Chase at 17 Months

Training Update

Don't these waffles look better than the previous two days?

Dont know why I didnt think to load them up with superfood goodness

Breakfast of Champions:

Trader Joe's gluten free waffles, topped with hemp seeds, raw organic cacao nibs and blueberries

I made this juice and drank it down while I fed C and baked my kale chips

6 stalks organic celery

A few organic kale leaves/one stalk

1 organic green apple

12 organic baby carrots

It was another hit..and totally made up!

and of course I had to put all that lovely pulp on my brown rice, tapioca wrap

And here is my lunch: A packed yummy wrap with the usual

Baked organic kale chips (I was thinking about how people say its too expensive to eat this way. My kale is the same price as a bag of chips)

and I decided to have some yummy fresh organic pineapple (my new fave fruit)

For snack, I had two spoonfuls of almond butter

Dont know why this saved sideways?

Veggie night

Organic spinach topped with pulp, onions and parmesan

Organic broccoli

Baked potato with onions, chives and sour cream

I was so full, I didnt eat a snack after my run! (which was amazing by the way...I owe it all to the veggies!)

Marathon training is tonight and I am excited to see how my run goes. I made sure this week that I have gotten the 6-7 veggies in a day that the nutritionist from last week suggested. I honestly believe I notice a big difference. My energy levels are up and most of my stomach pains are gone. I have limited myself to only two fruits. (the natural sugar is a little much I think from the juicing and smoothies) I drank my water this week and have surpassed what I need for the day. All this said, I hope to see a big difference tonight. I plan to stretch later and really get my muscles ready to go for a five mile run. I will post a pic later tonight as well as my lunch pics. How's your training?What's on your menu?

Pulpalicious!

Breakfast was the same as yesterday. TJ's gluten free waffles with blueberries. Organic, fair trade expresso roast coffee

I was at a friend's house and quickly became very hungry. In desperation, I downed one of my yummy candy bars (so wish I didnt have to do this but I could feel my blood sugar dropping)

I came home and made this juice while my organic Kale chips baked in the oven

Lots of organic baby carrots

1 bunch of organic romaine

1 organic green apple

It was sooo good!

I had a bright idea when I saw the colorful pulp! Why not put it on my wrap?

So, I put the pulp on top of my turkey, pepperjack, spinach leaves, and spicy mustard

Oh man, was it amazing!! Definitely putting it on my dinner salad...not only is it a great way to be resourceful, it gives me my extra veggies I need!

And here's the finished product. Yummy wrap with organic, kale chips on the side! Washing it down with Spring Water as I type.

Now, I am off to do my BSF homework, get some core workouts in, play on FB, and make the yummy dark chocolate resse's cups...Check back in for pics of those and dinner tonight!

Update: Reese's 101

                                                

First you melt the boom, Choco boom, vegan bars

Pour the chocolate into the muffin paper

                                                    

Add some almond butter

Add more chocolate and top off with chia seeds. Freeze for 10 minutes

Take out of paper and enjoy some yummy superfood goodness!

Just made up the BEST salad EVER:

Organic Shrimp Salad

Spinach leaves topped generously with the pulp from earlier that consisted of organic carrots, romaine and green apple

Sauteed shrimp in olive oil, fresh organic pineapple slices, cayenne pepper, and ground ginger

Added the shrimp and topped it off with organic mango, chopped onions, parmesan, and walnut halves

Seriously this was the best salad and so filling! It was packed fiber, protein, veggies and was the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

What'd you eat today?

Food happenings...

First, I have to start with last night's dinner. Remember how I made organic pesto chicken for a friend last week? I couldnt wait to make it for our family. It was delicious!

Organic chicken tossed in pesto, topped with organic tomato and parmesan cheese

Served over homemade mashed potatoes

Organic spinach leaves with parmesan, walnut halves, tomatoes and Bolthouse raspberry vinegarette

This morning, I had Trader Joe's gluten free waffles topped with sugar free syrup.

Side of blueberries and organic, fair trade expresso coffee.

 Got home from BSF and was famished (as always), I had

Organic brown rice, tapioca tortilla with turkey, pepper jack, spicy mustard and spinach leaves

Organic spinach topped with parmesan, Bolthouse dressing, and pineapple. Topped off with hemp seeds

And the Pink Lady made her appearance!

1 organic beet

2-3 cups organic pineapple

1-2 inches of organic ginger

1 organic pear

I enjoyed this yummy dark chocolate bar for a snack during naptime

Dinner was Tilapia drizzed in olive oil and topped with gluten free crushed crackers

Baked potato with light sour cream and shredded cheese

Yummy organic broccoli

side of organic baby carrots ( I needed to get my veggies in for the day)

I also made sure I got three 20 oz bottles of these in today. I have got to get back to drinking water! Not only am I training, I still breastfeed! Gotta have water!

* I limted my fruits to 3 today (not easy:) and attempted replacing that with veggies. I need to get 6-7 servings of veggies for my marathon training (according to our guest speaker last week) I also need to limit my fruits as I think my body is reacting negatively to sugar. I've had some real issues this past week with bloating and nauseau. So we will see if this helps. I ate what I wanted over the weekend just to play games with my body. I think I have it figured out....

Count the Cost

http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/

http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

During this Lenten season, I encourage you to really grasp (as much as you can) with the Holy Spirit's wisdom, what it  costs to really follow Christ. What did it cost Christ to give us freedom? What did it cost the disciples to follow him? Why would it be any different for us? Oh how we have missed the message of Christ in America!! We think we are blessed...but how deceived we are! We would be much more "blessed" if we chose to take up our cross and follow Him. What is He speaking to your heart? What will it take to get you to take heed, to trust Him, and to obey? Only in losing your life, will you find it.

A day in Food Part II

So for breakfast, I had a banana topped with almond butter and cacao nibs. (no pic taken-just picture lots of  almond butter goodness topped with cacao nibs) 

I then went to M2M and my dear friend, Abby http://www.mckinneyclan3.blogspot.com/ brought me a yummy superfood smoothie from Georgetown Market.

They are so good and are our favorite. Peaches, mango, banana, vegetable rice protein, spiriluna, etc

She also brought me a Larabar. These are great and only two ingredients. Dates and almonds. C loved it though and ate over half of mine!

I came home and had Trader Joe's egg white salad with pepperjack cheese and spinach in a brown rice, tapioca tortilla. I had baby carrots on the side (these are brand new so not liking how old they look!)
 

This is what I made for dinner...but not for us...for a dear friend whose little one has been in the hospital. It is organic, free range, vegetarian fed pesto chicken topped with parmesan and tomatoes. (tomatoes arent in season so they werent a vibrant red) It is sitting on homemade mashed potatoes with the peels on (most nutritious part) I served it with vibrant green organic broccoli. The smell permeated throughout the house and was amazing!  I am so making this for our fam next week.

This is what I had instead. My banana cacao creation

I washed it down with a superfood smoothie

Then we went to small group at Abby's and she surprised us with my favorite new dessert! Yummy almond butter, dark chocolate reese's...So easy and oh so good! I am making them tomorrow. She also made a vegan, brownie superfood creation that I had three of. They were made of dates, flax seeds and other great stuff

I washed it down with a giant water in preparation for tomorrow's Mini training!

So, how'd I do? I think I could've been a little low on veggies but good on the rest. Dates are an excellent source of fiber and carbohydrates so I am lovin that for my training.

How are you doing?

Let's talk Nutrition....

For breakast, I had one of these muffins: Almond butter, honey, banana, brown eggs and hemp seeds topped with raw cacao nibs. I also had organic, fair trade expresso coffee to go along with it

On my way to BSF, C fell asleep in the car. I was early so I went through Starbucks. I wanted Naked Juice and was quite disappointed to find that location didnt sell them. So, I had to get OJ. It was just pure squeezed orange juice without additives so that made me feel a little better. (not sure what's up with the pic)

For lunch, I had a brown rice tapioca tortilla filled with my banana/almond butter cacao creation

Homemade fresh organic kale chips made for the first time...they were oh so good!

 I decided to wash it down with 'Baby's first greens"

1 organic cucumber

1 organic pear

1 organic green apple

4 stalks organic kale

2 cups organic pineapple

My non raw dinner: organic free range, vegetarian fed bbq chicken (cooked in crock pot all day)

baked potato with low fat sour crem

organic spinach leaves with blueberries, bleu cheese, walnut halves, drizzled with olive oil

Tonight is Biggest Loser, so I am  finishing the day off with superfood ice cream as I watch it. (frozen banana, strawberry, raspberries, Kefir, coconut oil and raw cacao nibs) I made it up so we will see how it goes

Did I get adequate nutrition for someone who is training for a half marathon?  In fairness, I didnt run yesterday or today. I am taking a break to see if it helps my legs. I was itching to work out today but resisted. I read an interesting post on plant based foods and athletes today on http://www.choosingraw.com/ Check it out and let me know what you think. To me, my day looks well rounded. I had far enough fruit, volumes of  veggies, dashes of dairy, perfect amount of  protein (if not more), complete with complex carbohydrates. This is what most of my eating days look like. (minus the baked potato..thats a new addition)What do you think?

Training Update V

This was yesterday before the worst run ever! (see the new shoes? My feet and run were looked at by a professional and I was fitted for my first pair of real running shoes; good for running, bad on the budget)

This is my favorite juice so far....The Pink Lady (not to get confused with me as the pink lady in my all pink running gear:)

1 organic beet, 1 organic pear, 1-2 inches ginger, 2 cups cubed organic pineapple. These juices I must say give you as much energy as a triple expresso from Starbucks!

So yesterday's run was terrible. It was close to 5 miles but my legs were killing me from the jump. I was so discouraged that in a bad moment, I considered giving up. But, not to worry, I am not a quitter! I just wish I didnt have crappy runs every now and then. I looked at my food intake and what not, but honestly I  believe it is just that I am running too much. Although the training says to run  5 times a week, my body is saying "girl, you got me messed up!" So, I am going to take a few days off this week and let my aching legs rest. In the meantime, I will be sipping yummy juices and smoothies and of course posting about them. I will add a vitamin to my diet, make sure I drink all of my water and eat a balanced meal (this I think I was already doing however)

On another note, this is my new favorite dessert brought to me by Abby. It is so yummy and not only replaces my old favorite candy bar but is WAY better! Its truly soooo good and so easy.

How are you guys doing?

Photo Shoot

This morning we had a fun photo shoot at our home. My dear friend, Abby (http://abbymckinneyphotography.blogspot.com/) who is just starting out in photography took the pics.  Here are a few random pics I took from the shoot. They arent great because I have a lame camera but ya know. I will post the real pics when I get them. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Chase loves to hold his hands up and gasp or say WOAH-its very cute

Looks like a little train conductor here (we changed his outfit several times)

He was obsessed with her camera

She was kind enough to let him play with it

He then basically just took over; he was so cute saying cheese, cheese!!

Such a far cry from this photo shoot at our home just 17 months ago (look at that white blonde hair!)

And of course we had to take a break for a smoothie (whose house do you think this is?)

and here's one sneak peek!