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Posts Tagged Vega Health Optimizer

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Sep 17

Posted by in Fit on Vacation | 9 Comments

Hello blog friends!

Wahooo Thursday is here!  Travel day!  (woot woot!)  I am very excited to see my family tonight when I touch down in Michigan.  I’m also ready to just get out the door today and off to the airport so I can STOP THINKING I’m going to forget something.  I am an insane traveler, I swear.  I spend more time planning, packing, preparing and overthinking than I actually spend on any trip.  Even for short ones.  Do any of you do that too? 

I have been particularly overthinking this trip, as I will be spending a full week of my vacation in an RV and nowhere near a Whole Foods market!  And since I have been loving all the positive effects of the great nutrition plan I follow at home, I don’t want to miss out on that while travelling.  In the past, I have seemed to catch some sort of cold every time I’ve been on a plane.  So to a certain level, I feel I am kind of ‘testing’ my current food plan to see if it has boosted my immune system!  :)

I have vacuum-packed rice protein powder, Vega whole food optimizer, Amazing Meal, and nutritional yeast.  I have purchased what looks like a year’s supply of Larabars.  I’ve packed olive oil, almond butter and agave nectar into small containers, then vacuum packed the containers so they (hopefully) don’t leak.  I have Mary’s Gone Crackers, pepitas, sundried tomatoes, raisins, stevia.  If the plane crashes on a desert island a la “Lost” I’ll be SET! I am taking a small suitcase (besides my big suitcase) just for food and running shoes.  Am I crazy?  Maybe.  But no one can call me unprepared!

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Normally I’d just go on vacation and eat what everyone else is eating.  This has always led to severe bloating, cramping, gas and other unmentionables which seem to impact my fun.  Being in an RV with paper-thin bathroom walls is plenty of motivation to be a little freakish about packing my own food this time around.  ;) My brother has already been informed that we are going directly from the airport to the grocery store so I can stock up on green smoothie fixins for the road. 

I’m also very excited to get on the plane today because I’ve loaded the new Dan Brown book onto my Kindle and I’m itching to read it!  It’s been WAY too long since he released the “DaVinci Code”.  I hope this one lives up!

Yesterday’s feats & eats:

Weight Training (Legs/Shoulders):

  • TM Warmup + Ball Squats to get the blood flowing to the leg muscles
  • Side Steps with Exercise Band around ankles 3 sets of 30, 40, 40 reps
  • Weighted Step-Ups  3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Overhead Shoulder Press 3 sets of 15, 12, 12
  • Weighted Static Lunges 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Single Leg Lying Hamstring Curls 2 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • 1-Arm Overhead Shoulder Press 3 sets of 15, 10, 15 reps per arm
  • Bicycles for Abs 3 sets of 30

Lots of hamstring and hip flexor stretching between sets this time too.

I got the dogs ready to go out for their ‘wog’ and made the mistake of taking them together.  We made it .12 mile.  That decimal was not in the wrong spot.  We literally went 12/100 of a mile.  They were crazy beasts so we turned around and came back, lest I ‘accidentally’ unhook their leashes while near some open space and let them find their own way home.  It was that kind of morning with the spazoids.  I don’t understand how little creatures who can be so cute can drive me so absolutely up a wall sometimes!  :)   Moms out there, how do you do it with REAL kids? 

I had my JOE in my Denver Starbucks coffee mug this time, since it was my last full day here for awhile!

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Breakfast after my workout was a green smoothie with my diminishing stock of produce.  8 oz water, scoop of rice protein, 1/2 banana, 1/2 pear, one clementine, BIG fist o’spinach, 1/2 cucumber and 2 romaine lettuce leaves.  I think my pink cup makes the green smoothie even greener!

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Midmorning I was in the mood for something savory, so I plated up some Mary’s Gone Crackers and herbed goat cheese.

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For lunch I continued to clean out my fridge of leftovers, so this was the last of my Whole Foods Thai Lime Shrimp.  Although, there was no shrimp left so this was essentially flavored noodles :)   I added zucchini ribbons to bump up the veggies a bit.

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Afternoon snack was an unpictured small bowl of dry Mom’s Best Naturals cereal during my packing frenzy. 

Dinner was MSP’s favorite:  Chipotle.  He could eat there every day and never tire of it.  I like it once in a blue moon.  I ordered the veggie bowl with rice, green peppers & onions, black beans, salsa and guac.  At home, I plated some of it, and surrounded it with some Baked Tostito Scoops for the guac.  And sprinkled it with nutritional yeast for some cheesy flavor.

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Later in the evening I had a cup of herbal tea and half of a “Simply” chocolate chip cookie from a batch I made for MSP to snack on while I’m gone. 

* * * * *

When I had originally planned to start my blog, I figured I’d begin in October right after I return from my trip.  But because accountability is something I feel we can all benefit from in our health & fitness endeavors, I decided that blogging DURING this road trip would be the ultimate in accountability so that you the reader can see how I (attempt to) keep up with healthy eating and exercise while on vacation.

I hope to maintain my same blogging schedule while I’m “on the road” – it will be dependent upon internet and cell phone access.  I hope you’ll ‘join me’ as I take FitFeat on tour.  It should be interesting if not comical!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading the blog so far and thank you for commenting!  Keep spreading the word so we can get that first giveaway going when we have comments from 30 individuals!

Have a GREAT Thursday everyone and I’ll be back with an update from the road the first chance I get!

– Shari B. =)

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"His-n-Hers" Lasagna

Sep 12

Posted by in Cooking | 6 Comments

Wahoo!  Saturday!  Love Saturdays!  And I have a BIZ-EEEE one ahead of me.  Lots of catching up with old friends (all former coworkers) today.

Well, as I suspected, my Back/Tri workout was not up to par.  My grip was really weak from the shovel and spade work the day before.  But I got it done – even if it wasn’t my strongest.  My workout partner (MSP) also abandoned me decided to stay in bed for the morning, as he hadn’t had a great night of sleep.  I don’t blame him – been there done that about 600 times myself!

Here’s the Friday recap:

Weight Training (Back & Triceps)

  • TM Warmup followed by arm circles to get the blood flowing to the muscles near my shoulders
  • Close Grip Pulldowns 4 working sets of 11, 10, 9, 12
  • Barbell Rows 3 working sets of 9, 14, 15
  • TRX Row 3 sets of 10, 11, 10
  • Overhead Triceps Extension 4 sets of 15, 15, 8, 9
  • Hyperextensions (low back) on Ball 3 sets of 15

Then I took the beasts dogs out for their wog session (together this time) because I wanted them to get some extra mileage  – it keeps them a little calmer during the day.  I’ve recently started taking them one at a time because together they are a LOT to handle for one human arm that likes to stay in its socket.  Separately they each behave much better.  Together, they turn into disobedient little freaks!  I think it’s because they know that they can overpower me when they are together. :)   I had planned to take them for 4 miles but I go SO tired of being yanked around like a rag doll I shortened the outing to 3.  They’re lucky they’re so cute – it’s impossible to stay mad at these cuddlebugs:

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Friday coffee was my holiday peace dove mug.  It was a chilly windy morning that felt like fall (even had to wear my sweatshirt outside) so I figured I better start preparing myself for summer to be over…. waaaaahhhhhh!  (Can you believe HALLOWEEN stuff is out at the stores now??  It kills me.)

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Between weights and dog wogging, I was crazy hungry, so I mixed up a partial scoop of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer with a cup of almond milk. 

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I figured I’d eat something more substantial when I got back but I wasn’t really hungry at that point and was busy doing my ‘chores’.  I had to run to the library and grocery store late morning so I went to the Target SBUX.  Holy moly what a RACKET they have going at that particular Starbucks.  You don’t get to use your registered SBUX card rewards (which in my case this day would have been free soy ‘upgrade’ and free syrup squirt).  I ordered a tall decaf soy latte asking for just ONE pump of pumpkin spice (since it was such an autumnal day!).  Guess how much that tiny cup cost me?  $4.01.  Ex-SQUEEZE me?  For a TALL?  I had to look at the receipt because I thought she must have charged me for a Grande.  They now charge 50 cents for the soy (is this everywhere I wonder or just Target?)  It used to be 40 cents, but I always use my registered card so I haven’t paid much attention I guess.  So no more going to the one at the Target.  OK, sorry for that, just had to get that off my chest.  (I may have to rebel and start going to DazBog instead!  ;) )

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Lunch was my SAME-O SAME-O salad.  I know you guys must get bored with my salads having a rotating set of the same ingredients!  I can’t help it!  Don’t fix it if it’s not broken, right?  They’re so good that I just don’t want anything else at the moment.  Maybe I will broaden my SALAD HORIZONS someday soon!  This had spinach, zucchini ribbons, yellow tomato, red pepper, dulse, pepitas, sea salt & pepper, HB egg, and olive oil w/ balsamic vinegar.  Oh and a few sundried tomatoes and sprinkle of nutritional yeast, I almost forgot!

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Afternoon snack (not pictured) was 1/2 a Larabar and a square of dark chocolate.

We jokingly refer to Friday as Pasta Friday in our house because for a long time we noticed were having some sort of italian meal every Friday night.  Since I had some free time yesterday afternoon, I figured I’d try to make lasagna for MSP as a little surprise.  I’ve never made lasagna before and I love to eat it at restaurants.  (And you KNOW when you eat it out, you’re probably getting 3 days’ worth of calories.)  Well I found a recipe for tofu “ricotta” and thought I’d make that to then put into my own attempt at creating a lasagna recipe. 

I have all of my ingedients gathered to make the tofu ricotta (I felt so “FoodNetwork” taking this pic!)  Tofu, basil, sea salt & pepper, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, & olive oil.

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I began building the layers into my lasagna.  I made a vegetarian half for me and a meaty side for MSP.  This is the middle layer.  My side has mushrooms & sundried tomatoes, MSP’s has italian chicken sausage.  My next layer has spinach & artichoke hearts, while MSP’s next layer has…. more sausage.  :)  

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My side has a very light sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top and his side has loads of 2% Italian ‘Three Cheese Mix’.

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After I put it in the oven I noticed that a cooking bomb had gone off in my kitchen – look at this mess!

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And after some serious dishwashing and cleanup:

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Ahhh, that’s better.  I can’t stand a messy kitchen!

So here is the lasagna after cooking.  It looks really done, I know!  I should have left the foil on until just at the end because MSP’s cheesy side went a bit past ‘golden brown’ and maybe more toward ‘burnt brown’  ;)  
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 And after plating (on the side is Genesis sprouted grain bread with a smear of pesto & a sprinkle of parm, then into the broiler very briefly):

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 And no Italiano dish is complete without a small glass of this:

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You know, the lasagna wasn’t too bad at all!  I didn’t add a lot of seasoning because I didn’t know how strong the fresh basil would be.  Next time, I’ll add more seasoning to the tofu “ricotta”.  But I liked it!  Which is a good thing, because I have a TON left over!  Dessert was a cup of Teeccino (herbal ‘faux coffee’): 

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And I was again hungry right at bedtime so this little snack was a scoop of raw almond butter with a squeeze of raw honey, about 1/2 cup of almond milk.  I don’t know why I’ve been getting hungry at night, so I think I’ll eat a bigger dinner for the next few days to see if it makes a difference.  I don’t have any qualms about eating right before bed – but it DOES make me wake up ravenously hungry which is why I’d rather not do it.

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Today’s question is:  Do you have housemates or family that eat completely different than you?  Do you find it difficult or have you  gotten into the groove of working around it?  I was a little worried at first that when I went meatless it would really add to my cooking workload, but it’s actually been fun to find ways to have us eat essentially the same meal but with a few adjustments.

OK, blog buds!  My tummy is growling, so I need to go get some breakfast started!  Have a MARVELOUS Saturday and I’ll see ya next time!

–Shari B. =)

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Coyote Snacks & Twilight Running

Sep 9

Posted by in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Hey, Happy Wednesday to you!  The weekend will be here before we know it!

A BIG thanks to everyone that is coming by to check out the blog!  I am amazed at how many views the site had yesterday – so fun and exciting!  You guys are spreading the word – thank you!  It won’t be long before we get that first giveaway going:  comments from 30 separate individuals on 2 consecutive posts.  I can’t wait to send someone a GIFT!

So yesterday’s 6:00 run was DARK at the start.  Not pitch black dark, but dark enough that ‘coyotes could be eyeing us for breakfast’ dark.  :)   Luckily only the deer came out to stare at us crazies running before the dawn!  This is at the trailhead parking lot looking west to the trail.

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This is to the east.

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The moon was looking pretty “halloweenish”!

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It was a GREAT run day.  I was feeling a little sluggish on the way there, but as soon as I got there I had a burst of energy and tackled the hills with no trouble.  We did 3.57 miles with 599 feet of ascent and 632 descent.

I absolutely LOVE starting my day outdoors in nature, especially with the sunrise.  It’s my favorite time of day and it’s so peaceful.  Are you a morning exerciser or evening exerciser?  When do you feel the most motivated to get in some activity? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section.

My pre-workout fuel was coffee with a side of Genesis toast (a bit of flax oil and raw honey drizzle).  This was at 4:30 in the morning, so it was definitely a day for the “Instant Human: Just add coffee” mug (and I couldn’t resist taking an immediate bite of my toast!)

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After the run and my super long blogging session I had some “sunshine in a bowl” – fresh mango.  I LOVE mango and didn’t want to mask its flavor at all in a smoothie, so I had it all by itself.  It was divine.

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A little later I mixed some Vega chocolate health optimizer with some almond milk because I knew fruit alone was not the best post-run recovery option.  This would NOT mix well with mango, no matter what the label tells you ;)

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My fridge has been looking a bit overstuffed with leftovers so lunch was a random mix of things that needed using up:  wild rice, hummus on 7-grain crackers, spinach & arugula salad – complete with tailfeathers!  The salad also had pepitas, sundried tomatoes, orange pepper, and raw zucchini ribbons, topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. MSP said to me that it looked like a lot of food, would I be able to finish it.  I said “Pssh, of course!”.  He was totally right, I could not eat all of the rice after finishing off the salad!

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Pie sounded great for my afternoon snack so Larabar Pecan Pie did the trick, one of my favorite flavors.  (Do I say that about every Larabar?)  :)   I think the only ones I haven’t loved are Key Lime and Cinnamon Roll.

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And a totally BORING looking dinner!  More leftovers!  I imagine you are about as tired of SEEING this dish as I am of eating it, but luckily this batch is gone for awhile!  Vegetarian Chili with Tofu.  I also ate some more of my leftover hummus on a cracker, with a sliver of manchego cheese (not pictured).

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I was low on goodies to make blended green goodness so had to make a trip to the store for some fresher spinach and romaine!  All stocked up now!  Evening ‘snack’ was just a cup of herbal tea as we had a pretty busy evening working on a project in the house.

Well fit friends, the iron downstairs is calling.  It’s LEG DAY!  Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!  See you next time!

–Shari B. =)

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