Category Archives: elliptical

Spicy-Sweet Roasted Pumpkin Seeds!

Exercise of the day: 45 minutes on the elliptical at level 8, and heart rate between 163-174. I did 30 woodchopper core weights, a crapload of sit-ups on an exercise ball and rolled out my IT bands again whilst trying not to tear up. Will the pain EVER stop? Stupid IT bands.

I went to the pumpkin patch today to pick up a big ole gourd to butcher.

So many pumpkins!
There was a petting zoo at one end…
with a fluffy chicken-y thing. I thought this was a dog at first before I saw its head.
     Turns out the pumpkins at the patch were ridiculously overpriced, and there was no haggling, so I headed home and made a fancy Kitchen Sink Salad.
Special ingredient – half of a deliciously ripe avocado! Yum, fat!
     I headed to Albertson’s to pick up a reasonably priced pumpkin.
At the patch, a pumpkin this size cost $14. I got it for $5.13. Oh yeah!
GUTS!
I don’t need newspaper – I’m a pro!
I started to carve “welcome home” for my roommates who are both returning from their trips tomorrow, but got tired after “welcome.” Now I just seem accommodating and friendly to everyone.
Don’t be fooled.
I also picked up some decor gourds. See how festive I am?
     I didn’t let those seeds go to waste though, don’t worry!

[gmc_recipe 5567]

I like mine really crispy!
Store them in a tupperware and snack away! These have MAJOR bite to them, so carry a bottle of water and Kleenex!
One of my free samples! I’m on a roll!

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Filed under elliptical, gourd, gym, kitchen sink salad, Kleenex, pumpkin carving, pumpkin patch, pumpkin seeds, recipe

I Eat REAL Food!

     Exercise of the day: I woke up with a headache and sat around for a while sipping tea before I decided that if I was going to feel like crap anyway, I might as well feel like crap at the gym and get a workout out of the way and I’m really good at writing run-on sentences. I fueled up with some carbs:

1 slice of 9 Grain from Great Harvest with some peanut butter and mashed banana. I have no idea how those chocolate chunks found their way there!
     I got onto the elliptical and did the random cycle at level 7 for 40 minutes, then did 30 assisted pullups and 30 tricep dips. I used the evil/wonderful foam roller and tried not to cry as I rolled out my IT bands, then went out and did a few “woodchopper” core weights. Halfway through the workout my headache was GONE! 
     I had an icy Monsta when I got back with 6 cups of spinach, 1/2 cup of soymilk, 1/2 a frozen banana, 1 lemon and 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries. Soymilk has protein in it… Probably not enough for a post-workout refuel though. I also had some reheated butternut squash apple soup with a dollop of goat cheese – yum!
     I spent the day cleaning the house, doing laundry, CLEANING OUT MY CAR (something I haven’t done in over six months) and making hummus!
The can of garbanzo beans gave me some trouble, but I sorted it out.
And the hummus is chillin’ in the fridge, waiting to have fresh bell pepper slices dipped into it.
     I made baked sweet potato fries for dinner.
Half of a huge sweet potato sliced, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt, then roasted at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
     At work I got a lovely gift from a lovely friend.
Chocolate covered strawberries from Godiva! Thanks, Jose!
I also started this book: The French Don’t Diet Plan. I really, really, REALLY recommend reading this! I’m only a few chapters in, but this is so interesting! The author, Dr. Will Clower, talks about how the French can seemingly eat everything in sight: bread, cheese, wine, chocolates, and not gain weight, and how their diet differs from the typical American diet.
“They eat real foods, we eat food products.” – Dr. Will Clower.
     If you read the ingredient lists on different foodstuffs, it’s shocking to see how many unpronounceable ingredients, chemicals, dyes and preservatives actually inhabit the products that we put into our body. For instance, let’s look at the ingredients on a simple loaf of Wonder Bread:
I don’t want to put exthoxylated mono and diglycerides in my body – I researched them and STILL don’t know what they are!
Lucky for me, I have a Great Harvest down the street. The ingredients in this loaf? Fresh-ground whole wheat flour, water, yeast, salt, honey and oatmeal. That’s more like it!
     I’ll be going through this book and sharing on my blog as I go along! I’m making a conscious decision to only eat food with real, whole ingredients – starting with making my own ketchup tomorrey! Stay tuned!
How many things in your fridge contain crazy chemicals or dyes? 
My count – seven out of twelve on the middle shelf alone. Yikes.

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Filed under butternut squash apple soup, elliptical, Godiva, Great Harvest, gym, headache, hummus, sweet potato fries, The French Don't Diet

Guilty Pleasures

     I hope everyone’s enjoying the beginning of their Labor Day weekend! I had to work all day today, and a few hours tomorrey, then I’m free to enjoy myself again!

     I’ve been hitting the gym every day, utilizing every single second of my free trial week. Today I spent an hour on the elliptical, burned 502 calories and went 3.75 miles. Afterwards, I did a few rounds on the lat pulldown, then did a massive amount of crunches and stretching. All this was followed by a big Monsta at home – 3 cups of spinach, 1/4 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1 lime, 1/2 of a banana, 1/3 of a cup of frozen blueberries, 1 carrot, and 4 sprigs of asparagus.

     I had to work today, but I got to work with my lovely and ridiculously fun friend, Vicky, so it was more than bearable. Since nothing out of the ordinary happened today, I’m just going to put up a bunch of random pictures of some of my meals over the last few days.

After my intense workout yesterday, I decided that a trip to the indian buffet was in order.
As if the gigantic plate of food and garlic naan wasn’t enough, the chefs made my roommate and me this complimentary dessert that we’re obsessed with: Gajar Halwa – it’s basically grated carrots, sugar, butter, almonds and raisins. This is one of my all-time favorite desserts!
I had a late night craving for grilled cheese one night. I made this with Great Harvest’s Hi-5 Fiber bread, which is chock full with tons of seeds and nuts, then topped it with some real (NOT Kraft) cheddar cheese and fried it up in a teaspoon of butter. Sometimes, grilled cheese is a necessity.
Today’s lunch was a Subway 6-inch on wheat with turkey, roast beef, tons of spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, a little mayo and mustard.
PUMPKIN truffle from Godiva! I LOVE PUMPKIN!!!!
And a piece of the Hi-5 Fiber toast with some REAL chimichurri sauce on it. Real means delicious means not made by me.
     Keep in mind that while some (most) of this isn’t the healthiest thing I could’ve chosen, I’ve completely balanced it all out with Monsters in the morning as well as lots of time at the gym. Plus, I wanted to eat it, so I did. Deal with it.
     Tonight I’m headed out to a billiards club with some friends to play for a few hours, and hopefully drink a PUMPKIN ale? Ah geez, I really hope the bar carries pumpkin ale already! Enjoy your Saturdays!
What are some of your guilty eating pleasures?

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Filed under chimichurri, elliptical, Gajar Halwa, Godiva, green monster, grilled cheese, gym, Indian Food, work