So, What...I love food, always have and always will.....

...that doesn't mean my tastes haven't been changing and I love more and more healthy foods!

I was thinking about some of the things that I *love* to eat right now.

I pretty much eat all of these, except obviously the Chobani, in their natural state, not doused in anything, topped with anything, or dipped in anything...yay me!

I just cut them in half
and eat them right out
of the "shell"

I love blueberries alone,
they are awesome in Chobani!

Nom Nom Cukes

strawberries



Pistachios


 Of course I still love chocolate, cookies, pizza, tacos, ice cream, cheese, bagels, etc....but I don't crave them like they are the only satisfying savory food anymore.  Yay eating healthier! 

Funny story, I realized, because of one situation or another I had pizza on Friday, twice on Saturday, and on Monday....crazy, eh? But I didn't eat too much of it, or go over my calorie limit, I just ate a lot of pizza.

On Friday night I made it homemade (per my blog), on Saturday morning we made it and had samples during our cooking class, on Saturday night my friends served it for our movie night, and last night, Monday night, it was late, we were tired, and due to lack of planning (whoops) we got delivery. But all is well and good, I managed the cals!

Mmmm, pizza.

One Step, One Breath Priorfatgirl Summer Event

This weekend I joined some familiar faces, made some new friends and learned lots of new ways to think about the mental and physical aspects of my healthiness journey. Jen, of Priorfatgirl hosted this awesome and fun event!

We all met at The Beat Coffeehouse at 8am on Saturday morning, uffdah early, good thing they have wonderful coffee!

The first speaker was Mary Sailors of Fit this, girl! She's a Personal Trainer, Bootcamp Instructor and a Kettlebell instructor and super nice and easy to follow.  She gave us a presentation about how to focus on your goal, what to think about mentally, physically, food wise, and environment wise. She showed us exercises that anyone can do at home with a band, too!

Mary Sailor, Fit This, Girl!

Lets Squat!

Kris @krisgetshealthy.com and Ann @twelve-in-twelve.com

Ann working on resistance band moves

Jen @priorfatgirl.com
pulling those bands!

Yay Jen!

Kris and Ann listening attentively to instructions

Kris's turn!

Work it Kris!

Jen talked about how much relationships can change, can be lost, and new ones can be built as we change our minds and our bodies to become healthier. Our lives, our environment, the people we want around us, the people that can accept our new lifestyle may change who we surround ourselves with and who chooses to stick with us.  She said that 80% of marriages where one spouse loses a significant amount of weight end in divorce...so its important to compromise and to keep lines of communication open!

Jen





Doing her thing






















After meeting a the coffeehouse, we ventured to our 2nd half of the day, which was a cooking class on Healthy Comfort Foods by KitchenWerks.

We learned how to make:

Spaghetti sauce served on romaine or wilted broccoli slaw
(as pasta substitutes)



Topping off the mac 'n cheese with breadcrumbs



mmm organic, gluten free and appropriate portioned
mac 'n cheese

Coconut chicken strips, they are coated in
a flax crumb topping and baked on a sheet
with coconut oil, SOO GOOD!

Pizza made on Joseph's Lavash or Arnold's Sandwich Thins
We used the homemade sauce or olive oil as the base



Jen putting together what she claims was the "best" pizza















I had such a wonderful time catching up, networking, learning new things, tasting new things (you betcha I'm going to serve pasta sauce on wilted broccoli slaw now!)  Plus a healthier recipe for mac 'n cheese and chicken strips, yum nom nom nom!

Made me feel healthy and accomplished all weekend.

P.S.
On Sunday I also ran outside for another 25 minutes w/ a 5 min warmup, yay me!

Homemade Pizza!

It's date night and I made homemade pizza for the first time and then we are going to the movies!

I love Friday!

Whoa baby hormones and some running of course! :)

Can I just start with I ran OUTSIDE for 2.45 miles, I could have done the treadmill easily, but now that I'm on week 7 of  Couch to 5K , its 25 minutes of running and its just gonna be longer and longer intervals of running, so there aren't intervals to keep me *entertained and engaged* and its easy to time 25 minutes, etc...so I figured I better start getting used to being outside if I'm actually going to be doing 5Ks OUTSIDE this fall :)

Heehee, I'm really proud of myself for keeping my cravings in check with my calorie counts, but I definitely had to do some food swaps today. I didn't fuel myself as healthily (is that a word?) as I should have but at least I'm not overeating.

Popcorn and a couple small pieces of dark chocolate replaced my Chobani today, hehe..oh well, I'm satisfied and I guess I'll have salad for dinner :)  

I lifted weights today and rocked out 5mph for 20 minutes on hill intervals on the treadmill this morning, too RAWR!!

What I Love Wednesday

Big bay window in my
new home

Leftover Chipotle Burrito Bol because
I only eat 1/2 at a time, YUM!

black cherry and pomegranate Chobani!

Pretty Pedicures



Pistachios!




I like turtles



Habitat for Humanity

Last week I volunteered for a wonderful charity called Habitat for Humanity.  The company I work for gives us on volunteer paid time off day a year so we can give our time to a charity of our choice. They partner with Habitat for Humanity for people who want to volunteer with their team at work, so its team building and doing something for the local community.

On Wednesday, keep in mind I kicked my butt all day packing and then doing a weight lifting workout on Tuesday night, I headed over to Northeast Minneapolis near Broadway and 3rd where the current project is building 8 townhomes.

My team was in charge of putting in pieces of wood above all the wall/window framing that drywall can be attached to.   We scavenged scrap 2x4s and 2x10s and measured them out to fit in the spaces and then used a pneumatic palm hammer to put it in. 

I got to use a Miter saw for the first time!

See that sunburn forming? whoops!
Sawing was so fun, go me!

The other half my team was putting in the boards:

I know this post wasn't super health oriented, but voluteering is good for the brain, its good for the soul, see what you can do to support your commmunity and help deserving people in need!

Oh and the next morning....I did a leg workout and 20 minutes of elliptical...GO ME!

Ooh I better take a bunch of pictures, as tomorow is Wordless What I Love Wednesday!

What volunteering opportunities or charities do you like?

How do you support them?

Grocery Shopping

This weekend I moved in with my boyfriend, whoa that was lots of work and we still have boxes around, but they are slowly being emptied and organized.

On Sunday we started thinking about the week ahead and filling up on groceries.  Ryan asked me about *sides* for dinners.  I said we had plenty of brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta and potatoes, but he felt that was getting a little boring and repetitive...how about some asparagus? I was floored! "Ryan, we already have romaine and spinach salad, are you saying you want asparagus as a side with that?", Ryan says, "I like asparagus that would be great!"

Whoa baby! This started a conversation of him sharing more healthy meals with me and basically putting in a couple requests for our grocery list but leaving the rest of to me! Oh wow, am I a happy camper! No longer having to stare at packages of dried buttered noodles or longing for some frozen mashed potatoes, whoo dog!

Check out some snapshots of our grocery trip (we didn't really need any protein this time, after combining refrigerator/freezers we have plenty of chicken b00bs, steaks,pork chops, and ground beef for now)

Asparagus, Sandwich Thins, Chobani!

bananas, peaches, romaine salad, raspberries!



Better Oats and Chobani!!



oranges, milk, cucumber!

Lean Cuisine Thai Spring Rolls
as a last minute time saver when needed

Kashi TLCs and Smart Ones Mini Cheeseburgers
not a regularly eaten food, but great for cheeseburger cravings!

Do you guys like any of my choices?  What should I add?  Oh and, umm, what's the best way to make asparagus? I don't want them to get mooshy in the microwave, should I broil them? We LOVE the flavor of grilled asparagus!

What did you shop for this weekend?