Dinner tonight was more of the same. However, I have exciting news. I went to the doctor today and I was weighed. I have officially lost 18 lbs since I moved to LA! Also, my blood pressure was described as “excellent”. For the past two years when I would get my vitals read my doc would always say that my blood pressure was a little on the high side so this is a welcome news! See what a little healthy eating and running can do?
Category Archives: Working Out
My Fridge Runneth Over
My fridge is packed ya’ll! Tons of farmers market finds, some awesome fruit salad (thank you Danielle) and I have things from Catie’s house from over the weekend. I started to dent it tonight with…
Butternut squash in balsamic vinegar sauce (gently brown butter with pine nuts or walnuts, once the butter is brown add balsamic and cheese). This is a single serving.
Hummus and 1/2 a red pepper…
Purple potato cheese crisps. I nicked this recipe from Tina but switched it up with goat cheese and purple potatoes. I these were pretty good but I would love to try them with sweet potatoes in the future. BTW- these are baked, and oh so delicious. See we don’t have to fry things for them to be tasty.
Tonight I caught “Losing it with Jillian” and killed a run. It was an awesome run! Def made up for a lazy run on Saturday. Can’t wait for the race on Sunday!
Work it Out
This was my week in workouts:
Monday: 4.1 mile run
Tuesday: 3.5 mile run, stair work, weights, triceps dips, crunches
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Power Yoga
Friday: Off
Saturday: 4.1 mile run
Sunday: off
This week I am going to be heavy running at the beginning of the week and then ease into yoga and arms at the end of the week in prep for my 5k race on Sunday! I can’t believe my first race is almost here!
Yoga brings me home
You know what the best destressing technique is? Sitting with one hand on your heart and one hand on your stomach and deep breathing. Yoga taught me this little move and it has always helped me when I feel overwhelmed. That is my tip of the day.
Today I actually took a picture of everything I ate. It is harder to do then it might seem! Here we goooooo!
Breakfast:
I had a super filling Cinn breakfast cookie!
AM Snacks:
In the morning I snacked on a piece of candy and some Trader Joe’s Fruity Flakes…
Check what we found in the candy dish today! Hangen’ Tough!!!
Sweet!!
Lunch
For lunch I had a homemade salad, pop chips, and one slice of Ezekiel bread…
On my salad I used hummus instead of dressing which is lower in calories and also had protein and, I think, tastes better.
Only 100 calories!
I only had one slice out of the two. I was so full!
And to drink? I had a non fat sugar free iced latte from Coffee Bean! WEEEE! I love Coffee Bean!
PM Snacks:
Throughout the afternoon I had a zbar (because it tastes like dessert!)
On the way to yoga after work I had a larabar. I was really stressed during the final hour of the day and, despite having lots of filling food today I was starving because of the stress! Today was a little “bar heavy” but its easy and quick. I packed an apple bar being its my favorite flavor!
Workout:
Power Yoga tonight was awesome! We did a ton of arms stuff, push ups, and hip openers. I loved doing frog pose. We also did tons of abs work including a crunch where we were lying on our backs with our legs in butterfly and then doing crunches! Holy lower abs! Then we had to lift our legs off the ground by 1 foot and continue crunches. Yowza, I will feel that tomorrow.
We also had an awesome meditation. This teacher actually plays a song on his ukulele and sings while we meditated. I love meditating after a good sweat. It always puts life in perspective and calms me down. Overall, a wonderful yoga workout.
Dinner:
I had a conference call after dinner so I had a quick dinner:
Trader Joe’s tomato bisque
During my meditation my mind kept drifting to Brussels Sprouts so I just had to have some for dinner.
I’m exhausted and off to bed! Who is getting excited for a three day weekend? Do you have any fun 4th of July plans?
Put Some Ice On It
This suped up version of Paula Deen Brown Sugar Chewies were a big hit at work today. Non profits love free baked goodies. The cake was moist and spicy because of the nutmeg and Saigon Cinn. Will be making these again at some point.
Today was another crappy day. It actually rained today which is kinda unheard of for So Cal in the summer. Ok, by “rain” I mean that it misted enough for me to put the wipers on the lowest setting. Between the overcast weather and being a bit hormone whacked at the moment I kinda had another gucky overly tired day. Positives from today? Free iced tea day at Coffee Bean and while I was at coffee bean I spotted this truck!
Dainty Cakes sounds like it would be right up my ally, right? I have to get this dessert truck thing under control because roaming cupcake trucks are SO TEMPTING! Of course, I got a cupcake. I’m human and my mood was mediocre.
Can I just say that the frosting was incredible. It was super light butter cream and you could tell it was made with tons of butter. It tasted totally homemade.
However, I will say that the cake part was not exactly “dainty”. It was cakey, not very moist and really tasted like it was from a box. I am not totally positive that it was, but it was a bit heavy compared to other cupcakes I’ve had. This is also surprising because the frosting was so amazing and homemade tasting. Either way, it was worth the calories but I was still in a bit of a funk…
Best cure? Working out! I went on a 2 mile run to the UCLA stairs which I went up and down 5 times and then ran about 3/4 miles home. I also did some weights, triceps dips, and crunches. It energized me and boosted my mood. However, my right knee didn’t love it. I had some pain so I decided to put some ice on it.
Its already feeling better, but tomorrow is for sure going to be a yoga day.
Dinner tonight was a veggie a thon because I wasn’t that hungry after my supervisor approved hour and a half long lunch/ oogling the Spain Soccer Team break. I had a chicken sandwich on wheat for lunch but I forgot to order without mayo. I forgot how glorious mayo kinda is… don’t get me wrong, I love replacing with avocado but mayo was kinda a special treat! So for dinner I went light…
I made even more veg then you see here so I have something to enjoy with lunch tomorrow!
And my potato “chips”
LOVING farmers market potatoes. Look at all the pretty colors! Delicious.
OK so “negativity off, positivity on!” Extra credit to those that can identify the show where I altered that phrase from…
Funky
Hey Hey Hey,
How was your day blog world? My was funky. I was tired, had a headache and just couldn’t get motivated at work. Then my lack of motivation made me feel stressed. Deadly cycle.This might be because my workspace felt like the bayou today or because basically everyone in my workplace was slap happy. Who knows.
Tonight I did manage to make it on a run. However, I forgot to turn on my timer but I remember the songs I listened to and I didn’t end any early. So, my run was roughly 24:00 mins give or take about a min, if my math is ok. While on my run I ‘ran into’ Hiroshi. It was probably the most awkward 30 seconds of my life but whatever, awkward happens. Has this happened to anyone? Do you say hi or just run on when you see a Professor while on the road? I felt better after my run but still kinda stressed.
So I did the only logical thing… Mac & Cheese with mix ins!
Arugula, prosciutto, broccoli, and pepper. The pasta was Trader Joe’s from a box (what can I say, unmotivated) and should be noted that this is only a half portion.
Still didn’t fully kick the funk so I made brown sugar bars loosely based on Paula Deen’s recipe.
I browned 1/4 cup of butter
Combine with 1 cup brown sugar
An egg
Separately, mix 3/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of Saigon Cinn, some grated nutmeg…
Combine flour with brown sugar
and the finishing touch was 1 teaspoon of vanilla…
Put into a greased pan and bake at 350 for 20 mins…
and the final product will debut tomorrow I promise! I have to let it cool before cutting it up, thus everyone can be on virtual tetherhooks waiting for me to reveal the final product. I will say that the dough was delicious. Saigon Cinn is like my CAT NIP!
The moral of the story? I did feel better after baking brown sugar bars barefoot in my kitchen listening to the Temptations Pandora station. Baking cures all.
The Week in Workouts
Here is the week that was:
Monday: off
Tuesday: run 4.1 miles in 38:00 mins.
Wednesday: strength training
Thursday: off
Friday: Vinyasa Yoga
Saturday: 4.1 mile run (3.1 miles in 25:30)
Sunday: weights
Overall there was less running this week but the runs I did do were fast and challenging. I also did more weights this week which is good. I have two more full weeks before my 5k race. I really want to focus on speed while on the hills. I also will have 4th of July next weekend so I need to make sure I don’t slack off on my runs and maybe be more focused during the week.
(Fri) Day off
Greetings! Today, as I mentioned earlier, I had the day off! I spent the day at yoga, watching a movie, and enjoying treats.
But first…
Hey Iz.
As mentioned in my last post, I started my day off with a vinyasa yoga class. I had an OK yoga class. The stretch was great but there was something off about the class. I think the teachers voice was too soft. I couldn’t really hear her despite there only being three people in the class. One person was clearly an expert yogi but I couldn’t see her so I was trying to follow this guy on the other side of me who was kinda doing his own thing and, also, singing along to the music. I mean, it was the Beatles, so I can’t really blame him but it was a little bit odd. Overall it was a good class. I can already feel my abs!
Anyways, I soldiered on with a coconut Larabar.
Afterward I went home and then embarked on a walk in my neighborhood. I got a small treat from Paris Bakery. I have heard about the Paris Bakery before but had never tried it.
How could you not go in?
I picked up some macaroons.
I ate the chocolate immediately, obviously. I saved the other two for when I was watching a movie at the Majestic Crest. I have never really had this type of macaroon but I was a big fan! The chocolate especially was chewy on the inside and the outside was thin and presented a nice contrast to the chewiness of the inside of the macaroon. The fruit flavors were good too:
I got an email earlier this week from the Majestic Crest Theater in Westwood about their financial struggles so I decided to go to a movie there today and do my part to help them. The Majestic Crest is a single screen theater in Westwood that is privately owned. They’ve been struggling to stay open recently with all the other theaters in LA. I love the Crest. When I first moved to LA, before school started, I was feeling really home sick. One day I felt really down and I went to the Crest to see “Julie/Julia”. Going into the theater totally put a smile on my face.
The theater has a curtain, a beautiful mural and decent prices. I really love this theater so if you are in LA please try to go to the Crest! I went today and saw “Grown Ups”. It wasn’t my first choice movie to see but its escapism and I wanted to support the Crest so I can’t really complain too much. It wasn’t the worst $8.50 I’ve ever spent.
Eastside Afternoon
Today I am blogging at 9:15 from my living room because I have an unexpected day off. Thanks law clerks for all taking today off! My plans for today include yoga, reading, and just all around doing nothing. Right now I am enjoying peanut butter Ezekiel bread with a small amount of strawberry jam. Plus, French Press coffee. Love lazy Friday.
Yesterday I went to an event hosted by the National Lawyering Guild. It didn’t start til 6 so I had some time to kill after work. Molly suggested that I hang out in Los Feliz on Vermont, so I did. I spent most of my time in Skyline Books.
Look what I found:
I want it!
Then I made my way to the Echo Country Outpost for the event.
The event was at this great little store/gallery in Echo Park. I really liked the space, except so many people showed up it was a little hot. There was Fat Tire, Pinot Noir and good eats…
This potato thing was delicious! It had hoisen sauce which was so good.
I also sampled these:
The spring roll was pretty good. The bean cake on the right was ok but a bit heavy and cakey.
The best thing I had at the event I didn’t actually get a picture of… it was a carrot cake cupcake with a ginger icing. So good! The cake was moist and the frosting was really good. Sadly, I was networking and didn’t want to be “that girl” with the camera out. I knowwww I have to man up and just take the pics. It was good though.
Now I have another Big Announcement!
Yesterday I signed up for the Malibu 1/2 marathon in Malibu on November 14th! My friend had invited me to run with her in April and I was unsure about whether I could do it. I knew that while David was in town, when I was in Boston and home and I wouldn’t be running as much. I also wasn’t sure what I would be like training this summer. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to commit to it like I wanted to. But, I’ve been feeling good about my runs and after reading tons of race recaps on various blogs I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for my first half marathon! I’m actually feeling really excited and energized about it!
Off to the water room for a long stretch!
New Health Post
Hey gang! Check out my new Commitment to Health post, Me Against 140. Basically, its adventures in finally owning a scale. Enjoy!
Left Coast Contessa 