Swimsuit Season......<---SO WHAT?

Howdy. <--No, I'm not Southern (actually I'm Northern, but that's not important).

So, there's this little thing called 'SWIMSUIT SEASON' that is fast approaching or maybe is already here. I don't know the exact DATE it arrives, but regardless, it's apparently PRETTY IMPORTANT to a lot of women out in the world.

(Note: I am a BIG fan of CAPITALIZING things, so yawl <--[what?] just accept it.)


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I get the whole hype of it and how it's a reminder on nearly EVERY SINGLE magazine gearing towards women right about now and probably until August.


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"LOSE 10 POUNDS IN 2 WEEKS",
 "GET READY FOR BIKINI SEASON WITH THIS NEW MEAL PLAN"
"SHAPE UP FOR THE SUMMER"
 "YADDAYADDA YADDA".

Same stuff, same headlines, EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.
My question is, DON'T THEY GET TIRED OF PRINTING THAT?
Sure, I want to look good in a swim suit, even if that swimsuit is a one-piece with control top because, folks, I do NOT look like Keira Knightly. But the constant reminder of people that they should lose weight in order to look decent in a swim suit (regardless of what kind) is a representation of how our society works, I think. Magazines are hung up on reminding people that, YOU NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT; GET THIN AND THEN YOU'LL LOOK GOOD IN A SWIMSUIT.

Why?

Why should women feel that the only way they'll look good in a bikini or swim suit or WHATEVER is if they lose weight? Does every woman have to be the ideal stick-thin that's become the norm?
WHAT'S WRONG WITH CURVES? LOVE HANDLES? LITTLE POCKETS IN OUR TUMMIES?

I don't know about you, but the only time my stomach is uber flat is first thing in the morning before I eat anything. Or if I go a whole day without eating. Which is rare. Read: never.

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Granted, there are those select few who are actually genetically built with a skinny frame and body. To those women, I pity and envy you simultaneously (think Keira Knightly).



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Let's see...would you rather go ALL DAY without eating just so you look spectacular in a ini mini yellow polka dot bikini with a flat stomach and nausea due to lack of food, OR would you prefer feeling full of energy and life the ENTIRE DAY with a comfortably full stomach that is listened to when it growls.
Why does anyone need to lose weight? It it's to feel better both physically and mentally, then fine. I say go for it. But if it's to fit better in society and the so-called "ideal body", then that's not necessarily a healthy mentality to have.

For me, I am a one-piece-suit-kind-of-girl ALL. THE. WAY.
Let's be honest here, my belly button hasn't seen the light of day since I stopped wearing tankinis in the first grade.
Ever tried jumping off the diving board without your tankini top riding up to expose your ENTIRE FRONT?
Just, don't.

So, to all those skinny-ass-phalt girls strutting their lack-of-stuff around this summer in itsy bitsy bikinis, I say go eat some peanut butter.

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Love your body for what it has done for you your entire life so far. DON'T hate on it just because it isn't following the twisted social acceptance of what's known as the perfect body.

Yeah, that advice is easier said than taken, I know. REALLY, I DO. I struggle with this pretty much every day. I mean, HELLO. STILL WEARING A ONE-PIECE HERE.

Maybe someday I'll bare the holy belly button to the world.
Or maybe not.

REGARDLESS, it won't be due to shame of my body.
Nope.

To be honest, it'll probably have something to do with whether or not I had eaten too much dessert the night before and will be contemplating if I can fit a fifth serving into ma' belly without looking as though I'm the new octo-mom.

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;)

Long time no....talk

Hey there blog! So, about that 14 month hiatus....yeah, sorry about that. NOT intentional. You know how sometimes you have motivation to do things and then they just..disappear? Well, that happened to me for about a year or so. Maybe a little more. HEY, I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH LIFE. Although, to be honest, there hasn't been anything extraordinarily remarkable about what I've been doing. Just more school with papers, exams, finals, you know the drill.
 But now, HELLO SUMMER. What the heck took you so long to come around?
 Now for three glorious months off from anything having to do with the dreaded C word (you know, the one that rhymes with knowledge). Time to get a crack-a-lacking with this blog o' mine. Cuz I know ya' missed me, right?

Don't answer that.

So here's the top ten reasons why I love summer and all its glory, because I'm really loving lists and I think it's going to be a new thing of mine to just make lists in every post. FUN FUN FUN! ;)

TOP TEN REASONS WHY I LOVE SUMMER

1. Sunshine = tanning = no sickly, vampire-looking skin that looks HORRIBLE on a Greek person (disgrace to all Greeks, I tell ya)

2. Fruit, fruit, MORE FRUIT in season; berries, pretty much anything that is in the fruit category gets me FAR to excited. Especially when there's reduced produce at the supermarket and you can get a HUGH JASS bag of slightly old but still good fruit for one buck. Yes, a buck. That'd be a dolla'. Priceless (okay, not really but you get where I'm going with that, right?)

3. (An extension of 2) MAKING CRUMBLES WITH SAID FRUIT. Best. Thing. Ever. Seriously. I honestly can't think of anything better than fruit crumbles topped with cool whip <--obsessed, ranks even higher on my list than vanilla ice cream (GASP..I KNOW..HOW COULD I).

4. Tank tops. Sleeveless shirts. I really truly HATE sleeves during the summer. I mean, why the heck do we lift weights and strength train and use the rowing machine (just me?..okay then..) if we're not going to show off our sculpted arms? Muscles? <-- (pronounced MUSS-KULLS) SHOW OFF YOUR  ARMS LADIES (MEN? IF YOU'RE READING).

5. Walks. Outside. Okay, I love the gym and all (I'm a gym rat. Like, the very definition of it. Look it up in the dictionary. That's my picture), but sometimes I get stir crazy. Going outside is SO refreshing instead of looking out the stinking window all the time. AMMMMMazing.

6. Barefoot. Freeing, airy, MY FEET CAN BREATHE. After months of being constricted to the dark, suffocating cover I call my socks and shoes, FLIP FLOPS ALL THE WAY. Except, you know, when you're running. Or at the gym. Or walking (POWER walking, that is). Then I'd recommend wearing some sneakers. Cuz, you know, it's not as easy as it looks to run in flip flops. Really, I've tried.

7. Fro Yo. Congratulations, you officially have a valid reason to get frozen yogurt nearly everyday. IT'S HOT, YOU'RE SWEATING, YOU NEED TO COOL DOWN. Forget ice cream; fro yo is OF COURSE healthier than ice cream because, DUH, IT'S YOGURT. RIGHT? RIGHT?! That's a solid argument, right there. Don't let anyone else tell you any differently. Amen.

8. More time to watch anything and everything on the telly (no, I'm no British, quit looking at me like that). During the summer I usually catch up on tv shows I've missed during the school year because, HELLO, NO TIME = NO LIFE = ISOLATION FROM ALL THINGS ENTERTAINMENT.
Top of my list this summer--Castle, Scandal, Bones, Vampire Diaries, more that I'm probably forgetting but will remember once I hit 'publish' because that's the way my life is.

9. BOOKS. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read and when I don't have time it literally drives me insane. During the school year I probably read about a book every two months. That, my friends, is sad. Truly, embarrassingly, sad. (Sniff inserted here). Now, in the past week I've been off, I've read 3 books. THREE. YES. THREE. It's been...glorious. Sigh. If you don't like to read novels, don't tell me. I'd rather remain in blissful ignorance rather than know that sad fact about you.

10. Um...blogging, DUH.

There ya have it. Top ten. Right there. In truth, there's probably more to add on to make it something like the top hundred, but, once again, MY MIND IS BLANKING. That and I don't think my fingers could handle that much typing. Read: at all.

Now, it's time to go practice #1 and #4. Two bird with one stone, right?
 (Now that I'm thinking about that phrase, I'm starting to realize just how violent that is. Seriously. HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT?
Why the heck would anyone even want to kill a bird, let alone two, with a stone.
A STONE FOR FUDGE SHAKES. )
No freaking idea.

Sick Day but PI Day!

Hi. Remember me?
Yeah, sorry 'bout that....:)

This poor little blog was put on the back burner for the past 2 weeks or so. NOT INTENTIONAL! I swear! Sometimes life gets in the way and you have to deal with that. And then you get sick and you have to/ are still dealing with that. 

So, today is an official sick day for me! First one in over a year :) <<knock on wood, although I think it's too late for that right now>

So, while I spend the rest of the day on the couch with vast amounts of home work, pudding and the DVR, I give you my version of NATIONAL PIE DAY:

The above photos are what happens when you make a pie crust with zero butter or margarine and just whole wheat flour, apple sauce, and brown sugar.

Hard as rock :)

PB&J Protein Bars

It feels like Thursday. But it's not. WHY MUST IT NOT BE?!?
If it was Thursday, all would be right in the world. Everything just seems better when it's Thursday, you know?
The day after Tuesday is Wednesday <--EW
The day after Thursday is Friday<--YES!!

See my thought process here?


Anway, I'm currrently suffering from withdrawal after finishing off one of these beauties I made the other weekend. 

Saturday I woke up wanting a peanut butter and jelly bar that was gooey and sticky and messy and just plain tasty. But also something that wasn't full of sugar and butter. But lots of good stuff.
BEHOLD, the PB & J Protein Bar was born.

Basically it's made of bran flakes, oats, protein powder, peanut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, milk, salt, jam and greek yogurt. A stick-to-your-ribs kind of bar.

 Really, it's not that hard to make. :)

By the way, this kept me full for 6+ HOURS. Yes, hours.
Maybe I shouldn't have eaten 1/3 of the pan?

PB&J Protein Bars

Serves: me, JUST me.

5 cups bran flakes

1/2 oats

1/2 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free)
3/4 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 cup milk of choice

1/2 cup applesauce
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs. cinnamon

- PREHEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES.
-Combine ingredients in order, one at a time in food processor and processor until all thoroughly incorporated.
-Take out half of dough mixture and press into bottom of 8x8 inch sprayed baking pan.

-With remaining dough,  place in mixing bowl and add in:

1/4 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used pecans)
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
Mix together and set aside

-In small mixing bowl, add in:

3/4 cup jam of choice (I used raspberry and strawberry)
1 individual container Strawberry Chobani (or any other flavor of choice)

-Spread jam mixture over bottom dough layer in pan.

-Spread remaining dough topping mixture on top.
-Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

-Let cool for at least 1 hour to set before cutting.

*Or just ignore everything I said and cut immediately and serve with whip cream :)

Too much exercise & dessert (<--I know, NOT POSSIBLE;))

THANK GOD IT'S ALMOST FRIDAY!!
Yes, I realize that this was a 4-day week due to President's Day. No, that doesn't mean it seemed any shorter. <Story of my life>

Anyway, this past week I've worked very VERY hard at not overdoing my workouts. Yes, I said overdoing.  Cause, you see, I tend to work out longer than I really need to. What I NEED to do is learn how to exercise for a proper amount of time and not any longer than that. So, the questions I have for myself are the following:
1. How do I get to that point where I'm comfortable with less? The saying goes, "less is more", which is something I definitely need to follow.
2. What workouts are out there that make me feel the burn in a shorter and overall more efficient time?

GAH! The problem is that I don't really know the answers. Well, okay, I sorta don't know. I DO know that I need to shorten how long I exercise. So the past week or so I've been slowly decreasing. Instead of going cold turkey, I've cut work outs by 5 or 10 minutes. Nothing major, but just enough so that I know I'm making improvement, even if it is small and seemingly minuscule  What matters is that I'm actually doing it instead of just telling myself, "Oh, I'll just go longer this time round and the next time I exercise I'll go shorter". Nuuh. Not doing that this time. I'm doing it the right way this time.

The other things going on that I've been working at is not over snacking. You see, the problem I have is having a dessert after dinner because my sweet tooth tells me too. Now, I don't have a problem with dessert after dinner every  night. Or even everyday. (Every meal? Too much? Yeah, thought so..;))

Vanilla Pudding Peanut Butter with thawed cocoa powder & maple syrup combo 

The issue I have is not overdoing it. What starts out as a small little something turns into a full out dessert fest. Like, MEGA! Next thing I know I've gone from comfortably full after dinner to OHMYGOSH I NEED SWEATPANTS full. (Ignoring the fact that I'm usually wearing sweatpants to begin with, in which case I would need BIGGER sweatpants). I'm talking about cutting back from 2-3 portions of dessert (even if it IS healthy because then it turns into too much of a good thing, which I've learned IS possible. But that's for a different story some other blog post).

PB&J Protein Bar.. RECIPE IS COMING SOON, PROMISE

 So, for example, instead of having 2 small bowls of cereal or 3 squares of chocolate (the dark stuff, really good especially if it's of the  coconut variety..SORRY...RAMBLING...anyway..) I would just have ONE small bowl of cereal (shredded wheat, vanilla almond milk, & peanut butter anyone?) or ONE square of chocolate. 

cocoa powder, maple syrup mix frozen and then microwaved until gooey with caramel rice cake

Sounds simple? It is most definitely NOT! I just love to eat dessert. And snack. But maybe too much. 

turkey, mozzarella, egg wrap with sauteed spinach + salsa and cheddar rice cakes

ALSO, I've been working hard on eating full meals and not skimping (which leads to the mega dessert snacking). Instead of half a baked potato, I need to eat THE WHOLE DARN BAKED POTATO.
It's the little things in life, really :)

So, thank you for reading my ramblings, and if you didn't, I forgive you.

My Weekend of food & fitness

Happy Moan Monday everyone!! 

Although, it hasn't been that bad of a day over here since I didn't have any classes (thank you Presidents!), so it was a somewhat relaxing day/weekend  if you don't take into the homework reading and online tests and papers to write ;)

Over the weekend I ventured to Marshalls looking for clothes and food. Marshalls and TJ Maxx have the most amazing food that's in random corners of the stores. I discovered a whole area of 'healthy eating' food that is AMAZING!

 Why have I not gone back there before?!

My foodie finds include the famous Love Grown Granola (Apple Walnut Delight flavored) that seems to be everywhere in the blog world, and a new-to-me Sweet & Crunchy Cinnamon Cranberry Almond Rice Stix! 

The Almond Rice Stix are crunchy and chewy all at the same time with a nice tartness coming from the dried cranberries. Very tasty!

I've been eating this little bars straight out of the bag, dipped in peanut butter and on top of greek yogurt with fruit, cinnamon and (of course) peanut butter.  Tasty breakfast   :)

Of course, some greens were consumed.  Key word: some.

spinach  & greens salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, onions

 PROTEIN SNACK PLATE: The best deli ham from Costco, low-fat cottage cheese with herbs, and cheddar rice cakes (so, so addicting; they taste like cheetos, no joke)

 New running shoes!!! So excited; they're Asics Gel Scram and are SOOOOOOOOOOO comfy!! Also vibrant, which I love :)

My version of Compression Socks. Be jealous.

I took these shoes for a trial run on the Mr. Mill.
8.5 miles in 75 minutes. Walked for 3/4 mile. 

Averaged between a 8 min an 8:30 min mile with a 2.0 % incline.

Gotta admit, it was a rough run despite the comfy shoes; partially due to not sleeping well.

 NOTE TO SELF: Don't read in bed for 45 minutes, it causes you to STAY AWAKE FOR +2 HOURS LONGER.

After foam rolling/ stretching for a ridiculous amount of time on and FINALLY showering after many (and I mean MANY) hours of watching the Castle marathon on t.v. (dangerously addicting, I tell ya).

Although, my post-run dinner was extra delicious and the standard meal of bacon parmesaen beef burger with a baked potato, veggies, and COPIOUS amounts of ketchup. And parmesaen. 

1/4 of a bottle of ketchup and parmesaen were added after. <Saved you from the nasty image :)>

Meet two of the loves of my life (besides peanut butter, naturally):

Meet Mr. 'San and Mr. Chuppie. We see each other on a mealy basis (yes, sometimes even for breakfast)

For dessert, one of these guys with my protein ice cream:

That would be a PB & J protein bar made by yours truly. Heaven in ya mouth.

But that's for a whole other post :)

Happy S.A.D.!!!

So, so true.

In other words,
Happy Valentines Day to all you couples out there!!!!!!!!!

Right, well the the thing I look forward to the most every year is making dessert :)

-Iced sugar heart cookies

- Homemade dump cake made with canned crushed pineapple, canned cranberry jelly all mashed up, bran cereal, oats, vanilla protein powder, and applesauce. I enjoyed a couple of huge servings (read: half the pan) along side some cool whip, vanilla cake batter protein ice cream, vanilla protein peanut butter I blended together in the food processor, and a crushed caramel rice cake.

Dessert in all its messy glory.

I enjoyed this bowl of deliciousness x2 as an after dinner/ Valentines Day S.A.D./ post- run dessert. 

Earlier this afternoon I took ran 9.22 miles (I'm a numbers fanatic...it's my bday date:)) and walked for 1/4 mile or so. 

Instead of going at a constant speed and incline, like I usually do, I alternated with going an 8:34 min/mile pace to a 8:00 min/ mile pace and everything in between while switching the incline from 1.5-3 %. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for me to maintain my pace. 

Maybe I should do it more often?

Dinner (yes I I'm talking about dinner AFTER I talk about dessert. This is normal in my life) was homemade meatloaf made by moi made with BAKED POTATOES (I. Love. Thee) and broccoli/ kale with a large side of cottage cheese, ketchup and parmesaen.

 Always parmesaen. I'm never without it at any meal besides breakfast. Um..fruit and parmesaen anyone? No thanks.

Picture taken pre-parmesaen/ more ketchup/ cottage cheese explosion  

Obviously

I had a great run partly due to the fact that I made sure to take yesterday easy by power walking a little and biking for 40 min or so and stretching/ foam rolling like crazy. And eating properly. Beef burger with bacon, cheese, bake potato and kale the night before anyone? YES!

On a side note, I got these BEAUUUUUTIFUL flowers from my Mom today. She says I'M her Valentine!
(Cue all the 'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW')

 Thanks Mom :) 

Note: She gave me chocolate too, but not much is left so you can just use your imagination: picture 90% dark chocolate bar.Yum. Ever tried spreading CRUNCHY cookie butter on a chocolate square? DO IT.



And because I couldn't help myself, I'll leave you with this:

;)