I did wanted to clarify something I should have said however. I know it is ABSOLUTELY possible to eat completely clean in a way that is for purpose & pleasure! I should have been more specific, because in my last post I was referring to eating for purpose in a way, kind of like what is needed in the last few weeks before a physique competition, where food variety is very limited. I think clean eating in general provides amazing variety and is completely purposefully healthful

There is the case for people who say they get pleasure from the fact that they look a certain way due to eating so purposefully. I completely respect & understand that.. but I’ll stick with my clean eating variety

So moving on..

I haven’t been posting as much this last week, and will probably stick to a similar schedule the next few weeks, because frankly, I was getting a little bored with myself :p I’m at the crucial 3-weeks out cut-off point where I am eating pretty much exactly the same thing every day, and my workouts are pretty much exactly the same. Not really the most exciting blogging material. But I do have a couple slightly different things today..

FITNESS

I just didn’t feel like going to the gym today.. I felt like working out.. but just not at the gym. So I took advantage of the tennis court right in front of my apartment unit, and my apartment gym. It went something like this..

30 min. Outdoor

• Warm-up: Jog around the perimeter of the condo complex
• 100 feet together Jump Rope, 100 boxer Jump Rope
• Lunge walks down & back length of Tennis Court
• 3 laps around perimeter of Tennis Court
• 100 feet together Jump Rope, 100 boxer Jump Rope
• Side Squat “Crab Walk” down & back length of Tennis Court
• 3 Laps
• 100 feet together Jump Rope, 100 boxer Jump Rope
• 12-15 L-Handstand Push-ups against fence
• Repeat all of that for 30 min.

30 min. Indoor

• 15 min. Resistance Elliptical (making sure HR stayed elevated)
• 15 min. Incline Treadmill

It was wonderful to get a workout in outdoors.. plus the added benefit of getting my daily dose of Vitamin D. Speaking of, this article was on Livestrong today: Vitamin D, What you need to know.

NUTRITION

I have no idea why it hadn’t occurred to me to do this before. Top Ramen (along with Kraft.. yes only Kraft.. Macaroni & Cheese) was one of the few foods I liked as a child. Love a healthy substitute!

(edited: Forgot to include the Soy Sauce and switched out the picture for the prettier version I ate tonight :p)

Tip Top Ramen

1 bag Shirataki Tofu Noodles – Ramen Style

1 c Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1 tbsp Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce

Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb Spices

4 oz cooked Chicken Breast (or another healthy protein source)

Drain and pat noodles dry. Mix together Noodles, Broth and Spices stovetop or in the microwave. Add Chicken in near the end of heating (so you don’t over-cook).

I was out of the Ramen-shaped noodles for this batch, and it isn’t the prettiest display..

Nutrition Facts: 242 calories / 39 g P / 7 g C / 5 g F

The other thing I’ve been enjoying, in order to make sure I’m getting enough healthy fats, is adding 1/2 tbsp ground Flax and 1/2 tbsp Chia Seeds to my Slimmed-down PB Blender Protein Ice Cream..

FUN

Next Your Nourished Life Newsletter will be going out this coming week. Sign up in the box to the right!

What were your childhood faves?

FITNESS

Leg day is always lovely Lifted this morning, then this evening it was all about cardio! I started with a 5 min. warm-up walk, then a 10 min. jog (started at 6.0, then increased steadily up to 8.0). Then it was time for Strike (kickboxing with weighted gloves and a weighted stick)! Love love this class.. and got a killer calorie burn.. best of both worlds

Exercise of the Week: Bosu Smith Squats

Just like the name says. Perform 3 sets of 12-15 Smith Squats while balancing on an upside-down (flat side up) Bosu Ball. Feet width should be as wide as they can be on the ball.

Usually I’m not a huge fan of exercises that involve, what I like to call, props (bosu, kettle bell, rope, etc).. I’m just more of a plain ole dumbbell & barbell type. But this exercise is starting to win me over. You’ll want to start with a lower weight than you usually squat, because balancing on the bosu requires you to recruit other, not so commonly used, muscles. The balance aspect also works your core more than standard squats. I mentioned last week that I prefer free squats to Smith, but for this exercise definitely stick with the Smith for safety reasons.

If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

NUTRITION

Breakfast was unpictured Fiberflake Protein Pancakes.. this is a new mix, so when I get it closer to perfection I’ll post it!

Post-workout lunch was gorgeous! A low-carb wrap with 1 tbsp Garlic Hummus, 2 oz Deli Turkey, Baby Spinach a tbsp of Salsa and ~2 tbsp Artichokamole..

I forget about Artichokamole sometimes.. but yum.. and it was perfect on this! I posted a similar recipe here, but today’s was a little different. Into the food processor went 3/4 of a giant Avocado, ~6 oz Artichoke Hearts, 1/2 package McCormicks Guacamole Seasoning..

Pre-afternoon workout snack was more HEAB style Protein Ice Cream..

I’ve had mixed experiences with Eggplant. Actually strike that, I’ve had great experiences when I ordered it, but bad when I’ve made it myself. However tonight’s dinner experiment was a step in the right direction, actually, strike that again.. it was pretty great!

Eggplant Tofu Casserole

1 medium Eggplant

6 oz Baked Tofu

1 c organic Tomato Sauce (I used 365 Tomato Garlic)

1 c low-fat Cottage Cheese

1 oz fat-free crumbled Feta Cheese

fresh Basil, chopped, to taste

Salt & Pepper to taste

Slice Eggplant lengthwise into 1/2″ pieces. Lay out on a pan, sprinkle with 1 tsp of Salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Transfer slices to a new baking sheet, and bake at 400 F for 25 minutes. While those are baking, mix together cheeses, Basil, Salt & Pepper. When Eggplant is finished, spread a layer of slice out on the bottom of an 8×8″ dish, top with 1/2 c Tomato Sauce, top that with 1/2 of Cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Bake casserole at 375 F for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Not the prettiest thing straight out of the oven..

But tasted great!

And the stats aren’t too shabby either (the whole dish was 2 servings)

I knew exactly what tonight’s dessert was going to be.. Matcha Green Tea Ice Milk. I used the same recipe as last time but also mixed in 1/2 scoop Nectar Vanilla Creme Protein Powder..

FUN

Movie of the night (I took a Blockbuster trip recently) was ‘In the Air.’ Have you seen it? What were your thoughts?

This week absolutely flew by! So fast in fact, that yesterday I didn’t even leave the house but yet didn’t manage to fit in finishing up a blog post :0 sorry (blush). It was however another super productive PJ day. Please excuse the randomness of today’s post, there’s just a bunch of little things I’d love to share .. a little seriousness, a little goofyness (sp?), and of course a little deliciousness!

Minty Fresh

One of the things I spent a huge amount of time doing yesterday was budgeting. It’s funny, in all other aspects of my life I am crazy organized, if not slightly OCD. For example, the dishes always go in the dish washer the same way, my DVDs are alphabetized and my calendar for the first week back in classes (1 week from now) looks like this..

Yes, my day is planned from 8am to 11pm.. I’m a total dork. But yet, I’m know to be a bit of a complete clusterf*&k when it comes to budgeting. Makes not sense! Budgeting is all about setting goals, categorizing and sticking to a plan.. all things I’m generally pretty decent at. Over the last few weeks (ok longer than that, but other things interrupted) I realized I really needed to get my act together. I’m 25 yo after all, it’s ridiculous and a little pathetic that I don’t have this aspect of my life more together.. not to mention I’m about to get my MBA. So yesterday, I finally created an account on Mint.com and spent hours going through everything, making sure it was all correctly categorized, and creating a budget. Not going to lie.. my list-making loving side kind of enjoyed it; even if it was a little depressing. It was no surprise that since October, the vast majority of my money went to 2 categories: Fitness & Health and Food & Groceries!

So it’s official, a budget has been set, and Mint.com will send me ever so friendly email reminders when I’m getting close to hitting my budgeted amount in each category (I’m actually already over slightly on clothes.. darn you Lululemon and your ridiculous cute, comfortable & sensible workout clothes!).

And then 6 Hours Had Gone By

It’s so funny.. I’ll start on IIN coursework, then all of a sudden half a day’s gone by! That’s all fine and good now, but I’m going to have to stick to my budgeted time once my other, full-time, school program starts up again. One of the topics addressed recently was self-care. I thought this was a fun link for suggestions: Ideas for Self Nourishment. Personally, every so often when I’m feeling super stressed I’ve found it helps to just take a few minutes to jot down simple pleasures and gratitudes. I’ve realized that I sometimes allow things I’m appreciative of fly by, and just slowing down for a minute, to give thanks, helps me relax.

Another cool exercise I’m working on is the Breakfast Experiment. I just started today, but I’m suppose to have a different breakfast each day for a week and acknowledge/record how I feel and my energy level right after and a couple hours later. I’m altering the experiment a bit, from what they suggest, so the items are in line with what I’d realistically eat. So I’m thinking:

Friday: Overnight Protein Oats (see recipe below)

Saturday: Protein Shake

Sunday: Pumpkin Oatmeal

Monday: Egg Whites

Tuesday: Oatmeal/Sweet Potato/Pumpkin Pancake

Wednesday: Scrambled Tofu

Thursday: Fruit & Yogurt

Seriously though, how cool is my homework? Another exercise is to develop our own diet with an accompanying philosophy and rules.. that one’s in the works!

FITNESS

I finally got legit Spin shoes! Yay! Aren’t they cute? They’re actually the ‘Komen’ design so 10% goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Tested them out tonight for a killer sweat dripping session.

What is Fitness to You?

A post on Olicious Life made me think about this.. For me, there are separate categories; there’s Competitive Fitness and there’s Life Fitness. Competitive Fitness is awesome and I love it, but it’s very specific. It’s building or cutting, lots of protein powder, measured eating and specific goals. Life Fitness, on the other hand, is the ongoing pursuit of health & wellness. No matter how much I loved how I looked at < 120 lbs & 8% body fat it’s probably not a realistic point to exist at for the long-term.. unless fitness was in fact my career.. i.e. the lovely Alicia Marie, Jamie Eason, Jen Hedershott, etc. That would be pretty awesome, but that’s not my goal with Competitive Fitness.. I just have too many other things I’m interested in professionally and personally.

So Competitive Fitness is something I want to do as long as I can, but Lifetime Fitness is something I will never lose track of. Right now I’m struggling a bit with determining the best formula for me. For example, I am really loving Yoga, but it will be hard to do it as much as I would like once school (and at somepoint a full-time job) starts up again, and I am also lifting and doing cardio every day. At the same time, I have interests and professional opportunities developing related to Holistic Health Counseling, and I wonder how that will fit.

I’ve mentioned before that how I workout and eat when training for a fitness competition is different from my ideal philosophy on health & wellness, fitness & nutrition. How long will I be okay with that disconnected?

The problem is, I love it all! I really do. I love the regiment and intensity of training for a show, the way I’m able to shape my body, and the exhilaration of being on stage.. but I also love not feeling guilty for skipping a lifting session for a yoga class, or eating a plain salad without a large portion of protein. .. Issues much? haha .. I warned you this would be a cattywampus (another fantastic word! It’s official, words of the week are: wanderlust & cattywampus). But nonetheless, that’s what’s going through my head these days.

It’s so wonderful to have all these interests I want to pursue, so please don’t read this ‘vent’ as a complaint, I’m just still sorting out how to manage it all. I’ve always been an all or nothing sorta person. When I find something I love, I throw myself into with my whole heart. I need to figure out how to enjoy all these interests without letting them consume in a negative way. Ok enough seriousness for one post! ..

Weekend Plans

And right in line with my various fitness interests, I have a couple exciting events this weekend. First, tomorrow I’m going to an NPC judging meeting to hear about what they look for, how it’s changing etc. Then Sunday is the Partner Yoga workshop.. Looking forward to both!

Borrowed this from one of the ladies that workouts at STS..

Reasons why weights are better than boys:

1) You can use more than one and the other one won’t get jealous

2) You can drop them easily when you’re tired

3) The relationship can be as heavy as you like

NUTRITION

A few highlights from the last couple days..

New Stuff

Yesterday I attempted a few new treats.

First up.. I am no longer a homemade Granola virgin… though I also learned that slaving over casually mixing together the ingredients and mixing every 20 minutes doesn’t make me any less likely to eat excessive amounts. oops.. Seriously, I think this has become more dangerous to me than any nut butter. gah! This was crazy easy to make and sooo good. I have all sorts of ideas for tidbits to add in next time

Mix’er Up

Hot ‘n Toasty!

Then a fantastic new discovery, Vega! I’d of course seen this floating around the blogosphere and was happy to see sample pack at Whole Foods the other day. So in the midst of a chocolate craving I created..

Vega Chocolate Tofu Pudding

1 packet (30 g) Chocolate Vega

~2 oz Firm Tofu

1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

dash Stevia Extract

~1/3 c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

Blend up. Enjoy

(I apologize for the lame tupperware serving mechanism. I really need a wider variety of bowl sizes :p).. I was so happy with this! It turned out nice and thick and the Cocoa powder gives it a rich taste that is perfect for satisfying the sweet tooth.

Worth the Wait

A new minor obsession.. Overnight Oats! I’ve been experimenting with a couple different tactics. I started with Kath’s recipe.  Then naturally felt the need to.. Pimp’em Out (vocab borrowed from my favorite Protein Pimpin’ Chica). So naturally came..

Pumpkin Protein Overnight Oats

1/4 – 1/2 c Oats (depending on your macro needs)

1/2 scoop Protein Powder

1/2 c Pumpkin Protein Yogurt (previously mixed equal parts Pumpkin & Greek Yogurt with lotsa Pumpkin Spice).. better flavor after it chills in the fridge a while).

1 scoop Chia Seeds (optional)

Mix it all up, then chill for a few hours. Hits the spot!

Something’s Missin

I tried a new mix tonight for dinner. It was good.. and pretty, but something was missing. Any suggestions? I baked 1/2 a diced Butternut Squash and 1 diced Apple for 25 minutes at 400 F then added diced Honey Ham (pre-cooked), and baked for another 20 minutes. Still a fresh & fulfilling supper!

I think dessert tonight will be Vega Protein Pudding topped with chopped Walnuts.. yes, I think that would be perfect!

They Try to Trick You!

I just learned recently that you can tell if a product is truly organic by its PLU Code. Sometimes companies will try to trick you with sneaky labeling but if the PLU Code starts with a 9, it’s registered organic. Coincidentally, Nature’s Path also tweeted a link on this today.

Alert!

This popped into my email this morning while I was blogging: … Food Porn Alert!

That would be Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Cake.. gah. Although it is pretty, the first thing I thought was.. ‘that would make me feel like crap!”

FUN

Look what I found waiting for me when I got home!

The sweet, smart and fitness-prepping Carrie, author of fantastic fitness-friendly recipe and workout videos, sent me these delights.. Amish Pumpkin, Apple and Peanut Butter.. Yes please! Not to mention, fantastic additions to my cup & bowl collections

So that post got pretty long! Hope you all have wonderful weekends, with at least a little time set aside to relax and nourish yourself Here are a few healthy reward suggestions from FitSugar.

What are your favorite nourishing/relaxing activities? I would have to say mine are pretty much anything that takes place at a spa.. well except waxes :p

Magical Pumpkin

So apparently pumpkin + whey protein powder = awesomeness no matter how you combine it. I had brought a standard medium-carb snack with me to work today: 1/2 cup pumpkin mixed with 1 scoop of protein powder (chocolate VPX this time around). But when it was time to eat I was in the mood for something warm, so I popped it in the microwave for a couple minutes and tada! Tasted to just like warm moist chocolate cake!

Noodles & New Cookie

Shockingly, I also mixed it up a little for dinner tonight. I’ve had a package of Tofu Shirataki noodles in my fridge for a while so tonight I had a yummy Shiratki & Smoked Salmon bowl. As a “sauce” I used a couple tablespoons of Walden Farms dressing. This whole bowl of filling “noodles” only had 6 carbs and 230 calories!

I made yet another test recipe for my evening snack, and even more surprisingly, had another fantastic success! Instead of using my usual Coconut Oil I mixed 1/2 tbsp of Udo’s Oil with 1 scoop of the Nectar Cappuccino PP and 1 tbsp of Unsweetened Almond Breeze. And much to my  delectable delight it puffed up quite nicely and kept the rich coffee taste! I also tried out the new SF Chai syrup. It’s not my favorite, but quite good when I mixed in just a tad of the SF White Chocolate.

I haven’t really had much of an appetite today, which is very strange for me these days, and had to force myself to have one more protein snack. I hate eating when I’m not hungry, but I was behind on calories and am suppose to be maintaining weight. At least it was a yummy Coconut Protein Pancake hot of the stove. I should start on that cookbook  No school tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to catching up on errands, reading and of course lots of posing & routine practice. Have a wonderful Hump Day!