an additional piece of Key Lime Cheesecake.  Just sayin…

a lil' bubbly to toast the bride and groom

fabulousness all around

Did I mention Charlotte also had a photo booth AND late-night pizza?  Reasons #3,231 and #6,121,989 we are friends.

two slices of veggie pizza were most certainly devoured

When I got home, I crashed harder than Lindsey Lohan’s career.

After almost 10 hours of glorious sleep, I woke up to coffee and a lovely chat with Ashley.  Then, right as I started contemplating eating Ash’s carpet, it was 10:30am and time for me to meet another fabulous lady you all know – Ms. Angharad!

We met at the Uptown Diner…looks like a total dive from the outside, but inside you will find such fabulous delicacies such as this…

tex-mex breakfast burrito (Angharad)

french toast kamikaze-style (aka with bananas, blueberries & pecans) para moi

After brekkie, I skedaddled back on the road (wasn’t I just driving?) back to Madison.  Five LONG hours later, I arrived safely.  After successful shopping trip #2 at the co-op (including a free coupon for a French Meadow bread product and a bottle of organic agave syrup – score!), I made it back to my apartment to find the Internet still not working.

WTF?!?!?!?!

I can’t handle this.  ATT is apparently coming on Tuesday to fix it, but that means another two days of paying for coffee at the cute coffeeshop for free Wi-Fi.  I guess there could be worse thangs…

green ap + peppahjack stick

emergency stash of almonds was consumed when i hit mayjuh traffic

Ah, home sweet home.

After getting really frustrated and angry speaking calmly with the Internet peeps, I needed a snackie.  Enter in perhaps, my other new love (sorry McMac AND Indian food :()

i am a firm believer in dessert before dinner

Ingredients: organic coconut milk, organic agave syrup, organic pineapple, organic pineapple juice concentrate, organic coconut extract, organic rum extract

One word: AMAZING.

look at those pineapple chunks of love

After dessert, I had dinner…

mixed greens
cherry tomatoes
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup cumin-spiced black beans
1/3 cup mild salsa
1/4 cup sliced green pepper
crushed blue corn chips 

Mexican Fiesta Salad

And a lil’ calcium for (more) dessert…

i think the barista gave me Vitamin D milk...decaf iced chai was still yummo

I just scrolled through the post and realized it’s practically a marathon long, which by the way, the Twin Cities Marathon is in T-minus 49 days.  Eeeeeeek!

Bloggy thangs I still have planned (even if they are taking uber-longer than I expected):

• Marathon training post
• Holly Investigates… post (It’s been 75% done for like three weeks now!)
• Two exciting announcements
• Updates

Hang in there my children…mama WILL eventually get there!

Now, I am downing the rest of my drank and gettin’ down to read some bloggy love!  Say a prayer for my Internet por favor and have a relaxing Sunday night!

 

Highlight of the weekend?  Put it out there peeps!  Mine was probably the amazing run on Saturday morning and the pictures Char, Britt and I took in the photo booth.  They were epic.

My New Boyfriend August 13, 2009

Everybody…meet the newest member of The Healthy Everythingtarian family…

Meet my new love...McMac!

I can’t even express how hard I fell in love with McMac.  At first opening of the box, I knew me and him were meant to be.  He’s sleek, suave and ultra sophisticated.  Just my kind of guy.

The even better news?  The same day I got my new comp (shoutout to Daddy Everythingtarian for helping his dear daughter purchase said McMac!), my Internet equipment also came!  As of 8pm tomorrow, I will be with computer AND with Internet.  Release the doves and let the animals run free – freedom is here people!

I don’t think I even begin to say how much I missed y’all.  Even though moving into the new hippie abode has been taking up lots of time as has starting a brand new job, I knew something was missing from my day-to-day activities.  So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for being patient and sticking with me through all of it. Your dedication shall be rewarded my people.

 

Back to the good stuff….THE EATS!  Here is a sample buffet of what yours truly has been putting in her workin’ gal belly:

First, multiple, consecutive days of overnight oats (alert: new obsession!) using the standard recipe:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup organic skim milk
1/4 cup POM juice
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut

~ soaked overnight ~

fruit of choice
hunk o’ almond buttah

bananas were the topping of the week

yep, more overnight oats

Shoutout to Jess for finally turning me away from the darkside and towards pepperjack cheese!

toasted portabella veggie sandwich with pepperjack and a side salad

veg tikka masala stirfry over brown rice and frozen applesauce

***OBSESSION ALERT***  Go home and freeze your applesauce right now.  It will be the most delightful summer frozen treat you have experienced yet.  Just trust me.

Without working Internet or TV, I’ve resorted to doing makeovers in my spare time…

pre-makeover

post-makeover...isn't she a beauty?

Who knew nonfat plain yogurt, smashed banana, Banana Nut Cheerios, buttloads of cinnamon and almond butter could look so fabulous?  I didn’t.

salsa + black bean + spinach wrap and more yummy applesauce (unfrozen)

Some pre-run fuel for my mid-week 8 miler (which for the record, was one of the BEST runs I have had in a LONG time!  I think my body does not run well in the heat :()…

1/2 banana walnut muffin

Now, I sit happily blogging at the cutest lil’ coffeeshop (with free WiFi, yesssss!) around the corner from my apartment with a decaf skim chai latte (brewed with real tea bags…not the concentrate crap).  

Sidenote: If you drink cow’s milk, lowfat and nonfat milk are perfect post-workout recovery fuel.  It is the perfect balance of carbohydrates + protein to repair those muscles.  Just make sure you buy organic and preferably from small farms – hopefully the milk will come from happier cows :).

 

In happy moving news: I joined my local co-op which is a 5 minute walk from the apt!  It is adorable, stocks a plethora of of local, organic produce and fair trade products and I am part-owner.  I also joined a gym, which I really like so far.  I went to a yoga class on Monday that kicked my arse.  Love it.  Do you like how the two first two things I do when moving to a new city are find the nearest grocery store and gym?  Haha…that is healthy living dedication!

Alrighty peeps, I’m rollin’ out to go read blogs, spend quality time with McMac and pack for my weekend trip back home to MN for a wedding.  The weekend also might involved a lovely brunch outing with our fave Brit…wink wink.

 

Happy Thursday everyone!  Since I am behind the times, I demand (yes, DEMAND!) you leave a comment and tell me something you’ve been up to this week.  Funny stories, weekly goals, exciting news and happy events are all welcome.

My highlight of the day today was having a High School Musical jam session with one of my fab new co-workers in the office.  It ruled.

2009 Gas Station Challenge July 29, 2009

This morn was rough.  Real rough.

You ever have those mornings where you look in the mirror and are like, whoa – what the hell beat me up last night?  I’m all about self-empowerment and encouragement peeps, but sometimes, there is no saving face (literally) no matter how many compliments you give yourself.

Luckily, washing my face always seems to make things 100% better, so I lathered up real nice, slathered on my fave Aveeno face lotion and felt a whole lot better.  I was still 1/2 hour later to work than norm, but it was worth it to take time and enjoy this…

Zoe's Cinnamon Raisin Granola, skim milk + banana

I finally busted open my last box of Zoe’s granola sent to me awhile ago as a free sample: Cinnamon Raisin! As with all Zoe’s granolas, my first reaction was mmmmmmmmm! Honestly, I wasn’t the hugest fan of their bars, but their granolas are really good. I love the sweetness, crunch and texture of the mix, and the Cinnamon Raisin was no different.

Finally, lunchtime struck and it was time for the challenge: The Gas Station Challenge!

the scene of the challenge

Since the next week and a half is going to be a bit crazy, I don’t know if it will be worth it for me to grocery shop because I am grabbing lunch with friends, have a couple events to go to and obv going to be uber busssyyyy.  So, I decided today I would give myself $10.00 to buy myself lunch, snacks and dinner for the day.  You may be asking me, $10 bucks at a gas station, are you kay-ray-zee woman?

Most likely.

However, all of us are busy and quite frankly, don’t always have time to prepare lovely, gorge homemade meals featuring organic, homegrown ingredients all the time (or even half the time!).  Sometimes, dinner is chowed down while driving, talking on the phone and trying to navigate the mean highways of MN…I mean…

I wanted to see how far $10 would go at the gas station and see how I could navigate our fave neighborhood hot spot for some healthy eats.  Here’s how it went…

the loot = $10.20

• Bumblebee Sundried Tomato & Basil Tuna with Crackers
• Crystal Farms Marble Jack cheese stick
• Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar
• Veggie platter with dill dip
• 1 (6-oz.) container Kemps 1% fat cottage cheese
• Green apple
• Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms

Two meals and a snack for $10.20…if I do say so myself, I rocked that challenge!

Lunch: Tuna cracker pack + cottage cheese + veggie tray.  One can get quite creative with this combo, if I do say so myself…

crack, tun, cottage + broc

crack, tun, cottage + carrot

crack, tun, cottage + caul

Snack: Dark chocolate peanut M&Ms

Mini-dinner #1: Clif bar + cheese stick + apple

Volleyball was a bit bittersweet.  We lost.  Bad.  However, in brighter news, next Wednesday is now my going away shindig (instead of a playoff v-ball game).  I’ll take that trade-off.

Mini-dinner #2: Red pepper hummus + pita chips (split three ways…although I prob could have wolfed em’ all down)

post-game cheering up

Now, it’s time to make my master moving to-do list and get to bed.  I haven’t worked out since Sunday (eeek…there is marathon training to be had!) and haven’t gotten to bed before 11pm in a week!  That just ain’t okay with my healthified g-ma ways :).

 

What is your fave gas station find?  Dudes, that sundried tomato tuna cracker pack was pretty delish!

Short & Sweet July 27, 2009

Happy Monday my friends!

I literally just got back from Madison a couple hours ago after 9 HOURS of driving in the past 24 hours.  Ugh.  I hate driving.  I would happily give up driving and stare out the window in la-la land the rest of my life if I could.  Luckily, I made it home just in time for The Bach finale!

In short, she picked ED!  Yay for his green mankini him!  

Not going to lie, as much as I like cute, charming Reid, he looked like a TOTAL TOOL coming back to propose to her.  Anybody else agree with me?  Yeah, I know ya do.  What am I going to do on Monday nights without my Bach fix?  Hmmmm….any ideas for a new trashy TV show hobby?

Alright, here are the eats for the day.  Short and sweet (TWSS)…

blackberry yog + blackberries + strawbs + Dylan's Chia Granola (my new fave!) + handful walnut/almond mix

post-makeover: A HOT MESS

car snack: ate 1/2 pre-interview

The interview went well – I think I definitely still would pick my job offer over this position, but it was awesome to get more interview experience, make connections, yadda yadda…you know, the usual grown-up job drill.

other 1/2 post interview...a bit small for 370 kcals, no?

For lunch, I met up with my old boss and a couple of co-workers from a pubic relations internship I had in college.  It was sooo good to catch up with them!  They have been so supportive, helpful and fabulous (not mention, hook me up with some freelance writing gigs!).  We hit up Sa Bai Thong, a fab Thai restaurant in Madison for some YUMMY lunch eats.

I had the Squash Red Curry with rice…it was amazing.  Just trust me :).

car snacks for the 4-hr. drive back to MN

Subway...a classic road trip dinner

I got my usual…veggie sub on toasted honey oat with pepperjack cheese (a la spicy Jess).  Hit the spot.

Then I came home, unpacked my shiz, put on The Bachelorette, caught up on blogs and am now watching Flight of the Conchords. They are genius.  For reals.  Watch now.

Now, this gal is off to bed – lots more craziness, blog reading and major life decis to make this week!  I am still determined to make it to yoga and relax this week – my two weekly goals.

 

To help me update on all your lives, what are you looking forward to most this week?  Since I’m uber-indecisive, I have two – (1) Volleyball playoffs start Wednesday, and (2) hopefully I will have a brand new job by the end of the week!