Fitspo Friday: An Update

I haven't done a Fitspo Friday since my first Fitspo Friday a little over two months ago. I know. I'm a bad, bad blogger. Anyway, I figured a progress photo was long overdue, so why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Only, I'm not about killing birds... or animals... or anything for that matter, so that analogy really doesn't work for me.


Many people ask me about my diet. I have to admit, it's not the best for getting great abs. I'll eat cake if it's in front of me. I'll order pizza if my husband and I are too lazy to cook (though it's less than once a month). We eat Chipotle every Friday night. And speaking of nights, I'll find myself eating less than an hour before falling asleep. Again, not the best for getting abs. Hell, not good for the body at all.

But what I don't eat is candy. Ok, maybe not too often. You know when you're standing in line at almost any store and you look to your left and your right... and you think to yourself, "Should I get a Hersey's cookies and cream bar or a pack of Starbursts? Ooh! Funyuns sound great... Yeah, that's not me. I look at it and think of how bad my body's going to react after I eat the entire package. 
I also don't eat at many fast food restaurants. Aside from Chipotle and Panera, you won't find me eating out. I dislike the taste of Chick-fil-A sandwiches, McDonald's makes me feel feverish and sick, the thought of Taco Bell disgusts me. Although I do get the urge to stop by a fast food joint before 10AM for breakfast food, I tend to think about the last time I ate a Hardee's ham, egg and cheese sandwich and how it felt like I was doing nothing but drinking a bottle of vegetable oil. 
I don't drink soda, although I do enjoy a beer occasionally. That's the most carbonation I intake. Carbonation is definitely the number one thing you should kick if you're goal is to get a flat stomach. 


So what do I eat on a daily basis? For breakfast, I typically have two hard boiled eggs with a cup of black coffee and a cup of orange juice. Throughout the day, I snack on rice cakes. If I am craving chocolate, I'll indulge in the Quaker Oats chocolate rice cakes, which is AMAZING with only 60 calories, 12g of carbs and 4g of sugar. I also enjoy unsalted pretzels dipped in powdered peanut butter. Yes, you read that right. Powdered peanut butter. To me, it has a better taste and texture than regular peanut butter. The best part is that there's absolutely no fatty oils in it. If I'm on the go, I'll throw a fiber bar into my bag for emergency purposes. Throughout the day, I do eat single servings of fruits and vegetables. For lunch and dinner, I do one of three different proteins-- tuna, salmon and steak. I choose sides from quinoa to roasted lettuce, guacamole to a quarter cup of pasta. 
Like I said, I'm not strict with my diet. I do eat what I want. However, it's not that often that I want something greasy. Also, I highly enjoy and crave the "good" food I eat. 

Tasty Tuesdays... on a Wednesday.

I meant to post this yesterday as part of Tasty Tuesday, but I was caught up taking care my my MRSA-stricken husband that I had absolutely no time to blog. Yes, you read that right. My husband was down for the count thanks to the immensely contagious bacterial infection. I thought about posting the photos I took of the puss-filled abscess on the back of his arm, but I'll spare you the visual torture. (If you are still curious, you can check out my Instagram.) Ok, on to the more eye-pleasing bunch of images.... food!


over-easy eggs with salt & pepper with sides of oranges and strawberries Not going to lie, the main thing that inspired this picture was my beautiful bouquet of roses. Can I just say that I actually bought the flowers myself? Who does that? It was hard to resist when Safeway had them on sale for $9/dozen. That's less than $1 per rose.


Panera: chicken salad with cheddar broccoli soup
A quick somewhat-healthy lunch in between classes. One word of advice: if you know you're going to sit side-by-side with other students, I'd ask them to hold the onions.


red and green juice 
Possibly my favorite "meals" out of them all. I know that's strange to say, considering these aren't your typical meals. There's something pleasant about eating things you know are great for you. The red juice is from a liver-cleanse recipe I found online. I was not intending to clean my liver. I just thought the ingredients (apple, lemon, ginger, carrots and radish) sounded appealing. The green juice is my husband's favorite. We typically make large batches of this stuff and then fight over it. It's made from kale, cucumber, carrots, apple, pear, lemon, cilantro and celery.


spiked lemonade, kobe steak, surf and turf, cotton candy
This was an expensive meal my husband and I had two days ago. All of this was well over $50, which I'm not complaining. The food was absolutely amazing. I hate kobe beef for the first time. I wish I had ordered it more rare, but I'm not complaining. My husband's favorite part of his meal was the sweet potatoes. They had a caramel glaze, which heightened the sweet flavor. And to top off the meal, our waiter brought over cotton candy, on the house. It was a very nice surprise considering I've been craving the sugary goodness since the last Orioles game I attended in April.

99 Bottles: 99-96

I know what you're thinking-- you're a health nut! How are you drinking this much beer?! Well, let me just say... I tend to enjoy a bottle of beer with my dinner. It's just a great way to relax and end the night. I'm not one who drinks to get drunk. I drink beer because I actually do enjoy the taste and how just one bottle can help my body reach an amazing state of relaxation. See also, I do believe running and beer go hand-in-hand. And because the only time I have to run is after work and before dinner, it just seems to work for me. 

In 2010, a friend of mine and I decided to try a 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall regime. We planned to try 99 different beers, save the bottle tops and keep note of which ones we like, which ones we don't, and which ones we would rather they never produce again. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I met a man who pre-occupied my time, and so my friend and I never got past 5 bottles of beer. (The man that came into my life ended up being my husband two years later...)

My friend and I have since parted ways considering we now live in two different states, but that didn't stop me from starting this back up. With the help of stores such as Total Wine, I have finally found the inspiration to start my 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. 

Beck's Sapphire German Sapphire Hops
If you were to know anything about me, you should know that I am not one to waste money. If I purchase something, I'm going to use it. If I purchase a drink or food, I'm going to consume it. With that said, this beer ended up down the drain after my first two sips. Granted, I was teetering with the idea of working out on a rest day. I was motivated to go, but tried to talk myself into relaxing. Unfortunately, the urge to go greatly outweighed the need to rest. I didn't want to have to wait so long for a beer to go through my system, so I opted to take a few sips for reviewing purposes.

Now, I must say, if this beer had been somewhat decent, my first instinct would have been to put the glass in the refrigerator to save for later. However, the beer tasted like a cheap Miller Lite. It's definitely not something I would go out of my way to drink again.

Angry Orchard Hard Cider in Elderflower--
If you've never tried a hard cider before, you're missing out. It's not technically beer, but it's a great replacement. Hard cider is typically made of fermented fruit, mainly apples. This specific one is AMAZING, to say the least. It has a very floral taste and scent, which, if you're not keen on those types of things in a drink, avoid this. However, if you want something quite girly, fruity and sparkly, this is a definite go-to! Again, it's not technically beer, but that does not take away from it's crisp, refreshing taste.
Overall: 5/5

Spaten München Dunkel--
This beer is somewhat dark and rich. You could definitely taste the hops. It's slightly smoother than Guinness, for comparison. It has a somewhat bitter and sweet taste. It's actually not bad. If you're a fan of Guinness, but want something that goes down a little easier, this is a good replacement. 

Overall: 4/5

Czechvar Premium Czech Lager--

This beer is very watered-down. It has a slightly bitter taste, but it's not too over-powering. The aftertaste is not too bad. The beer actually reminds me of Stella Atrois. It almost tastes like you're drinking beer-flavored water.

Overall: 2/5 

Want-List for May

 

Rebecca Minkoff 5 Zip Mini (here)

  

Rebecca Minkoff Swing (here)

   

Michael Kors 'Parker' Chronograph Watch (here) 

As I was walking around Nordstrom this past Saturday, I couldn't help but venture off into the purse and jewelry section. Unlike many women my age, I enjoy window shopping more than actually purchasing the items. There's something fascinating about modeling items in stores and then walking away without spending a dime. See also, I feel a sense of empowerment knowing I am strong enough to say no. Let's face it-- shopping is like drugs, and sometimes you have to learn to not succumb to the pressure. With that being said, these three items are still on my mind. And regardless of how easy it is for me to say no to things at the time, the longer I think about a particular item, the more I want it. The more I want an item, the closer I get to purchasing it. You can probably see where this is going.... 

The Weekend in Photos

Roasted Kale!

I was talking to my mom the other day when she mentioned an easy snack that she started making. I was intrigued when she said it revolved around kale. Not only that, she said it tasted like seaweed. I don't know about you, but I definitely have a great weakness in all things salty. I know many people have a sweet tooth, but I am definitely the polar opposite. I don't know why I prefer salty over sweet, but I'm thinking it's due to my diet growing up and the fact that I was purely disgusted by chocolate and icing and sugary candy.

This recipe is super easy and more healthy than eating, say, potato chips. I'm talking anyone can do it, and it takes no effort at all.

All you need is some kale, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Season your kale with both the extra virgin olive oil and sea salt to your liking.



Bake for around 40 minutes or until your kale is nice and crispy.



An alternate way of making this is to just throw it on the stove. Again, season it with oil and salt. It's a little quicker on the stove, but does not bake as evenly as when you do it in the oven.

Word of warning: the stem may still be hard and chewy. Just make sure you snip it off before taking a bite. Or better yet, snip it off before roasting it.

April IPSY Bag

Sorry for the lack of blog posts. My weeks have been hectic lately. I recently received my IPSY bag for April. I recorded this video on a whim because I figured it is a little more interactive than a blog post. Let me know what you guys think of me incorporating videos. I have another one that's currently being edited, but that will probably be up in a couple of days or so. I'm also thinking about starting a vlog. Thinking.... Thinking.