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My First Race!

2009-06-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. What an amazing weekend. I ran my first ever race and can't wait to run another! Haha, I guess I've caught the racing bug. I'm not gonna lie, I thought I was going to puke, or keel over, or die when I was running, but afterwords...... it's the best feeling EVER!

I was supposed to run the 10K but my knee was really acting up earlier in the week so I decided to just run the 5K. I was really disapointed not to be able to run the 10K with my mom but I'm SO glad that I was able to run the 5K because I had a blast.

Mom and I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning with belly's filled with butter flies. We were bundles of nerves and excitement! Before we left wanted to take some picture of us when we were not all gross and sweaty. We were being silly, here are our mug shots!

Yeah were super nerds. Here is a nice one:

The 10K started at 8:30AM on Saturday morning so of course I went to cheer on my mom. She did so well. I was so proud of her. She finished in about 1:01 and was 7th in her age division! Here she is a runnin':

The 5K started at 10:30AM. It was SO HOT. I thought I was going to die. It had to be about 27 or 28*C out. My legs were pretty wobbly at the beginning (I think from the nerves) but I was SO PUMPED! I think I went a little too fast for the first mile because by the second I was pretty drained. I didn't really train for the 5K so I wasn't exactly sure how fast I should go or even what a good 5K time was. I was aiming for under 30 minuites just because I wanted to do the 10K under an hour. Here I am crossing the finish line!

Haha don't worry, that time on the clock is for the half-marathon....not the 5K!

I ran it in 25:58 and am SO HAPPY! I placed 2nd in my age division (20-29 years) and 4th in the women's overall (out of 209 women!) and 27th out of all 381 runners!

Not too shabby for my first ever race!

I'm so inspired now that I have made a huge training schedule for myself and can't wait to start training for next year! I wan't to get fast! Haha. Especially since the thrid place finisher was only 5 SECONDS faster than I was! hopefully with some good training I can improve on my time.

Speaking of inspiring, there was a group of local firemen who ran the 5K race to raise money for a young girl with cancer. These firemen ran it in FULL GEAR, complete with helmet and air tank! The only thing they switched was their boots for running shoes. So amazing and inspiring to see. I can't believe they didn't pass out from the heat. Here is a picture of two fire fighters crossing the finish line:

All in all, it was such a great experience and I can't wait to do it again! The sooner the better :)

Day 9: Yogurt, knee pain, and a decision finally made!

2009-06-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Before I stopped eating dairy (for the most part) I was a yogurt eating machine. I love the creamy texture and fruity flavor and once I went veg, it was the only thing I truly missed. I tried types of soy yogurt but most had a funny taste and were about $5 a container. Plus I would have to drive in to the city to go to a health foods store just to find it. I thought my yogurt eating days were over until I stumbled across this recipe on Have Cake, Will Travel.

I wasn't really feeling the soy milk just because I use about 1.5 to 2 cups of it a day in various meals. Then, I had a brilliant idea!

Light Coconut Milk Quick Yogurt:

1 can (approx. 2 cups) Light Coconut Milk
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Cornstarch
2 T. Maple Syrup
1 t. Vanilla

I mixed the coconut milk and lemon juice together first. It is supposed to coagulate the soy milk. Since coconut milk is already quite thick, it didn't do much but I still added it for good measure.
Then I whisked in the remaining ingredients until there were no more little clumps of cornstarch remaining.

Following Celine's repice I zapped it for 1 min, whisked it. Zapped it again for 1 min, whisked it again. Zapped it for another min, whisked again. It gets nice and thick after the third zapping.
After that I just transfered it to a container and popped it in the fridge.

I waited over night for it to chill because I have a weird thing about luke warm food.

It is AMAZING! Using the light coconut milk is great because for about 1/2 c. serving of yogurt it's only about 60 calories and has that yummy, creamy coco-nutty taste.

For a snack today I had strawberries topped with 1/2 c. yogurt and a sprinkle of granola. Simple, yet divine!

In other news, I have a problem and I'm not sure what to do. I'm running my very first 10K on Saturday (GAHHHHH THIS SATURDAY!) and today I went out for a run and my knee is killing me! I'm so worried now because I was only able to run about 2 minuites before I had to stop. It's at the base of my knee cap on the inside. I've never had an issue with my knees before and of course, 4 days before a race, it starts to act up. I think I'm going to rest it today, tomorrow and see how it feels on Thursday. I was so excited about this race too. Grrrr....

I also have some very EXCITING news. I've finally chosen a university to attend next year....

I'm so so so soooooooo excited. It's a very small university but is very highly ranked in Canada and sounds....perfect for me! I'll be majoring in Human Nutrition. I just want September to come already! Haha, that will probably be the last time that ever comes out of my mouth!

Anyways, Have a great Tuesday!

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

-Maria Robinson

Day 8: In need of a change

2009-06-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

So I've been contemplating this for a while but I feel like I with all the changes that have been going on with my career, going back to school, my eating habits etc I really want to do something exciting and for myself. I'm thinking about ... dun...dun...dun....

Cutting my hair!

I'm one of those people who grows their hair out for a bout 3 years (right now it's half way down my back) and then chops it off. I don't know why I do this, I guess I just get tired of the same thing and need some variety! This time I want to cut my hair to Locks of Love. I have about 12 inches I want to cut off so it is enough to donate. I'm so excited about it, especially since it will be going to such a great cause.

Here is what it looks like now:

Sorry it's so dark and I have a dorky smile on my face! Those are crackers lined up on my pant leg, no some strange new style.

And here is the cut I want to get:

I hope I can be one of those people who are like "Oh, it's just hair, it will grow back!". I LOVE Christina Applegate's hair so hopefully I can work it as well as she does!

What do you think?

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
-Alan Cohen

Day 7: I can do it!

2009-06-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

If you've been following my 100 day challenge you know that today I've made it through a week of no binges! This is a huge step in my "recovery" and am very proud. It has been hard, especially the past couple days, but I'm feeling strong and confident in my progress and looking forward to the next 93 days!

Whether it be the challenge of not binging for 100 days or the challenge of losing 100 pounds I think it's important to celebrate small accomplishments. Celebrating small accomplishments keeps your motivation and spirits high and leads you to stay on the right path. Mini accomplishments such as eating more fruits and vegetables, putting less sugar in your coffee, losing a few pounds, having a more positive out look are all steps you are taking to accomplish your main goal. Don't think "Oh it's only 5 pound, I have 95 more to go." , instead, be proud of those 5 pounds lost because it is amazing. Imagine where you'd be if you had not begun your journey to a healthier life style.

Achievements I am pround of this week:

I have not binged in 7 days
I have been smiling more
My stomach and digestive track are feeling better
I've started blogging again and love it!
I've lost a pound!
I look forward to my runs (most of the time)
I've begun to practice yoga more times a week
I've been practicing intuitive eating and trying hard to decipher what I want to eat, not what "Dieting Sarah" thinks I should eat

While they may look like silly little accomplishments, they are all steps to my goal of enjoying food and eating and living a happy and healthy life! What small things this week have you done to improve your health?

“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.”

Roasted Vegetable and Pesto Sammich'

2009-06-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients (for one sammy):

1 Baguette approx. 6’ long
1/2 Zucchini cut in thin slices
1 Portabello mushroom cut into thin slices
1/2 Sweet red pepper cut in slices
1/4 Onion
1- 3 Cloves of garlic
1/2 c. cooked spinach
1/4 Avocado
1/2 Tomato
2 T. Pesto sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Prepare all veggies by washing and slicing them to desired thickness and size.

Place veggies (excluding avocado, tomato and spinach) in plastic bag along with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 T. of olive oil. Let marinate for about 1 hour.

Prepare a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and sprayed with PAM. Pre-heat the over to 400*.

Place all marinated vegetables (except tomatoes,avocado and spinach) on baking sheet along with leftover oil/vinegar mixture.

Bake for about half an hour or until red pepper is tender. I you like, you can add the tomatoes to the pan for the last 5 min.

Toast the baguette. Spread on a generous (of if you’re like me... use and EXTRA generous) portion of pesto sauce to both sides of the baguette.

Place roasted veggies on baguette along with the spinach,avocado and tomatoes.

This sandwich is AMAZING! You can marinate extra vegetables and place them in a tupperware for sandwiches later in the week as well.

Day 5 and 6: Binge Triggers and the Magic Notebook

2009-06-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!

Oops! Well today is going to be a combination day since I could not get on the internet yesterday.

I have a confession to make... I am a notebook addict! I love them, in all shapes and colors, they are my one true vice. If I'm having a bad day or am starting a new chapter in my life I always buy a note book. I think journaling is such a great way to over come obstacles in your life and is also a great tool in monitoring your food intake and progress. Some times I go back a read one of my old journals from years past and it's so special. Some are very hard to read (the summer I had to say good bye to my Grandfather) and some are hilarious! I look foreward to reading them when I'm older and being able to look back and remember the times I have written about.

I keep many types of jounrals. I have a travel journal, a spiritual journal, a journal journal and a food journal. I've kept a ffod diary on and off probably since I was 14 years old. While starting that young was NOT a healthy thing, now for me, keeping track of what I eat in a food diary has been the most successful way to keep control over my eating. I've tried (in short bursts) not recording what I eat or counting calories but it usually makes me go out of control and binge. Keeping a record of what I eat keeps me accountable. I can't sneak that extra cookie because I HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN! Someday I hope to not have to keep a food journal but for now I find it to be a very useful tool.

In my journal I also have a list of my binge triggers. If you are suffering with binge eating, I suggest you make a list of all the situations or emotions that make you binge. I've found that after writing my trigger list, I try to avoid these situations or at least am more aware that they are triggers. Here is my binge trigger list:

Being home alone. This one is pretty bad. I am a secret eater and when no one is home, I feel like I don't have to hide or have people witness my shameful binging. I have not secretly eaten in 5 days! Yay me!
Eating more than my daily "allotted" calories. When I eat more than I had planned, I would just say "Oh well, I've already gone over so might as well continue." If I had just stopped a few hundred calories over, it would be no problem but in my mind I was over so I might as well go 2000 calories over.
Boredom. Anyone have a great hobby they want to share?
Eating until stuffed rather than satisfied. This one doesn't make a lot of sense to me but when I am stuffed, it make me want to eat more, maybe because of the "Already Blown it" mentality. I don't know.
Baking - I know....so sad. I love to bake but I EAT what I bake and that batch of cookie I just made is usually gone by the next day.

Making this list has helped a lot. It's similar to the food diary in that it keeps me accountable. I know what my binge triggers are and now I just need to find out how to deal with them in a positive, healthy way.

Do you keep a journal and/or food diary? How have identifying your binge triggers helped you?

"Sometime in your life you will go on a journey.
It will be the longest journey you have ever taken.
It is the journey to find yourself."
-Katherine Sharp

Day 4: Boundaries, not diets

2009-06-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

When you start any type of diet or weight loss program, there are always rules. No carbs, no fat, high protein, no sugar, all sugar, eat 8 times a day, eat once a day, good food vs. bad food... the list could go on forever.

How long can you last with such strict rules?

Sure it may be easy for the first week, maybe month but no one can live their entire lives with such strict rules without going crazy or binging. When a food is put "off limits" such as carbohydrates or sweets, it make me want it more! It's all I think about, and the fact that I'm not "allowed" to eat this cookie/chocolate/peanut butter/name your food choice, it makes me that much more likely to binge.

Boundaries and guidelines, I think, are much more useful tools and ways to live a healthy life style. Everyone wants to be healthy and wants to WANT to choose the watermelon over the chocolate cake but sometimes we need a little lienancy and variety in our diets to truly appreciate food and the flavors it has to offer. When I deny myself something I've been craving for so long, I tend to go overboard and end up binging, hating myself, and feeling like crap! It's the "Oh well, I've already screwed up so why not go overbaord." all or nothing type of attitude which is very harmful.

Boundaries should be positive. They should provide you with guidelines to live by, but not burden you with rules and restriction. No one food with make or break your eating habits. No one food will make you fat. As long as you stay in your daily caloric boundaries, you will be fine and feel much less deprived. Beause you're eating the foods you want, you don't have to feel guilty about it, and it will not make you fat!

Do Not Worry
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matt 6:25

Day 3: Do it anway

2009-06-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Being committed to something means doing it even when it gets hard or you might not feel like it. I'm trying to learn these new habits and life style choice to make my life happier and healthier but sometimes my motivation is....less than perfect.

It may be a big party or event that you just want to say "Screw the diet, I'm pigging out!", a horrible day where the gentlemen (by whom I mean Ben and Jerry) are calling your name, or after a hard day of work when the LAST thing you want to do is go for a run. There are so many things that pop up, ready to derail your efforts and make you give in.

Do you ever wait until you FEEL like going to work to actually go? No! You just go because you have committed yourself to your boss, your co-workers, your family. The same thing is true with going to school or visiting friends and family. Because you consider these things to be important, you do them regardless of how you feel at the moment.

If you're committed to your goals of living a healthy lifestyle you'll take the steps necessary to achieving your goals even when you don't really feel like doing them. The best motivator for me to get off my butt and exercise is simply putting on my runners and workout gear. I'm already dressed so why not go outside for a quick run? Once your outside that quick run can turn into a longer and truly invigorating workout! It think finishing a work out is one of the BEST feelings especially when your motivation was lagging at the beginning.

In your life today, identify a task you don't feel like doing, then do it anyway! Whether it be going out for a run, eating a salad for dinner, or cleaning out your closet, notice how it feels to accomplish goal by taking the "no matter what" approach.

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway."

~Mother Teresa

Day 2: Interested or Committed?

2009-06-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Who knew there could be such a difference between being interested in doing something and being committed?

To me, being interested in living a healthy life style is like standing on the sideline while you watch all your friends playing in the game. You're cheering them on, but all you really want to do is join in. Being committed is putting your goals and dreams in the forefront and doing whatever it takes to get there. It's getting out there are scoring the game winning goal! I don't want to stand on the sideline any longer. I want to live a life full of love, happiness and excitement where food is not on my mind 24/7. I want to join in the game and have a blast!

in⋅ter⋅est⋅ed

1.	having an interest in something; concerned: Interested members will meet at noon.

2.	having the attention or curiosity engaged: an interested spectator.

3.	characterized by a feeling of interest.

com⋅mit

1.	to give in trust or charge; consign.

2.	to consign for preservation: to commit ideas to writing; to commit a poem to memory.

3.	to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question; express (one's intention, feeling, etc.): Asked if he was a candidate, he refused to commit himself.

4.	to bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge: to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.

I really like to think of the new life style I'm trying to create as a pledge. A commitment to myself that I will live a life with out restriction, binging, obsessive thought about food so that I can focus on the more important things. I don't want to be just interested in getting better, I want to be COMMITTED no matter what! Of course some days are going to be harder than others but if I am truly committed I won't let a small slip up get in my way. I'll keep going because I am truly committed to my goals of living a happier and healthier life.

Today, take a good look at your efforts in overcoming the challenges in your life. Are you simply interested in changing your ways or are you committed?

Today I'm going to make some small changes that will demonstrate I'm truly committed! It can be as easy as eating a salad with your lunch or taking a nice walk out doors.

“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.”
-Anthony Robbins

Day 1 : I used to be that way...

2009-06-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Day 1 is always a special feeling. You have so much hope and determination to make this time "the time" and yet, if you're like me a few days don't the line your motivation is weakening and your so ravenous you could eat your left arm. This Day 1 for me is different. No more restrictive diets, no more deprivation, no more starvation leading to binges. Wanna know why?

I used to be that way, but now I'm different!

Who cares how many time I've tried to recover! Who care how many failed diets I've been on! Today I promise myself that I can change and that I can rebuild my thinking towards food. From now on, I hand life differently.

Here are the activities for today:

Make a list of any fears or negative behaviors that have hurt your success in the past. Read each one out loud, then say "I used to be that way but now I'm different!". Then write new endings for them. Here are mine:

1. I used to restrict my diet which would only end in a binge, but now I eat the amount of calories my body needs to thrive and am not deprived at all.

2. I used to use food as an emotional crutch, but now I use my journal and blog to vent or share what I'm feeling.

3. I used to shovel food in my mouth so fast I doubt I even tasted it, but now I savor my meals, sitting down to eat and taking time to enjoy all the textures and flavors.

4. I used to exercise in order to burn calories, but now I exercise to feel good about myself, ease anxiety, improve my health and be a happier person and BECAUSE I ENJOY IT.

5. I used to deprive my self of good tasting food because of calories, but now I am able to enjoy smaller portions of the foods I really love and not gain weight.

6. I used to live to eat, but now I eat to live!

It feels so good to get this out of paper...or...on screen! No deprivation, no crazy meal plans or exercise boot camps. Just living in a healthful and happy way. In the past I've always focused on how little can I eat and how much can I exercise which in the end has only caused me to be unhappy and gain weight. I know this is going to be a long and hard road to "normalcy" but I'm totally up for the challenge!

Who care what you've done or haven't been able to do in the past. I love this quote:

"One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."
-Ida Scott Taylor

What do you pledge to yourself today?

I have found purpose!

2009-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

I'm so excited to be back! First of all I just wanted to let you know how much your support means to me. I was going through a rough patch and well.... now I'm back and much more positive! I think that when I started this blog I didn't really have a purpose, it was totally all over the place with random posts about random things. After more than a month away, I think it now has a purpose!

If you read some of my earlier posts I have struggled with binge eating/over eating for quite a while. I restrict for a while and then give in, eat my self silly, hate myself for being so out of control, and repeat. I know it is a such a destructive and messed up cycle and I am sick of it! Now with this blog I KNOW that I can over come it. Now on to my new blog purpose....

Sarah's 100 Day Binge Free Challenge!

100 days is a long time. I'm starting today (June 1) and it will be over on September 8. I'm going to challenge myself to overcome my emotional eating and finally learn to eat like a "normal" person. I'm starting college in the fall and think that 100 days is a great amount of time to learn new habits, break old ones and become a healthier person.

I'm going to be following a few guidelines to help me along the way as well as getting inspiration from a great book called "100 days of weight loss". While this challenge is more about healthier habits than weight loss I hope to shed a few pounds along the way! Here are the guidelines I have set for myself:

1. For 100 day's I will not binge.

2. Eat intuitively. Eating when I am hungry and stopping when SATISFIED. This is going to be very hard for me because I am the freaking treasurer of the Clean Your Plate Club! Eating what I really when I want as to not eat the entire carton or box on Saturday night!

3. Drink plenty of water and limit diet soda (I'm trying to get off artificial sweeteners because they are bloating and make me feel icky)

4. Exercise daily. Duh...

5. Use my journal/blog to express my emotions rather than shutting them up and eating them away. Use the daily inspiration/movtiation from my book to keep me on the right path. Indentify my binge triggers and come out of this experience with a healither attitude towards food!

Yay! I'm so ecited for this challenge. I know it's going to be very hard. I'm used to binging at least once a week but I think that having this blog will really keep me accountable and on track. Hopefully I will come out of this expierence with a healthier attitude towards eating and maybe inspire a few readers along the way!

I'll see you all tonight for the recap of my first day!

Time out

2009-04-26T16:29:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

Sorry I have been M.I.A. for the past couple of weeks. Things have been crazy and are turning from bad to worse. I haven't posted in so long because all the posts would be "woe is me...", blah blah blah feeling sorry for myself posts.

I've decided to take a break from blogging. I still check all of your blags everyday but can't seem to post on my own. I hope to be back soon but who knows?

I hope you can support me in my decision but I really need to sort out a shit load of family issues and such.

Love you all!

Sarah

My first time....

2009-04-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

...AT HAVING A GREEN MONSTER!

Get your minds out of the gutter!

So I've been seeing Leah and Angela have these oddly neon green smoothies for quite some time now and my curiosity got the best of me yesterday. I was so worried it would taste like spinach, or grass, or the green slime they used to pour on kid's on the show Uh-Oh! but I was pleasantly surprised! It was SO GOOD! Here is what I put in it:

1 c. raw spinach
1/2 banana
1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 c. aloe vera juice
3/4 c. water

It was surprisingly sweet and I couldn't taste the spinach AT ALL! If you have been fearful about trying this green drink, don't be! Just try it, I'm sure you'll like it!

So I'm off to Edmonton for the audition tomorrow! I'm super nervous but excited. I've been ironing my outfit, preparing my resume, filling out forms, downloading music, attempting to calm myself down and cooking up a storm so I'll have nourishment over the next few days. Here is some of what I'm bringing with me:

A beautiful fruit salad made with pineapple, grapes, kiwi, raspberries and black berries.

Pasta salad made with whole wheat noodles, green beans, broccoli, red and orange peppers, grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, avocado and carrots. It's in an olive oil and balsamic dressing.

*Pasta salad tip: Put the olive oil, chopped garlic and onions in the bottom of a bowl. Once the pasta is cooked, pour the hot (strained) pasta over the garlic and oil and it cooks the garlic! It smells like heaven. I wish they would invent a room deodorizer with this scent. Call it..... "mama's Kitchen". I would but it.... for serious....I would!

Pumpkin bread (recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking) but I added THIS BABY:

Newman's Own 70% Dark Chocolate. Mmmm.....

And other various snacks for the drive. Newman's Pretzels, Cinnamon sugar soy crisps, bars, roasted almonds and tamari roasted almonds. When I'm dancing I don't like to have big meals so on Tuesday I'll probably just snack on some pretzels, apples, and maybe a bar.

While I was at Starbucks I saw the cutest thermos I have ever seen so, obviously I bought it!

The inside it like an old Chinese clay tea pot. It keeps things very warm and is just so darn pretty! I really like that they give you 10 cents off your drinks when you use a reusable thermos. I mean 10 cents off a 9$ coffee isn't much but every little bit helps right?

So if nothing else, I will be well nourished for this audition! Haha!

So I need some help. I am a certified Splenda whore. I really want to stop using it because I think it may be causing some of the stomach and skin problems I've been having. My question to you guys is...

What do you use instead of artificial sweeteners?

Did you gain weight after you stopped using Splenda?

Do you feel giving up the artificial sweeteners helped in your body feeling better?

Cheers,
Sarah

2009-04-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Happy hump day/April fools day :) Hope you didn't get any pranks pulled on ya ;)

Here is the video I took this morning at ballet. NOW just remember that I m very out of shape and on Monday couldn't get though the entire number so please.... be kind? Haha oh yeah and the voice in the back ground is my friend D, he was filming me!

I'm feeling better about the upcoming audition (April 7) and am so grateful for all the well wishes.

After I was finished practicing I had some time before my dad picked me up. I did what any foodie would do.... go grocery shopping! The natural foods store is super close to the ballet school so I hung out there for a while. Here's what I picked up:

Earth Balance
Quinoa flakes (almost 5 g of protein in each serving!)
Natural Acne gel (I have really bad skin, hopefully something all natural will help more than the chemically stuff I've been using that just makes me break out more)
Veg News
Vegetarian Times
Impact Magazine
Alive Magazine
Jocolate bar (chocolate coffee)
2 Lara Bars (coconut and apple)
2 Raw Organics Bars (coconut and chocolate)
PB AND CO CINNAMON RAISIN PEANUT BUTTER! WHAT?! I was so excited to see this in the store I was dancing in the aisle! So amazing! I don't have to bring back suit cases full of this stuff every time I go down to the states! Sadly, I have to wait until lent is over to actually consume it but still! YAY!

My bar stash is growing at an alarming rate, I just can't help myself....especially when they are on sale!

Bar stash of amazingness!

May your lives be happy and healthy :)

Cheers,
Sarah

******WARNING - I was reading the ingredients on the Udi's Granola and a lot of it has egg whites and honey in it. NOT VEGAN. I guess my dad will be enjoying more that I had hoped. I think the Muesli flavor is Vegan but just a warning about the others. Sorry about that!*********

Ouch Charlie!

2009-03-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies!

Hope your Tuesday was great. This week seems to be going kinda slow but I can't believe tomorrow is APRIL 1! What?!

So as you know, I went in the studio and practiced my audition piece. HOLY CRAP I AM SO OUT OF SHAPE! I mean, I've been running and doing my stretches and Pilates exercises but ballet is so different from that. I could barely get through the piece. Thus there is no video because I looked like crap :) I'm going in again tomorrow so well see if I'm able to make it through the whole piece and get a video of it! It's kinda sad because the piece is only about a minute and a half but it is pretty hard core jumping. I hope I can get a good video of it.

Anyways, yesterday I got an amazing care package from the amazing Jennifer at Udi's Granola! Just look at it!

I think there may be about 40 little 1 oz bags of all their awesome granola. I love the little 1 oz bags, a perfect serving for a top my oatmeal, or cereal, or non-dairy yogurt, or with my nut butter and fruit or just plain in my mouth! There a big chunks of dried fruit and WHOLE NUTS in these wee little baggies. Yum!

Here's some info from the website:

Udi's Granola - Food made with joy is a joy to eat.

Made with patience and passion, Udi’s Artisan Granola starts with pure, wholesome ingredients—the best nature has to offer. We then measure and mix in small batches, and toast and turn by hand. All told, this takes hours to do, but our reverent obsession with edible perfection pays off in a granola deep with crunch, caramelized goodness, and true, uncluttered flavors. So good, you just might want to stop what you’re doing for a minute or two and give it your undivided attention. (Come on. What’s so important it can’t wait a minute or two?)
Slow down. Eat up. Be Udiful.

I love that, "Be Udiful", too cute ! All the flavors look so tasty too. My parents have been snitching the packages and both said the granola tastes great.

Now I need to stretch my sore muscles and prepare for another day of kicking my own but back into shape. I'm feeling very self conscious lately because of all this preparation for the audition. I've been focusing on my body and weight in over drive. I just don't want my negative thoughts to affect my dancing and how I perform.

I'm worried also about what to wear to the audition. Tomorrow I'm gonna need some help deciding! I'll post my video (hopefully) and the attire choices. I would love some input :)

Cheers,
Sarah

2009-03-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

First I just wanted to thank everyone for their support. Who knew this crazy blogging world could be filled with such amazing people always willing to lend a hand. You have no idea what your words of love and support meant to me.

Anyways.... enough mushy stuff, time to get down to business!

I was looking forward to a nice long run this Sunday morning but as I woke up and looked outside I saw THIS:

While I do have pretty thick skin for running in the elements, this was just way too much. I mean COME ON! It's supposed to be almost April all ready, where is the sun?

So instead of running outside I decided to do my own work out inside. My mom and brother went to the gym while I stayed home and worked out in our basement. I like working out down there a heck of a lot more than going to the gym because I can workout and sweat like a mad woman and not have to worry about other people looking at me.

I did 40 min on my little crappy Elliptical on level 6. I did 1 min HARD CORE as hard as I could and then did an easy 1 min recovery. It kick my butt but felt so good!

Then did some weight exercises for arms and back as well as my full body Pilates routine that I have been doing practically everyday for the past 5 years of my life. As a ballet dancer before class everyone has a set routine that they do in order to warm themselves up and prepare for class. Most of us do quite a lot of abdominal and hip exercises. Even now that I'm not dancing as much, I still feel like if I don't do these exercises everyday..... I don't know....the earth will crumble underneath me? Wow I just realized how crazy I must sound. Anyways here is my ab routine for anyone who's interested:

20 regular sit ups
Pilates hundred exercise
10 slow oblique "bicycle"
20 fast oblique "bicycle"
10 single leg stretch
10 scissor
20 lower ab butt lifts
10 shoulder bridge
10 (each side) clam hip exercise, lower leg lift, whole leg lift
40 (each side) inner thigh exercises
finish with a butt load of stretching

Man it seems like a lot but I'm so used to doing it I could probably do it in my sleep. Does anyone have any good exercises they do that can help me switch up my routine a little?

Recipes

I had my first experience with raw "baking" last night and wanted to share with you the results. I'm super happy with how they turned out! This recipe was inspired by the Fitnessista with her amazing macaroon creations. Seeing as I do not have any luck winning contests I decided to make my own variation of a raw macaroon!

Banana Coconut Macaroons

What I used:

3 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c. soaked dates
3 T. Agavae nectar (or any liquid sweetener)
1 T. Almond oil
3 T. Almond butter
1 ripe banana
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 T. Vanilla extract

Put it all in the food processor, shaped it into flat cookie shapes and then put it in the dehydrator overnight.

I'm super happy with how they turned out. The outside hardened up nicely so when you take a bite it is super moist and chewy! I think I left them in the dehydrator for about 12 hours. The house smelled SO YUMMY while they were "baking". This raw foods thing is kinda cool, I think I'm doing to do some more research about it and see what recipes I can find.

Action shot of Macaroon going into my mouth!

Have a great and relaxing Sunday. I'm going into the ballet studio tomorrow so hopefully my next post will consist of a video!

Cheers,
Sarah

The ugly, the good and the audition of a life time!

2009-03-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

I have been the worst blogger in the world lately. Sorry about my lack of posting but I've been going through a rough spot.

The ugly:

I've always had problems with my relationship with food, it's like a constant cycle of starve, binge, binge, starve, eat healthy for a day, binge, binge, starve... I'm so sick of it. I've ordered a book that I'm hoping will help, it's called Intuitive Eating, and I think I've seen some other bloggers reading it and finding it very helpful if their quest to a healthy relationship with food. I guess I was just too ashamed to post anything about healthy products or eating because if I can't even get my own eating under control, how am I supposed to help others? Anyways it's been a rough week but the past day and a half I've started to think more clearly and set some goals for myself.

Anyways..... no more ranting! Time for some good:

I helped out in my mom's classroom the past two days and I am EXHAUSTED! Holy CRAP kids have way too much energy. These kids are ages 3 to 5 or 6. I don't understand how my mom does it everyday. I give her mad props.
I got a couple of packages in the mail! One is from Popchips! and the other from Clif. It seems like everyone in the blogging world is eating popchips so I wanted to get in on the action. I discovered that only the original, salt and pepper and salt and vinegar are vegan, so my brother will be happy to know that he gets the other flavors! Also I got an amazing assortment from Clif filled with both Clif and Luna bars. On my binging rampage I ate 2 of the Clif bars so I'm a little tentative to eat and review them right now. I'll have to wait a little while before I risk eating them again, so be patient!

ANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDD.......

On my run yesterday (where I do some of my best thinking) I decided that I wanted to audition for.....

So You Think You Can Dance Canada!

Gahhhh I am so nervous but totally excited! The audition is on Tuesday April 7 in a city about 3 hours away. I decided that I'm just gonna do it and see what happens. I haven't been dancing regularly for about a month and a half/two months but I miss it so much. Just because I can't do pointe work anymore doesn't mean I have to just STOP dancing all together. It is such a huge part of who I am, I can't just give up a dream I've had since.... oh I don't know..... birth?

I think I'm going to do a ballet variation for my audition solo (if I even get that far!). If anyone is familiar with ballet, I'm thinking about doing the Gamzatti variation for La Bayadere. Not en point but I don't think the judges will really mind. Here is a video of someone else doing a slightly different version of the piece I'm going to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUPTJnU6D3k

I'll try and get a video of me dancing and MAYBE post it here!

GAHHHH! Now I have to figure out what I'm going to wear, how I should do my hair, how I'm going to get up to Edmonton (the city where the audition is), how I'm going to get back in shape, oh Lord and it's only two weeks away!

Has anyone ever auditioned for your country's version of SYTYCD? Have any advice?

Cheers,
Sarah

Vega Product Review

2009-03-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Review - Vega

Vega Vanilla Chai Whole Food Optimizer

Health factor - 10/10
With only 100 calories, this nutritional powder sure packs a lot of nutrients into it's 30 g serving size. It has 11 g of protein, only 3 g of fat and 1 g of Omega 3. Made of all natural, plant based ingredients,Vega has 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals per serving.

Yum Factor - 6/10
I mixed this powder with 3/4 c. Almond milk and 3/4 c. water. The taste reminded me of a mix between an iced chai and iced green tea latte from a coffee shop. It was very gritty and the after taste was a little more...."earthy" than I would have liked it. I find this stuff better tasting than most powdered drink mixes (green drinks) I've tried, especially since it has a flavored other than grass.

Overall - 16/10
A good substitution for one of those syrup filled, iced chai-latte drinks from starbucks. All natural, so healthy and overall refreshing. I'd like to try it blended up with some ice to make a kind of frapuccion drink.

Berry Flavored Whole Food Optimizer

Heath factor - 10/10
Same as above (Vanilla Chai).

Yum Factor - 3/10
I really did not like this flavor at all. It had the same kind of gritty texture as the Vanilla Chai but without the yummy flavor. It tasted way too earthy for my liking (and by earthy, yes, I'm referring to dirt). Even mixed with 1 c. of blueberries, 1/2 banana , 1/2 c. soy milk, 1/4 Pomegranate juice..... I could still taste the bitterness.

Overall - 13/20
This was my least favorite out of all the Vega products. Even with all the health benefits, I found myself trying to force this smoothie down. In my opinion, food should be savored and enjoyed, not gulped down with your nose plugged just to get in your vitamins.

Vega Whole Food Energy Bar - Chocolate Flavor

Health factor - 9/10
Just check out the ingredient on this thing:
Dates, hemp protein, organic sprouted flax seeds, almond butter, agave nectar, almonds, coconut, cocoa powder, sesame seeds, raisins, organic sprouted mung beans, organic wheat grass, natural chocolate flavor, lemon juice, dulse (which is a type of sea weed.... had to look it up!)
I mean nothing scary, nothing porcessed, just whole, raw, good for you super foods! The only point I took off was for the caloric content, I find 240 calories for a the higher end for my liking. I usually eat bars as mid morning or mid afternoon snacks and NOT as a meal, which I believe that the Vega bars are meant to be a meal replacement.

Yum factor - 4/10
Ouch. Yeah, so this bar was passed arround our kitchen table and tested by my mom, my youger brother and I. My mom could not even finish her sample she dislike this bar so much. My brother and I found it to taste ok. I think the problem was that my mom and I are so used to the sweet/tartness of Lara and Jocolate bars and my brother is used to the chocolate-covered-100g-of-protein-chemical-bars. I'm just thinking it may take some getting used to because it has a very different taste. The initital taste is cocoa and hemp which I didn't mind at all. My mom found it to taste like beans? Haha very strange.

Overall - 13/20
If you buy one of these bars, go into it with an open mind and do not expect it to taste like your other chocolate protein bars. I think we are all so used to highly processed, highly sweetened foods that something so natural initially tastes like dirt.

Vega Whole Food Energy Bar - Original Flavor

Health Factor - 9/10
Ingredients :
Dates, hemp protein, almond butter, organic sprouted whole flax seeds, agave nectar, almonds, raisins, sesame seeds, organic mung beans, organic wheat grass, lemon juice, organic dulse.
Simply beautiful, pure, and clean.

Yum Factor - 6.5/10
This was my favorite bar out of the bunch. It didn't have any weird after tastes or strange bitterness I tasted in the others. It had a nice nutty, hemp seed taste which I really enjoyed. As all the other Vega products it was less sweet than I would have liked it but I can get over it in this bar. It's almost like eating a big spoonful of hemp seeds.

Overall - 15.5/20
Truth be told, if I were to ever buy Vega products, this is the only bar I would spend money on. It had a very clean and simple taste and ingredients.

VEGA OVERALL
I really wanted to like these products. Vega is an amazing company who is dedicated to providing fast and easy, plant based power to athletes. The nutritional benefits of Vega products are out of this world (as are their prices $$$) but for me, most of the products had a very strange and sometimes unappetizing taste and texture. I suggest you try it for yourself to determine whether or not you enjoy the "natural" flavors of this product, but I do suggest you buying maybe only one bar and one sample packet of the smoothie mix to test it out. I wouldn't want you to by the huge $90 tub and then dislike it as much as I did.

I believe that food should taste awesome no matter how good it is for you. I don't want to force something down just to reap the nutritional benefits. You can get your vitamins, nutrients, macro and micro nutrients in with a diet filled with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes and it can taste FREAKING GREAT!

Food should serve two purpose:
1) As fuel for our bodies and
2) To appreciate the flavors

No matter how good a type of fuel is for your body, if you don't appreciate it's flavor and texture you will be left unsatisfied which can lead to cravings, binges and all sorts of other problems associated with it.

Appreciate your food and your body will appreciate you :)

Cheers,
Sarah

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

2009-03-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Recipes

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

Why is it that blueberries and lemons go so well together? Whatever it is, I'm sure happy they like each other so much :)
Blueberries are and awesome source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese. Berries such as blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and raspberries are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals that prevent and even reverse serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stomach ulcers and even help lower cholesterol levels. Berries contain a variety of phyrohemicals and antioxidants - many of these are what give the plants their color but they also add a sense of flavor to the berries. These phytonutrients are extremely powerful compounds for supporting optimum health.

YAY BLUEBERRIES!

Here is what I used:

1/4 cup non-dairy butter (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp egg substitute + 1T of water
1 cup non-dairy milk (Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1/4 c. Lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries (frozen wild blueberries)
1 T oatmeal (for garnish)

Here is what i did:

Pre-heat the over to 350*F

In a large bowl:
Beat together the non-dairy butter and sugar until creamy.

In a small bowl or mug, beat together the egg substitute and water until frothy. Beat the "egg" into the butter/sugar mixture.

Add in the non-dairy milk, lemon juice and extracts

In a separate bowl:
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Slowing mix together wet and dry ingredients until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fold in blueberries.

Grease a bread pan and scoop the content of the bowl in.

Sprinkle with oatmeal to make it look pretty!

Bake loaf for 50-55 min.

*WARNING* While making this loaf you kitchen will smell AMAZING. Please refrain from eating the bread until it has at least cooled a little as to not scorch your mouth. People, I'm speaking from personal experience here.

Makes 10 slices

The stats (one slice):

Calories - 173
Fat - 4 g
Protein - 2.8
Carb - 31.6
Fiber - 1.2

Bon Appetit!

Vega and a review!

2009-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

Review

I got my first package in the mail today! It was filled with a beautiful assortment of Vega products for me to test and review. I’m so excited, thank you so much Kelly!

Vega is an awesome Canadian company founded by Brendan Brazier, a professional Ironman triathlete and two time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion, who’s passionate about spreading the word on the benefits of a plant based diet. Here is a quote from Brendan on the Vega website:

"I formulated Vega using the highest quality, least processed, plant-based superfoods available. Armed with Vega, you will no longer need to compromise between whole food goodness and fast food convenience. To me, Vega is a way of life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."

Very cool in my opinion.

Brendan is also the author of ‘The Thrive Diet’, has anyone read it? What did you think?

What I like about Vega products:

They are all 100% plant based
Free of corn, dairy, soy and wheat
High raw, alkaline and organic
Contain no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners (sweetened with stevia leaf!)
Contain organic hemp, yellow pea and brown rice proteins and whole flax seeds
Contains omega 3 fatty acids

The stats:

Whole Foods Health Optimizer (One pouch)

Calories - 100 to 110
Fat - 2.5 g to 3 g
Omega 3 - 1 g
Carbohydrates - 9 g to 10 g
Fiber - 6 g to 7 g
Protein - 11 g to 13 g
Comes in Berry, Chocolate, Natural and Chai Vanilla flavors.

Whole Foods Energy Bars

Calories - 240
Fat - 10 g
Omega 3 - 1.5 g
Carbohydrates - 30 g to 31 g
Protein - 10 g
Comes in Berry, Chocolate and Natural flavors.

I am super duper excited to test out all of the awesome flavors (especially the Chai Vanilla!). The shakes will be great for post run fuel. The bars are quite high in calories for just a snack so I’m thinking of either splitting them in half or using it as more of a meal replacement for days when I’m on the run.
I’ll be testing each flavor out through out the coming weeks and will definitely let you all know what I think of the different types.

Stay tuned!

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A while back I told you I was making dinner for my boss at work. We he finally e-mailed me his review! Haha. My first official critique! I didn’t expect him to actually write it up but here’s what he wrote (I changed the names just to be respectful to him and his fam):

Sarah,

I re-heated the meal you made on Saturday night for me, L , C and G(the baby).

Delicious.

The cupcakes were so moist and chocolatey – truly they tasted the way a chocolate cupcake should taste. Better than Cupcakes even.

The icing was also enjoyable – I could tell it was better for me than the plastic sugar synthetic icing at Cupcakes – although I could tell the ingredients were healthier. Which is fine. Because they were it was a necessary trade-off. But it lost some of the crazy bad for me sugary goodness – but again – I’m fine with that.

Okay, the walnut-olive bread. During dinner preparation G(the baby) was playing in the sink and she got into the Palmolive dish soap a bit and it irritated her eyes – but we thought she may have drank some so it kind of upset me. But she didn’t. Anyways, I had to sit down and Lara finished preparing the meal. The bread didn’t get toasted which I think would have been nice – but I enjoyed it with the vegan butter – which when I tasted it on it’s own – reminded me of the icing – so I’m thinking there was some in the icing, right? Yeah – so the bread was moist and flavourful and I liked how the olives and walnuts tasted together. There was also a nice spice that lingered in my mouth after it was over.

And the pasta with chickpeas. Clean and healthy and fresh tasting – I could’ve eaten it for hours. I added some tomato-basil marinated chicken to L and D’s and ended up trying some, too. It was fun.

We took pictures, too. I hope to send them to you, soon.

- D

So I think it was a success! I tried to get him to eat a completely vegan meal but I guess he forgot and added chicken. I am working on him to make him a healthier person. All he eats all day is about 9 bags of chips. I've got him writing in a food journal and everything now!

Anyways, have a great weekend my lovelies :)

Cheers,

Sarah

Cabbage, Cereal and Books

2009-03-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Recipes

I don't really know if you could consider this a recipe but if I were ever to make a cook book, this salad would DEFINITELY be in it. It may look extremely gross to a lot of you but hey.... don't knock it before you try it!

Smokey Mustard Coleslaw

The only ingredients are:

Coleslaw-like shredded cabbage (found in the bagged salad area)
Artificial Bacon bits
Yellow Mustard

Mix it all together and dig in. It has a nice smokey/tangy taste from the bacon bits and mustard and a good satisfying chew from the cabbage. Like a lot of things I eat it is low in calories, high in fiber and keeps you satisfied for quite a while. I ate this for lunch today with a HUGE bowl of grapes and a small handful of carob chips for dessert :) Freaking yum.

Reviews

New Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal

The stats (for 1 cup - 50 g):

Calories - 180
Fat - 3 g
Polyunsaturated fat - 0.5 g
Monounsaturated fat - 1.5 g
Carbohydrate - 41 g
Fiber - 9 g
Sugar - 10 g
Protein - 3 g

Health factor - 7/10
Surprisingly there are very few "scary" ingredients in this cereal. It's Fiber One so you expect it to be some what healthy for you. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the ingredients to see it was vegan! Contains whole grain wheat, corn bran and rice bran. Sugar IS he second ingredient but I was surprised to see only 10 g of sugar in a serving. It is very sweet so I was expecting more.
The taste is very similar to cereals like Golden Grahams or Cinnamon Toast Crunch (cereals I was NEVER allowed to have as a child!) however, Fiber One has about 5 g less sugar. 9 g of fiber is also pretty impressive (if the name is Fiber One, it better have at least a little fiber!)

Yum factor - 9/10
SOOOOOO yummy! When in Costco, my mom and I could actually smell the cereal when we walked past! It is more of a dessert cereal rather than a breakfast cereal. The caramel tastes is quite apparent and has an almost cinnamon-ey flavour to it. I have had about half a serving of this for dessert the past 2 nights and my sweet tooth was satisfied.

Overall - 16/20
I really enjoyed this cereal. It is quite sweet so I wouldn't suggest eating a huge bowl of it for breakfast. Eating it either dry or maybe sprinkled on top of some non-dairy yogurt or ice cream would make it a great snack or dessert.

Running

OUCH! I am so sore today. I had planned to do a little 2 or 3 mile run today but when I got out there all I managed to do was get my butt around the block! My calves and quads are super sore from my long run yesterday. I'm thinking of taking today off, just walking the pooch, and maybe even tomorrow.
I did manage to do some ab work and some sun salutations this morning which felt very nice. Helped my sore muscles stretch out a little bit.

I wanted to share with you guys this awesome site my mom just discovered and shared with me. It's called MapMyRun and you can use a satellite picture (like google map) to map out your run. It tells you how long your run is, how many calories you burn e.t.c. I find it very helpful because trying to decipher how many miles/km you run each new route can be kind of difficult. Plus I don't really trust pedometers to give accurate mileage. Anyways, I highly suggest you check out the site if you're a runner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I need some help for you guys. I'm planning on making a book order from Amazon and am looking for some ideas/reviews/comments/suggestions. Here is my tentative list:

Veganomicon - Isa Chandra Moskowik

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen - Ani Phyo

Vegan Bites : Recipes for Singles - Beverly Lynn Bennett

Vegan A Go Go : Sarah Kramer

The Athletes Guide to Yoga - Sage Pountree

If you have any of these and love or hate them let me know. Also if you have a book that you think is AWESOME and think I should get let me know as well!

I hope you're all having a wonderful first day of spring. It is actually nice outside for once up here! Sadly, tomorrow there is going to be rain and then snow. No real spring for us until about May :(

Cheers,

Sarah

Long run and coconut water

2009-03-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you're diggin' the new blog layout and feel. I'm super happy with it! OK let's get right down to it shall we?

Reviews

O.N.E coconut water

The Stats:

Calories - 60
Fat - 0 g
Sugars - 14 g
Protein - 1 g

I was so excited when I saw this product in the store the other day. I've been seeing Miss Gina the Fitnessista drinking it and really wanted to try it. O.N.E. is an awesome, good for the earth company as well. It's 100% natural coconut water from young green coconuts. It has 5 electrolytes, more potassium than banana, no fat, no added sugar (natural sugars are kind high though), and NO preservatives. The best part about this product is that O.N.E. contribute a percentage of their sales to support projects like BrazilFoundation's "Solutions for life in Semi-Arid Lands" helping children access clean drinking water.

Health factor - 8/10
This product is not only good for you but good for the earth and developing countries. The only points I took off heath wise were for the mount of sugar that is in this little tetra pack. The good thing is, it's all natural and has electrolytes which makes it great to drink after a workout.

Yum factor - 5/10
I think that I'm just not used to drink things other than water after working out so this seemed quite thick and hard to get down after my run. I'm not a big tea/juice person so this product really didn't appeal to my taste buds as much as I would have hoped. I was only able to get down about half of the juice box before I needed to switch to water.
Maybe it's an acquired taste?

Overall - 13/20
I really, really wanted to like this product. It is so much healthier than those neon coloured, chemical laden, electrolyte enhanced sports drinks and O.N.E. is an amazing company dedicated to not only healthy living at home but for those less fortunate than us. IF you have tried coconut water before that you may really like this.
Me? I'm still trying to decide if I want to acquire this.....odd taste.
For now, I'll stick with water and a banana for my post workout replenishment :)

Running

I am SO proud of myself! Today I ran longer than I ever have before! It may not seem like very long to some of you experienced ultra fit runners but today I ran 9 km(about 5.6 miles) in under an hour (58 min). I wasn't going to go as far as I did today but my body was feeling strong and I just kept running! I feel so much more confident now and am getting super excited for my first 10K race in June. It's still quite a way's away so I'm excited to see how much my time can improve in a little under 3 months!

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That's all for now folks! Thanks again for all the sweet comments. As I said before the direction of my blog seems to be going in a more organized fashion, which my type-A, perfectionist personality really likes! I did one more layout change just so my header could be centered! Hey, I worked hard on that thing, it had better be centered!

Cheers,
Sarah

New EVERYTHING!

2009-03-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

So as you can probably see I'm switching things up quite a bit. When I first started this blog it was kind of all over the place and I think now I've decided what I want to include etc. I will be including my 4 R's (Recipes, Reviews, Running and Rants) at least one in each post and am super excited about the change and where this could be headed.
I'm still working out some of the little quirks but I like this format a lot better.

What do you think?

Roasted Veggies!

2009-03-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Happy Hump Day!

Here is a dinner idea which my family uses a lot. Take all your favourite vegetables, put them on a tray, and ROAST EM'!

Haha it takes a little more work than that. Here is what I usually use/do:

The VEGGIES:

Baby brussel sprouts
Button mushrooms
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Red potatoes
Yams/sweet potatoes
Asparagus
Onion

The TOPPINGS:

Extra Virgin Olive oil
Cracked black pepper
Occasionally I use balsamic vinegar but not last night

What to do:

Step 1: Cover a few cookie sheets with tin foil and spray the foil with PAM

Step 2: Wash up and cut your favourite veggie (mine are listed above) in to bite size pieces

Step 3: Spritz your veggies with a little olive oil. I use an olive oil "misto". It's a device that you add olive oil in to he base and it comes out as a mist as to not go over board on the fat. It's an awesome little appliance which you can find it here.

Step 4: Crack as much or as little black pepper as you like on the veggies. You can also douse the veggies in balsamic vinegar now or marinate the veggies before hand in the vinegar. Either tastes great.

Step 5: Roast the veggies at about 400* in your oven for about 40 min (or until the potatoes are soft enough for your liking)

Step 6: Fill you plate like I did!

My favs are the yams and the baby brussel sprouts. I felt SOOOOOO full after this meal but it was too good to stop eating it! Haha.

I'm thinking about including a little Food/Nutrition tip with my posts. Right now I'll be just writing from what I have learned myself but once I start college I'll be able to use information I learn from my Dietetics classes!

Nutrition Tip:
Don't underestimate your veggies. Let them have a the starring role in your dinner once in a while. They are chock full of vitamins and fiber to keep you healthy and feeling full on fewer calories!

A Vegan in a Steak Eaters Province

2009-03-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies!

Hope you Tuesday is going well. I'm in a pretty good mood today because 1) I'm on "spring break" from work and don't have to go back until March 30! WOOT! And 2) I went to the organic grocery store today!

Now, where I live people are not the most health conscious of folks. Alberta is kind of like the Texas of Canada. There are cattle farms all over the place, steakhouses on every corner and only about 3 health foods stores in the nearest city. Thus being a vegan can be quite a challenge. About 25% of the population in my town and the closest city (Calgary, Alberta) have bumper sticker that read:

I mean, how gross can you get? In elementary school they were given out all the time to us students, industry brain washing works bet when you start young I guess! When I was younger (pre-veg) I would pretend it said I heart Alberta Cows because I've always been an animal lover and thought cows were so cute! I just find these sticker so disrespectful.

Anyways, living in an area like this makes finding healthy and vegan products quite difficult to do. I do my best, but I can get very frustrated when I see all these amazing products on other peoples blogs and they either aren't sold in Canada, don't ship to Canada or aren't sold in my area's stores. Grrrrr....

However, there are time when I get to go into the city and stop at the Organic Planet and soak in all the healthy goodness it has to offer! Here are my finds:

Ezekiel wraps
Almond butter
Carob chips (VEGGIEGIRL HELP! What am I supposed to do with these?)
Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar
Coconut Cream Pie Larabar
Chocolate Coconut Larabar
Think Green Bar (from the makers of the Think Organics and Think Protein bars)
Coconut water

The only bad part is it was SOOOOOO expensive. I wanted to get so many more things but all their prices are jacked up like crazy. Veganism is not expensive (fruits and veggies) but when you want to get some fun treats it can really add up.

My question to all you bloggers is how do you afford all those fun food finds? Is it less expensive in the U.S.?

Cheers,
Sarah

An Ephiphany!

2009-03-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

Happy Monday.....rrrrr.....Survive Monday?

I had a pretty interesting weekend that I want to share. The party I went to was OK. Yeah...just OK. The friends that I hung out with on Saturday night I haven't hung out with in quite a while and well, I now understand why. They are very big party girls who pretty much binge drink and eat crap on a weekly basis. Now, I am a very healthy person, I eat my veggies, drink my smoothies, do Pilate's,run and don't stay up past 10PM every night. I drink MAYBE 2 times a year and ONLY when I had out with these friends. When I hang out with them I guess I'm peer pressured into doing things (like drinking) that I really dislike doing (like drinking). I can't even remember if I had a good time on Well what an interesting weekend that was. Friday night because it has been completely overshadowed by the guilt and self disgust I felt the morning after. After contemplating this for a while on Sunday morning I had kind of an epiphany.... if I don't like doing something, then I shouldn't do it!

I know it's just total common sense but it hit me like ton of bricks. If something I'm doing isn't making me happy or grow either spiritually, emotionally, physically or intellectually then I'm not doing to do it! Haha, I even made a list of things that DO make me happy and things that DON'T.

DO:

eating a whole foods,plant based diet with little to no processing
running
practicing yoga and Pilate's
walking
spending time with my mom
reading the Word
journaling
going to bed early and waking up early
smiling and laughing
learning about health and nutrition
surrounding myself with positive and supportive people

DON'T

drinking
eating crap
obsessing about my weight
not getting enough sleep
self hatred
stress
doubt
being around people who will influence me in a negative way

It felt so good to get that all out. I feel like my path has been made straighter and my true friends, hope, dreams and goals have been made more apparent.

So I guess you could say the party was great!

How do you guys feel about drinking and going out?

On another note....
I entered my first blogger contest. It's for Mix My Granola by Missy Maintains.

LOVE this girl, love her blog and I hope I win the granola, it looks so yummers!

Cheers!

Sarah

A old family recipe

2009-03-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Hope your weekend is going well. Mine has been pretty splendiferous thus far. Dinner tonight is from an old time family recipe that I believe my mom got from her Grandmother with a few tweaks and changes. The original recipe call for a huge chunk-o cow or something unappetizing like that, now it is cow free and ever tastier!

Here is the recipe:

2 small or 1 large onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
2 c. chopped carrots
2 c. chopped celery
2 cans tomatoes (blended smooth)
3 veggie boullion cubes
1 L. water
1 can green beans (you can use fresh if you'd like)
1 can corn
4 c. chopped or shredded cabbage
1 can of your favourite beans (I used white beans)
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
Parsley and cracked black pepper to taste

Step 1: Sautee the onion and garlic in a large soup pot until onion is translucent. I coat the bottom with PAM first.

Step 2: Add celery and carrot and sautee until they get softer. They don't have to be at the tenderness you want them just yet, they can still be a little firm.

Step 3: Blend the tomatoes in either your Magic Bullet (woot!), food processor, vita mix(I want one so bad!), any type of blender will do! Add it to the pot. The tomatoes, not the blender.

Step 4: Heat a cup of water and dissolve the veggie boullion cubes in it. Add the broth to the pot as well as the 1L of water.

Step 5: Add the hot peppers. I like it spicy!

Step 6: Let simmer for 40 min to 1.5 hours.

Step 7: About 20 min before you're ready to eat it add in the green beans, corn, cabbage and beans. Let simmer for about 20 more min or until everything is thoroughly heated.

This soup tastes great served over rice(my fave), pasta or boiled potatoes (my mom's fave). It's pretty low is calories but high in fiber, vitamins and flavour! I'm guessing you get about a bajillion servings of vegetbles in every bowl. YES a bajillion. You can freeze it and reheated it tastes just as good. It warms you up and is satisfying with out weighing you down.

Well I'm off to my friends 19th birthday party. Should be a blast, it's a "pick-your-own" Theme party. I'm going as a cow girl! I'm excited to see what everyone else will be dressed as. Don't worry lots of pictures will be taken ;)

Cheers, Sarah

Not starving...ravenous, and spreading the vegan love!

2009-03-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

The weekend has ARRIVED! YAY!

Well today started off by me realizing we had NO apples left in the house. Not even a nasty old one shoved into the back of the fridge so, I decided to take a pre-breakfast walk over to Safeway and pick some up. I have a confession to make, I am an apple freak. I usually eat about 2 a day and am very picky about my apples. When I go grocery shopping with my mom, the time it takes me to pick out my perfectly crunchy, yet still juicy apples, she can get all the rest of the produce! Haha. But boy way I glad I took that walk because they had the most glorious gala apples there, and they were on sale!
After I finally got back from my grocery store jaunt, I was pretty ravenous*. So I had my usual breakfast of an apple with 1 T. raw almond butter, and a soy latter with 1/2c. vitasoy original light. I am SO happy I took the initiative to go to the store this morning because these apples were delicious. Crunchy and firm, yet still juicy and full of flavour :)

*Ok so I have kind of a weird thing about using the word "starving". I don't use it... ever. I feel that the only appropriate use of the word starving is when referring to 1)The starving children in third world countries or
2)The women and men who are suffering from eating disorders.
When I am very hungry, I use the word ravenous. I know it's kind of a funny word but using the word "starving" reminds me of a very bad time in my life where I was restricting and purposefully well...starving myself. Now, when I get very hungry (ravenous) it is not because I am intentionally keeping my self from eating, I am just ready to re-fuel my body eat another meal! I hope that makes sense.

No run today, my back it feeling very sore and I don't want to push anything too hard. I'm thinking it is because I've run for the past 3 days in a row for longer than I ever have! Hopefully taking today off will do some good.

Lunch was another yummy salad. I used a small head of romaine, about 1/3 c. vegetarian re-fried beans, 1/4 c. salsa and 2 oz. of Soya Novu Smoked Tofu.

Guys, this stuff is AMAZING. It is a very firm tofu (which I really like, no mushy tofu for me please) and tastes like gouda cheese! Now that I don't eat cheese anymore this stuff is prefect for putting on sandwiches, in wraps, salads, stir Fry's...almost anywhere. I don't know how far they ship their products but if you live in western Canada I'm sure you can find it in health food stores. The company, Soya Novu Tofu Shop, doesn't even have a website but I did find an email soyanovu@shaw.ca, maybe you can get them to ship you some!

So today was the day I made my vegan feast for my boss. I made the Mediterranean Olive bread from The Joy of Vegan Baking. It is such a good bread and I added both green and black kalamata olives, walnuts and sundried tomatoes. I would really suggest the book. I love Colleen at Compassionate Cooks. She is like one of the people I would most like to meet . Her podcasts helped me out so much at the beginning of my veganism (over a year ago!) and her positivity and compassion for animals and spreading her message is truly inspiring.

For the main course I made a chickpea-spinach-tomato sauce on top of whole wheat spaghetti. Here how I made it:

Put about 2 T. Extra Virgin olive oil in the pan
Sauteed 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves (chopped)
Added 1 large can of tomatoes (crushed up), 1 can chickpeas, 1 c. of each raw and fresh spinach
Added about 1 tsp of each basil and red pepper flakes
Sprinkled on some garlic powder
Cracked black pepper to taste

I let it simmer in a fry pan for about 20 min and here is what the finished product looks like:

Dessert was one of the "Brown" velvet cupcakes I made yesterday from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.
He took it home and told me he'd write up little review of it! Haha. I had a little of each (even a cup cake!) minus the pasta and it was a very good if I do say so myself!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome to the blogging community. I love you all and can't wait to get to know you all :)

A little bit of everthing

2009-03-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Since this is my first real post I thought I'd kinda give a little taste of what I do on a normal day. I woke up and headed straight to the kitchen (I currently live with my parents in the same house I've lived in for 18 of my 20 years of life) for some b-fast. Today I had my usual, apple with nut butter and a soy milk latte with 1/2 c. Original light Vita Soy. I love how creamy vitasoy is and it steams up so nicely for lattes or cappuccinos. I need to introduce you to my love...her name is Sylvia and she is our espresso machine. She is married to Rocky, the coffee bean grinder. It's kind of a love triangle thing. Me, Rocky and Sylvia.

As you can probably tell, I love coffee. I've tried SO hard to like tea, really, really tried to like it. I do like chai tea (not the gross syrupy kind, the loose tea) and on occasion earl grey but that's about it. I would LOVE to LOVE green tea but I really don't think that is gonna happen anytime soon! For now, I'll stick with my Joe.

After breakfast I got to work on my biology assignment, yay reproductive system! Haha. I've been out of high school for 3 years now trying to make a career in ballet so I'm still a little rusty in that department. I'm taking this biology course online just to get my head back in the game before I go off to college next year. I'm pleased at how well I'm doing in this course. I guess I did OK in high school, I got good enough grades to get in to colleges but that's not what I wanted to do. My mind was always in the ballet studio so I never really did as well as I could have. I always thought I was stupid and wouldn't really need good grades cause I was gonna be a ballet dancer! HA! Well, now that I have all this time to focus on school I'm doing so well. My average is in the high 90%, so I'm super stoked.

After working on school for a while I decided to go for a run. Now I am a very new runner but I'm already addicted! I love the endorphin rush, I can tell what people mean by a "runners high", it's an awesome feeling. When I was in training for ballet we were never allowed to run because God forbid your quads would grow to the size of tree trunks and you would look like a body builder! Haha, I think back and realise how crazy some of the stuff our teachers told us and we believed. I mean look at long distance runners, really? They are TINY! But that's just one example of how ballet is in a world of it's own. I really like running and my mom and I are signing up for a 10K in June! The race is called Footsock and it's a big weekend of racing in the small town I live in (Cochrane, Alberta for all you Canadians out there!). Well today I ran for the longest I have....well I think EVER! I did 6.28km and was so proud of myself when I finished!

I got back home, did some abdominal work and stretches and ate some lunch. Lunch today was Mexican style salad. 1/2 head Romaine, tiny bit of onion, 4 black olives, 1/2 c. vegetarian refried beans and 1/4 c. salsa. YUM!

After lunch I did one of my favourite activities.... I baked! My boss at work is always commenting on how good my dinners look and I think is intrigued by my vegan diet so I decided to make him a vegan feast for Friday! I'm so excited. I'm thinking of making him a kind of rice,chickpea, spinach, tomato risotto (making it tomorrow) along with some Mediterranean Olive bread from the Joy of Vegan Baking and these bad boys for dessert:
Red/Brown Velveteen cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World! They kinda aren't red cause I didn't have any red food coloring so I'm calling them Brown Velvet cupcakes! I LOVE this book. I've tried 3 out of the many recipes inside and they have all turned out perfect! So far I've made the Mint Chocolate, Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie cakes and these Red Velveteen cupcakes. All...so.....good. I haven't tried these yet but I did lick all of the utensils before putting them in the dishwasher so I got a pretty good idea of what they will taste like :)
I love cooking and baking for people. I'm so excited for tomorrow! I hope he like it!

After the baking was complete and the kitchen was relatively clean my mom and I took our puppy for a walk. It is finally getting nice here. The past week has been horrible with highs of about -20*C everyday. Today was above ZERO and it felt like summer. I was ready to break out the shorts (well not really but almost!). After we got home I have another latte with 1/2 c. of soy and 2 rice cakes with 2 T. of Almond butter. Sadly they flew off the plate and landed on the floor. They landed face up so I still ate em'! They are just a little broken apart that's all.

I have to admit, I like almond butter as much as the next girl but, I do miss my peanut butter. I have give both my vices up for lent (peanut butter and dun...dun...dun.... FACEBOOK!) and am really missing both righ now! Haha. I mean I haven't talked to anyone is over 2 weeks! I feel so cut off from the world! It's not like I can't use e-mail or the phone, but facebook. It's a struggle but I guess that's what lent is about. Giving up facebook gives me more time talking to God (partially because I can't talk to anyone else! Haha just kidding!) and that's a good thing.

Not sure what dinner I'll be. I'm off to my church R.C.I.A meeting at 7:30 and then off to bed. Sorry this post was so long! Haha hope you made it through the whole thing.

Cheers!
Sarah

Stalker to Blogger

2009-03-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my third attempt at starting a blog and hopefully I can keep going with it for more than 3 posts! I've been an avid blog stalker for many many months and want to join in on all the fun and make some friends with all you awesome bloggers. I also as well as share my story about my struggles with disordered eating, life outside the strange and crazy "ballet" world and discovering who I am with out ballet.
I suffered a pretty sever ankle injury and have been struggling with the idea of having to give up my dream for quite sometime. Recently I've made the decision to go to college and get my degree in Human Nutrition. I hope to become a Registered Dietitian and work with athletes and ballet dancers as well as those suffering from eating disorders. I'm SUPER excited about college but I'm also ABSOLUTELY terrified. I'm sad because I can't really dance anymore and also kind of lost, trying to find out who I am with out ballet.
I guess this will be a kind of journal of my eats, exercise and thoughts in general. I'm a vegan and very passionate about healthful eating but also struggling with changing my mindset about food. The ballet world teaches you that food is the "enemy" and that any exercise other than ballet will "bulk" you up. Now that I've been able to take some time off and do some major thinking, I've realized how crazy some of these ideas are and am trying to "de-grain" them from my brain!
I'm looking foeward to meeting you all and making the transition from stalker to blogger!
YAY!