I actually started writing a post on my way home to Seattle for Christmas but never hit publish! Since we aren’t too far into the new year I still wanted to share.. I’m just amazed at what a difference a year can make!

Written December 22nd, 2011:

What a year. I’m heading to Seattle for the first time since I moved to Austin 1.25 years ago. I’ve gone longer without seeing my parents and visiting my home town, but what blows me away is simply HOW MUCH has changed since I was last here.

I am simply overwhelmed with gratitude and amazement for what this year has brought. Was it all rainbows and butterflies.. of course not. But as usual, things happen for a reason, and I am thankful for everything that has happened over the last 365 days.

Professionally

A year ago I was unemployed. I made job searching 60 hour a week “job” in and of itself and I had recently found out that I didn’t get a position that I thought was a done deal. I just spent the weekend in Baltimore with great friends, and returned back to Austin, to spend Christmas alone and crying. Yeah I know.. no good.

The first week of 2011 I was offered a position and started two days later. I am so ridiculously thankful to have a full-time job doing something I truly enjoy. I love the industry I work in and truly enjoy my positon in that field. I genuinely get wrapped up in the details of getting an icon perfectly aligned on one of our sites (hell, I didn’t know a damn thing about html or css a year ago), and spending hours running metrics reports and analyses (yeah.. I’m a dork :p).

Yoga

I’m mentioned here and there that yoga has changed my life in a way I never could have imagine. This year is what made me realize that. I knew there was something special in the practice.. something that I desperately needed in my life. I think during my first year in Austin I tried 75% of the studios in the city. What can I say, I’m picky. There’s nothing wrong with any of them, but I think it’s important (or it is to me) to find a ‘yoga home’ of sorts.  I found that in February. I started going at least 5 days a week, and I started noticing the practice carrying over to my everyday, off-the-mat, life. I went on a yoga retreat in May. It didn’t end up being what I expected. There were lots of tears.. and mind you I’m not big on crying in front of 25 people I just met, but it was also exactly what I needed and made me realize the things in my life that it was time to let go of. I came back to Austin and for the first time it really felt like home.

Friends

Man, it’s not like it use to be. College, grad school.. you’re basically dropped into a community of friends. Moving to a new city where you know next to no one is not as easy. I’ve always been the type to have a handful of really close friends and not necessarily the social butterfly.

A year ago I basically knew one person in Austin (& that was going to crap), but in the last year a few people in particular have played  a ridiculously huge part in making this year what it’s been.. and probably saving me a shit ton of money on therapy

Moving On

You know the saying ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me’? Well what if it becomes ‘fool me 100 times?’ .. yeah maybe don’t answer that. hehe .. Maybe it’s a breaking point. Maybe it’s just growing up enough to be ready to learn certain lessons. Whatever it is.. 2011 was that time for me. I came out the other side better than I ever could have imagine. So much so in fact that I am thankful for what happened. It’s kind of fun being able to thank someone for being a jackass and screwing you over… though I hope to not make a hobby of that or anything.

Fitness

Read the last post for this one.. But the short version.. fitness is a big part of my life, yoga means everything to me.. they can work together. I’m so excited to compete again in 2012!

End of previously written post.

So that was 2011.. on to 2012! 

I have a few things on my agenda this year.. but the biggest related to this blog.. yup I’m planning to compete. I’ll be 14 weeks out this weekend. I know this time will be completely different, and I have absolutely no idea how it will turn out. But I’m ok with that. I’m hoping to be able to do fitness &/or figure/bikini but it depends on whether my routine is ready or not. The April show is here in Austin about 10 minutes from my house, so I figure I might as well take advantage! There’s another in Galveston in May where I definitely want to do Fitness.

So far everything is going great! Since I got back from Seattle I’ve been eating completely clean and workouts have been awesome. I’m finally (finally!) starting to see my cardio improve a bit along with strength gains.

The only down side at the moment is that I somehow managed to hurt my back. Fortunately it’s something that actually feels better when I workout.. though yoga has been troublesome, which is really frustrating. At the moment I have stylish black tape across my back and exercises to do, so hopefully it’ll get better quickly!

Wow long post.. back to what’s going on now topic soon!

The following are far from “clean” but if you want to partake in the holiday party cheers with a legitimate drink, a reduced calorie version of holiday favorites never hurts..

Lightened White Chocolate Peppermint Liquid Dessert

1 oz Vodka

1 oz Creme de Cocoa (regular or white chocolate) or Peppermint Schnapps

1 oz Sugar-Free Peppermint Mocha Creamer

1 tbsp Sugar-Free White Chocolate Syrup (you can find SF Torani at World Market)

a few drops of Peppermint Extract (optional)

Shake everything together with ice and pour into a fun glass. OR if you wanted an adult version of a Starbucks fave, pour this into a cup of coffee! yum…

Photo credit

Ok actually this next one isn’t even lightened..

Chocolate Pecan Pie in a Glass

1 oz Cake Vodka

1/2-1 oz Creme de Cacao

1/2-1 oz Pecan Liquer

1/2 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liquor OR for a lighter version, Sugar-Free Vanilla Creamer

Shake everything together with ice and pour!

Do you have any favorite holiday cocktails?

I started yoga after I competed back in November 2009. Competing was a wonderful experience, but there was also a lot I did wrong. After the shows I was definitely burned out and looking for something new. Whatever higher power you believe in must have been watching out because I stumbled into yoga, the type just right for me at just the right time. Two years later and I seriously can not imagine where I would be without it! Maybe that sounds melodramatic to some, but I know many of you know exactly what I mean. I can say without a doubt that it has made me a better person. It has made me more compassionate, caring, better able to deal with stress, self-confident, empowered, I could go on and on. Really amazing stuff.

So how can yoga, a practice that is both physical and spiritual, and all about non-judgement and not competing be anything like a sport where you push yourself completely to the limit, then get up on stage 95% naked, covered in spray tan, in clear hooker heals and get judge strictly on your appearance? Easy.. they both challenge me and make me a stronger person physically and mentally.. and I love them both. It hasn’t always been that way.. let me explain..

I ran across this quote in Meditations from the Mat and it completely hit home. What I’d been feeling lately, a connection and easy synch between fitness and yoga, was put into words..

Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite; They only take action when they expect a reward, and don’t enjoy the action. That is why they don’t do their best. …

Our experience of life is like that of a trapeze artist–but instead of rings, we swing from one intense attachment to the next. We begin asana practice with an eye to the results. [When you start seeing results], a whole new world is presented to us. Why not hope for more of the same? Because it is in this hoping that we lose sight of the true beauty we have discovered.

We are finding that the only result worth achieving is being here now. All other positive outcomes are by-products of our present-moment awareness. To be attached to the results, be they a tighter bum or a better triangle pose, is to place the cart before the horse and to miss the point. Eventually we will find this striving unrewarding… The alternative–doing your best as an expression of your love for life.

For quite a while I thought that if I wanted to lift weights and compete that I’d be a “bad yogi.” And not going to lie, I got plenty of not-so-positive feedback (some in friendly conversation, some not as sought) from a couple yoga teachers. Yoga had won me over 100% and as I’ve discussed, I’m never one to only “test the waters.” I throw myself in!  So you can image, hearing negative feedback about fitness from people who I really looked up to created more than a little internal conflict.

What’s ironic is that I’ve probably experience more competitive people in the yoga studio than I ever have at the gym.

But let me back up. What I now see as fantastic similarities and connections between fitness and yoga has definitely not always been. Really it’s yoga that has changed how I approach fitness.

It’s Not a Lie.. It Really is the Journey

In 2009 when I was getting ready to compete, it was ALL about the end goal. I was training solely to get on that stage and check an item off my bucket list. When you focus your energy that hard on something, and have complete tunnel vision (like I tend to when I set my eyes on a goal), a lot of things tend to get sacrificed. With sacrifice, sometimes comes a bit of resentment. It didn’t seem like it at the time.. by hindsight ya know.. And when you realize what you sacrificed in order to reach that goal, then the end result becomes even more important. You (ok me) think, “If I gave up this and that and this and that.. then I better win, or none of those sacrifice would have been worth it”.. in the immortal social media words of 2011.. #fail! When it’s all about the end goal, the purpose starts to get lost. I even remember someone asking me why I decided to compete.. and I was at a loss for an answer. How can you put so many hours into something, spend a lot of time being hungry, a lot of money, loose and semblence of a social life and not be sure why? I know, I know..

So it took a couple years of being confused about the whole thing.. and a lot of down dogs..

The actually competition is such a small part of what fitness is all about for me.

Now.. I love yoga more than ever.. I love weight training more than ever.. I love being part of a team of amazing and inspiring women, and I look forward to competing again (FAP Lonestar), and may again (TX Shredder) and perhaps again (FAP Universe)..

The difference? The REALLY BIG DIFFERENCE.. it’s no longer about the stage. Getting on stage is just an added bonus during the process. It’s a fun weekend in Galveston and/or Miami. It’s not the goal, not at all. The goal is to remember each day I step on my yoga mat, each time I go to workout, and when I’m panting for breath during a functional workout (I must look hilarious and a complete wreck to anyone watching), that I get to. That I get to do that. That I’m healthy enough, that I have the time and money to get to workout, to play with new inversion, travel hours just to cheer for friends competing, and go to ridiculously amazing yoga events, and share it all with even more amazing people.

I feel so fortunate to have now found yoga teachers who are supportive of me in every way. And I think that’s helped me realize that these two “hobbies” of mine aren’t so mutually exclusive. At the same time I’ve met some of the most selfless, caring, loving and giving people I’ve ever known through fitness competitions. I don’t do yoga to be better at fitness or to be more flexible, and I certainly don’t lift in order to be able to hold a handstand longer.. I do both, because I love both.. that’s all that really matters.

*Added after Publishing Friday night:

It’s funny, today (Saturday) during yoga, the teacher said something along the lines of “isn’t it a miracle how people come into our lives just when we need them. They may not stay long but it’s a miracle that it happens.”

I laughed to myself and thought about what I had written and published in this post. I was feeling a little uncomfortable that what I had written may have come off not as positive as I meant it to. I am very grateful for each an every yoga teacher (and fitness trainer for that matter) that I’ve had, because I know that’s exactly what I needed at that time. I’m probably at such a great place with yoga & lifting because I took that break, and being exposed to different perspectives, whether I agree or not is something I value very much as well. Hope that makes sense.. Promise a not-so-serious, mostly likely recipe-post next 

Because why wouldn’t you do handstands in the middle of a hotel lobby, on a beach in Costa Rica, while wearing a halter top, after a couple margaritas.. ?! Yes yes, and after not putting enough sunscreen on that day…

Enough cheesy? (ya know I gotta go there hehe).. Well then.. I am also thankful for having a tremendous healthy baking success this weekend! I stumbled on unsweetened frozen cranberries at Safeway and finally decided they needed to be put to use. I combined a bunch of different recipes, made a few switch-outs, and ta-da! .. A lightened up version of the oh so seasonal Apple Cranberry Crisp.. hope you enjoy

Lightened-Up Apple Cranberry Crisp

2 cups unsweetened Cranberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Maple Syrup (I used Walden Farms 0-calorie)

Stevia (depends on the type you use, but I used a few squirts of liquid extract)

2 Apples, chopped (I used Granny Smith)

1.5 tbsp Almond Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

Crisp

1/2 cup Oats

1 tsp Cinnnamon

2 tsp Brown Sugar

1/2 scoop Protein Powder (I used Muscle Gauge Cake Batter Whey Isolate)

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tsp Coconut Oil

Mix together Cranberries, Maple Syrup, Lemon Juice and Stevia in a sauce pan. Cook over medium head for 5-8 minutes until cranberries pop. Meanwhile, chop Apples and toss with Almond Flour and Cinnamon. When Cranberry mixture is ready, remove from heat and stir in Apple mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together all the Crisp ingredients. Pour Cranberry-Apple mixture into a sprayed 8×8 dish. Sprinkle with the Oat mixture and bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.

You could eat the whole batch and not feel TOO guilty.. but if we’re being sensible (have to every-so-often right?!), if you break the pan into 4 servings the stats are:

Topped with a little Goat’s Milk Yogurt..

Healthy Living & Fitness

Fit Approach: Lots of great stuff here! There are a few different others you write about all things related to health: recipes, fitness, yoga, getting motivated, you name it!

She Rocks Fitness: Another fitness and yoga loving lady.. naturally I’m going to adore her

Our Lady of Second Helpings: I’ve known this woman since I was 2 years old! Sure it’s cool to see someone get on a fitness stage year in and year out, but Rose’s story is what really inspires me (check it out). She did a completely changed her lifestyle when it comes to fitness & nutrition, and now preaches (pun intended :p) about the benefits in her always witty and entertaining blog.

Gilly Anne Smith: One of my coaches when I was doing CrossFit. She doesn’t blog a lot but when she does it’s always so beautiful.

Recipes

Finding Vegan: A warehouse of vegan recipes submitted by other bloggers, so many great ideas that could convince any hater that eating vegan is far from boring.

Dessert Stalker: I’m pretty sure this is the opposite of the site above.. aka Paleo. But the Paleo folks have some amazing dessert ideas, so you’ll find all sorts of Almond and Coconut Flour-using sweet tasting recipes here.

Two Peas and Their Pod: You know those sites where you realize you’re bookmarking every single recipe and they must be reading your mind with what sounds absolutely fantastic? .. yeah that’s this duo

My pumpkin obsession is no new thing.. proof.. and I couldn’t let November pass without a couple recipes for ya!

But first..

It’s All About the Powder!

Alright, ya’ll know I love my various protein powder concoctions. I get asked all the type what protein powders I use.. and it all depends. Some are good for pancakes and protein bars, while I prefere others for shakes. And even then it’s different for sweet chocolaty shakes versus my beloved Green Smoothies.

For my morning Green Smoothie, my number one favorite is Olympian Labs Vanilla Pea Protein, I also love Vega Sport (I think the one I used just got discontinued but they have a new product that looks good) and Genuine Health’s Vegan Proteins.

Now pancakes.. How they come out depends a lot on the protein powder you use. I love Pea Protein for my Green Shakes, but have had horrible results with it in pancakes. My very favorite powder for pancakes is Muscle Gauge Whey Isolate in Cake Batter.

Ok, onto the good stuff..

Pumpkin Gingerbread Protein Shake

Inspired by Angela’s recipe.

1/3 cup Pumpkin

1/2 frozen Banana

 1 scoop Protein Powder (my fave is Olympic Labs Pea Protein)

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Gingeer

3/4 Unsweetened Almond Milk

Ice

Blend. Enjoy.  Particularly awesome with a little Peanut Flour sprinkled on top!

Even Better Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Makes 4-5 pancakes:

4 scoop Protein Powder (used my fave)

1/2 cup Pumpkin

1 tbsp Oil (I’m loving using Hemp Oil, but Coconut would also be great)

3/4 cup Egg Whites

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Pumpkin Spice

Blend with a hand mixer, than pour ~1/3 cup into a pre-heated pan. yummm

And in Other News..

As I watch this I’m watching the ladies rock the Fitness America stage! I’m seriously being blown away by the level of competition this year.. so awesome, not to mention crazy inspiring.

I can’t believe it was two whole years ago that I was up there.. sighh.. Think I’ll do an extra functional workout or two tomorrow.. ;-)

I’ve been wonderful, crazy busy, but good.

Work has been the busiest since I started, I’ve been working long hours and a lot of weekends, but it made me realize more than ever how important getting in my regular workouts and sticking with my meal plan is. There are NO EXCUSES! I’ve noticed this before, but I know that getting in really strong workouts and getting to yoga is what allows me to be my most productive and creative at work. Not only that, it helps me to sleep better instead of tossing & turning all night while stressing about everything that needs to get done.

Reminding myself of this is what got me off my butt on the couch and to the gym a couple times this week.. well that and the motivation of CSF girls.. especially my workout buddy and roommate!

I’m getting it all in! This last week I felt like I really started getting into the swing of regular weights and cardio, while also getting in the yoga I need (yes I said need ). I got in all 5 weight training days, 5 cardio sessions (2 hour Spin classes, 1 Treadmill HIIT and 2 ADD cardio), and 4 yoga classes! Simply feeling great I’ve been getting it in with a schedule like this:

Monday: AM Spin and Upper Body, maybe PM Yoga

Tuesday: Lower Body and SS Cardio (AM or PM depends), PM Yoga

Wednesday: AM Spin and Upper Body

Thursday: Yoga or Rest

Friday: Lower, SS Cardio

Saturday: Upper Body, HIIT Cardio, Yoga

Sunday: Yoga or Rest

Can’t say I have too much new to report. Thank goodness for epic prep days, because having a bunch of frozen meals from previous prep weekends is what saved me the last couple weeks. I haven’t had time to spend choosing fun new recipes and all day cooking, but I made enough this, this and this weekend, that I had freezer leftovers.

This weekend I went the speedy prep route by mixing up batches of:

• Protein Pancakes
• Spinach Bars
• Mexi-cauli Salad (I need to post this recipe this week because I’m a little obsessed!)
• Chicken Breast
• Lean Ground Turkey
• Roasted Butternut & Kabocha Squash

Back in August, Sleep Number Beds contacted me asking if I’d like to try and review their bed. Before giving the obvious answer.. I have to tell you..

Last year when I moved to Texas.. yup September 2010, my beautiful (& expensive) pillow top mattress did not arrive safely. The pillow-portion got smooched from being on its side for too long, and no matter how hard I tried, I was stuck with a big lump down the middle of the bed. Well being that it was a queen size bed and I’m a single, not particularly large, person who sleeps within arms-reach of the alarm clock, the bed bump wasn’t really an issue, but also not cool.

So anyways, naturally, I said “absolutely!” to Sleep Number’s kind offer.

I had the bed delivered to my new house, and it took 2 nights before I completely fell in love with it! I seriously have never slept so well.. every night. It couldn’t have come at a better time, because as I’m getting back into consistent weight and cardio workouts, I’m sore all the time, and we all know how important good sleep is to reaching your fitness goals!

So when Sleep Number asked if I would like to host a Sleep Chat, it was another easy ‘yes.’ I don’t review a lot of products, because I always feel bad if I don’t like what they sent me for free, and don’t want to write anything bad. But in this case I’m more than happy to speak for them, recommend their beds and chat about how important good sleep is in order to get the very most out of your workouts and be your healthiest!

So if you’re free Tuesday night (and want to win a free bed!), please join me, @SleepNumberSara and @SleepGeekPete for a Twitter & Facebook chat about the Health Triangle: Fitness, Nutrition and of course Sleep!

Sleep Number Chat:

Tuesday, October 11th at 7-8pm (CST)

You can join the chat by:

1) Going to the Sleep Number Facebook page and clicking on the “Sleep Better Chat” link in the upper left corner. Log-in with a username and include #sleepnumber in all your comments.

-OR-

2) On Twitter, by following @SleepNumberSara, @SleepGeekPete and Me (@NourishedFit). Remember to include the #sleepnumber hashtag in all your tweets. This will allow us to see your feedback during the discussion.

Hope to “see” you there! 

And another thing.. HUGE CONGRATS to Naomi who looked absolutely amazing and completed rocked her Bikini competition this weekend and came home with hardware to prove it! This girl inspires me everyday.. and I am so excited to meet her in-person.. I’m thinking much sooner than later 

At the risk of jinxing it.. but hoping that by throwing that out there I negate the jinx.. I’ve been getting back into lifting on a regular basis, and loving it! In fact I re-signed up with Cathy Savage Fitness. I’m super excited that a friend is doing it with me, so we’ve been working out together and encouraging one another. What a difference it makes! Even when I was training for my last show, and technically on a team, I never really worked out with anyone. But the combination with working out with a friend and being a part of CSF, it already feels like a different, really positive, experience.

Which begs the competition question.. And the answer is, I’m not sure yet.. just taking it one day.. week.. month at a time and will see what I feel like when I get closer to that point.

So for right now you’ll find me limping around and struggling to lift my arms.. oh but it’s such a good sore! 

But yoga is still priority. My goal is to get in at least 3 classes a week. I know if I can keep that up I won’t feel like I’m “sacrificing” yoga for lifting, and it will be so beneficial to weight-training.

Speaking of yoga, I’m going to be doing a little Artistic Yoga demo with the amazing ladies of Balance Yoga at the Austin Yoga Festival. Check out there website, and if you’re if you’re around central Austin you should definitely come!

Nutrition-wise everything is going great. I’m getting use to being more specific with my meal planning again (in line with the CSF plan), but I wasn’t too far off, so really it’s just being sure to eat enough!

I’ve said it once, twice, a hundred times.. eating healthy is seriously all about being prepared! During the week I’m a usually really busy and have no interest spending time figuring out what to eat, then having to make it. So I do all the work on Sundays. I usually will make 2-3 full dishes, cook up proteins, and have additional veggies prepped ready to mix it. On this week’s prep menu I have:

• Un-Potato Salad with Chicken Sausage
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Roasted Garlic Cassoulet
• Harvest Muffins

Chop up Cauliflower to whatever size you like. Toss into a microwave bowl and add a splash of water. Microwave for 7 minutes. Now chop Onion and sauté in a large skillet for a few minutes. Add Vinegar, Salt and 1/2 c of Water and cook for a few more minutes until water cooks off. Mix together Cauliflower and Onion mixture.

Cooke Quinoa stovetop until most of the water is gone. Add Salt and Spinach, and continue cooking until Spinach is soft and water is gone. Remove from heat. In a separate pan saute Onion to desired texture (you could leave the Onion raw too). Mix Onion in with Onion mixture. Let this cool. Once cool, stir in Tomatoes. Add protein (I thinking shrimp might be great) for a complete meal.

1 medium Carrot, finely grated

1 medium Zucchini, finely grated

1 medium Apple, coarsely grated

2 tbsp Oil (I used Hemp Seed Oil, but whatever you like to bake with would work)

1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/3 c Egg Whites

Optional: Chopped Nuts, Craisins or Raisins

Combine dry ingredients. Combine Carrot, Zucchini and Apple in a separate bowl, then mix in with dry ingredients. Mix Oil, Milk and Egg Whites in a separate bowl, then mix that in with the rest of your ingredients. Pour into Pam-sprayed muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Stats:

Wow long post! Yawn.. aiming for an Arm workout and Cardio in the AM.. but first, an Arctic Zero Shake. Have a great night!

Biz-ay

It’s been a crazy busy couple of week in all aspects of life. Work has been non-stop and last weekend I moved into my new house. I am so happy in my new place! Before I was living in a very cookie-cutter apartment. It was a pretty cool location.. at an outdoor mall actually, where I could walk to a variety of good restaurants and shops, but far from feeling homey. I moved to a house in a new neighborhood that has all sorts of personality & charm, where I can still walk to great places, and it feels like Austin (vs. any-town USA).

Nutrition has been awesome lately, but I suppose that’s the part that’s always come pretty easy for me. I’ve been missing workouts left & right, but I’ve been doing my best not to beat myself up about it.. which doesn’t always come easy.

Now that I’m settled I’m hoping to get back into  a nice workout and yoga routine.

ACL & Austin-versary

But for this weekend that will mean morning workouts because I’ll be spending the rest of my time here..

I’m super excited! I’ve never been to a big music festival AND appropriately enough, Sunday will be my 1 year anniversary in Austin.. crazy. I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. There were good times, bad, a couple pretty awful, but mostly awesome.

Did I ever tell ya’ll the story behind me moving here? Well it was related to a guy… haha. Probably never mentioned that, though I know a few of you guessed . It wasn’t particularly impulsive, but was outside of my comfort zone, and also something I’m sure a lot of people thought I was a little crazy for doing. Well I never claimed to be completely sane! haha

Well long long long, epic novel, bore you, or think I live in a soap opera, long story later.. the reason behind the move failed.. miserably. Not going to lie, it was rough, but choose your cliche.. what doesn’t kill you.. live & learn, yadda yadda, all true.

I can honestly say I have never been happier. I feel so incredibly blessed. I truly love this city, the yoga community, my flirt with CrossFit, my job (so thankful to get to say that!), my new home and of course the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made.

I can only imagine what the next year holds! Bring it on my lovely ATX!

Any big weekend plans? Have you been to a big music festival? Any advice for me?!

Long weekends are amazing. I realize I’m pointing out the obvious, but it just deserves to be said. Mine was lovely and completely relaxing. I started to do a little prep for moving, but other than that just did yoga, hung out, read, watched TV and cooked. The best part is that the weather seems to have FINALLY made a switch and Sunday we woke up to cooler temperatures (“cooler” is now considered as ‘highs in the 90s’) and it feels amazing. Unfortunately that’s been overshadowed by the wildfires across central Texas. ugh, so sad, but it sounds like they’re starting to get them a bit more under control.

It’s been a fantastically yoga-filled few days! The flow sequence we’re currently doing at my main studio (if you’re ever in Austin you must go here for Hot Vinyasa!) is kicking my butt! I read a blog post once were the writer said she thought there are two groups of yoga folks: 1) Arm Balancers and 2) Twisters. I am definitely an arm balancer! haha Twists are not my favorite, or my strength (those often go hand in hand it seems), which usually means it’s something I need most.

In Someone Else’s Words

For the last couple months I’ve been reading “Meditations from the Mat” by Rolf Gates. It’s amazing. It’s broken into 365 entries, separated into 8 chapters based on the 8 limbs of yoga. I might not read a post everyday, then read a few on the weekend. Either way, it seems I come across exactly what I need to hear on any given day.

I find it so much more difficult to write about yoga than fitness. To me fitness is straight forward, which isn’t a bad thing. I have confidence talking about it, not because I think I’m an expert but because I understand it. Do this, do that, eat this, not that.. boom (ok, a bit more complex than that, but you know what I mean). Whereas yoga is this immense physical, emotional, spiritual experience, where you’ll never stop learning, changing and growing.

I think I’m getting more comfortable/use to chatting about it here, after all, it’s just might experience, so I don’t think there’s really a right or wrong. But either way, sometimes it’s nice to borrow someone else’s words.

This was an entry in “Meditations from the Mat” and while reading it last weekend I got a little teary eyed because it completely describes my experience with yoga. In this piece one of Rolf’s students is speaking:

“Before yoga, I had a nagging suspicion that something was off. I had had a lot of success in sports and academics, but my success had been an escape, a way to get approval, and this culture really rewarded me. I was a success, but I was empty and yearning inside.

Yoga breaks down the barriers to knowing your true self. Before yoga, I would get sporadic glimpses of that self, but then I didn’t have sight of my soul, or true being, I was not existing on all levels–physical, spiritual, emotional, mental. Yoga allows me to balance all four levels. On the mat, I am face with me–this beautiful soul, with all of this clutter. Yoga clears that clutter.”

I’ve warned you I get all “yoga cheesy!” Anyways.. had to share with ya’ll.. and I’ll work on my own words 

In the spirit of my continued efforts to meal plan, I went a little cooking crazy last weekend! I didn’t quite realize how much so until I was portioning it out last night, ran out of tupperware and already have half in the freezer. Love it! I shouldn’t have to cook or grocery shop for weeks.. which is perfect considering the move coming up soon. On Sunday I made:

• Curry Vegetables with Lentils and Spinach
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Stir Fry Pork Tendorloin
• Ever-Ready Bran Muffins
• Nutty Zucchini Bread

Major successes were had! I of course made a few adjustments, and I will try to get each recipe posted!

I am not a tidy cook..

Savory

First we have Chicken Tikka Masala. Ok, confession I didn’t do anything creative for this, but instead used McCormick’s Recipe Inspirations. This is the first time I’ve used this handy dandy short cut, and I love it! I am bad with spices. I have half a cabinet full, but I’m never sure what to add or what will go with what. I’m starting to get more adventurous with it, but still appreciate a nice shortcut! I used the recipe on the instructions but subbed in Plain Coconut Creamer for Heavy Cream and didn’t use the Butter it called for.

Sweet..Sort Of

I used Tosca Reno’s recipe from her 2nd Clean Eating cookbook, but made a couple adjustments. I was really happy with how these turned out. I split her recipe in 1/2, it made 27 muffins, and they have great nutrition stats (numbers below don’t include the mix-ins). These make the perfect healthy carb addition to breakfast, or a quick snack!

Bran Muffins

 2 cups Flour (I used 1 cup Whole Wheat + 1 cup Spelt)

2 cups Bran

2 tsp Baking Soda

2 tbsp Ground Flaxseed

1 tsp Salt

Stevia to taste

2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk

3/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1/3 cup Egg Whites

Mix-Ins: 1/3 cup chopped Walnuts + 1/3 cup dried Cranberries

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix them together. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 425 F for 15 minutes..

Um.. nothing new to report.. though I really should start packing at some point..

Have a great Thursday!