Green Grasshopper Smoothie (Mint Chocolate)

This smoothie is so much like dessert!  I was inspired by Angela at Oh She Glows when she posted her Peppermint Patty smoothie around St. Patrick's Day.  I decided to come up with my own variation of the mint chocolate smoothie.  The protein powder is optional.  If you want your smoothie to be more like a meal, I would recommend using the protein powder to give it more substance.  But if you are just having this smoothie as dessert, I wouldn't worry about it.  Also, if you use less almond milk, you can turn this into amazingly delicious ice cream!  All you have to do is blend the ingredients in a blender and transfer to an ice cream maker.  Don't be afraid of the spinach-you don't even taste it!

Green Grasshopper Smoothie
(Makes 1-2 servings)

-1 or 2 frozen bananas
-2-3 handfuls of spinach (75-100 grams)
-1 cup of almond or other non-dairy milk
-Sweetener to taste (I used 2 packets of Truvia)
-1 serving (30 grams) vegan protein powder (I used Plant Fusion Vanilla)
-2-3 drops of mint extract
-1-2 TBSP chocolate chips

Blend up the spinach with the almond milk in the food processor first.  Once the spinach is a puree and there are no longer any pieces  of spinach, add all other ingredients and blend.  Be careful with the mint extract.  It's very strong and it is easy to over do it!

A Dog Bite and Learning to Run Without Music

(After a jog at the New River-Fall 2010)

Back in the fall, I started incorporating some jogging into my workouts.  I would walk 5 minutes and then jog 2.  Eventually, I increased my jogging so I was able to run a 5K in April.  I am pretty proud of that accomplishment because I have never been a “runner.”  In fact, after I did a half marathon with R back in 2007, I swore off running.  I said that I hated it too much to waste my time on it.  But after I started to lose weight, I started getting curious about running again.  I wondered if it would be easier since I wasn’t carrying around so much weight anymore.  I wondered if it would be more enjoyable.  I knew that it would be a higher intensity workout and I would burn a lot more calories than walking therefore, it would be more efficient as far as time management/maximum calories burned.  So I decided to give it a try again.  That’s when I started with the walking/jogging intervals.  I started very slow but I realized that I could increase the running amounts pretty quickly.  Before I knew it, I was jogging 10 minutes and walking only 2 or 3.  I loved the calorie burning results.  Immediately I was addicted to seeing the calories add up on my HRM! 

One thing that really got me through running was being able to listen to my i-pod.  I love listening to upbeat music that I wouldn’t normally listen to.  I never really listen to Missy Elliott or other hip hop and rap artists unless I am running and working out.  In my day to day life, it’s not really my kind of music.  I am more of an Indie and folk rock type of music listener….much more mellow music.  After reading BitchCake’s blog and hearing her talk about how much she loved to run to the Girl Talk album, I downloaded it off the internet.  (It’s free, by the way!)

However, about a month ago when I was at my parents’ house, I went jogging through their neighborhood and the neighborhoods just outside of it.  I took the route that I always take and I was listening to my workout mix while jogging.  I guess I had the music up so loud that I couldn’t really hear anything else around me.  I turned my head and before I could do anything, a dog came up and bit my leg.  Luckily I had pants on, but it still broke the skin and I had puncture wounds from its teeth.  The dog kept barking at me, but I started stomping my feet and yelling at it and it backed down.  The dog was not a breed that is typically associated with attacking people, it just seemed like a mutt that wouldn’t be too aggressive.  However, that wasn’t the case.  That dog did NOT want me around!  There was a man working in a garage close by where it happened but he wasn’t willing to help me figure out who the dog belonged to.  He just kind of threw up his hands like, “Leave me out of this, lady!”  So I went home, and since I was staying with my parents, my mom freaked out (of course)!  On our way to the urgent care doctor, we drove back through the neighborhood but the dog was nowhere around.  The man in the garage said it was his daughter’s house that he was working on and he did not know who the dog belonged to.  So we headed on to the urgent care where my mom was certain that I would have to get the round of rabies shots!  Luckily, I just had to get a tetanus shot and I had to take a round of antibiotics to fight off infection.  Apparently, according to the doctor, rabies is very uncommon in the United States because of vaccinations.  However, it is still a common problem in other countries.  He seemed more concerned with infection than anything else.  So I got my tetanus shot and the antibiotics.  I really didn’t want to take the antibiotics but when I mentioned not getting the prescription filled, my mom flipped out like mothers do.  She said that if I didn’t, the bite would get infected and I would most certainly have to get my leg amputated!  My mom is very dramatic!  J 

The next time I ran was inside at a gym, so I didn’t have to worry about dogs biting me.  I listened to my music as usual and it was not an issue at all.  But shortly after I got home, I went out to the New River for a jog.  This was when it set in that I really was affected by the dog bite.  I was all of a sudden scared of every noise and was constantly looking over my shoulder for a dog or other animal.  I was listening to my i-pod and that scared me even more because I couldn’t hear any external noise.  So I took my ipod off and haven’t used it outside again since.  It’s probably not the safest thing anyway with cars and other noises that I really should be able to hear when I am working out outside. 

So now I am learning to run without my ipod.  It’s been difficult.  Music is such a motivator for me.  Upbeat music gets me moving and pumped up.  But I am starting to get used to it.  Rather than getting upset, I am trying to look at it as an opportunity to hear birds, nature, traffic that could be dangerous and other noises that I should be aware of.  It’s not such a bad thing!  Now that it’s spring, I hear lots of birds and I can monitor my breathing as I run.  I am more in tune with myself now that I am running without music.  I guess music is a distractor as well as being a motivator.  I was distracting myself from everything around me.  Now I am in tune with my surroundings and it’s good to be in tune with all of the great sounds of nature. 

Food Shelving System = Healthier, Whole Foods Eating

When I started this weight loss journey nearly two years ago, there was no need for me to have shelves to hold beans, grains, flours, etc.  Essentially, I did not enough whole, unprocessed foods and I did not eat enough “from scratch” foods to warrant a shelving system like this.  But as I started cooking healthier, I started cooking more meals from scratch.  Beans instead of fake meats, grains instead of processed pastas, and so on…..  After reading the Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, I was so inspired by her shelving system in her house.  I thought it looked so pretty—almost like interior decorating instead of food shelving.  That’s when I decided to check out Ikea and see what I could come up with.  As my weight loss journey and healthy living continues, so does my need for more shelves and jars!  Unfortunately, my house doesn’t have the space for any more shelves, but hopefully some day I will be able to expand my shelving system. 

Everyday, when I look at these shelves, it reminds me of the transformation I have made with my health.  Here's to many more shelves! 

Flying Pirate Half Marathon-Outer Banks, NC

I am finally getting caught up with uploading and editing pictures!  The spring is such a busy time.  It just feels like I have come out of hibernation and there's so much to do!  The school year is also winding down and I am the testing coordinator at the school I work out.  It's that time of the year where there's one standardized test after another and I am responsible for making all of that happen.  Yuck!  The Flying Pirate Half Marathon was on April 10th at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  Ever since I moved to NC a few years ago, I have only heard good things about the Outer Banks.  R and I have been trying to get there for a long time so it was nice to finally see the Outer Banks.  The weather was not really "beach" weather, but it was still nice to be at the ocean nevertheless.

The day before the half marathon, we had some time to explore the area and do some site seeing.  We drove along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and also spent some time at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  

(Cape Hatteras Lighthouse-Outer Banks, NC)

We just missed the light house "climbing season" by one week!  I was so bummed!  I wanted to climb all of the steps in the light house to the top.  They normally charge a fee and let you climb to the top but they hadn't opened it for the year.  But they did have someone inside the lighthouse talking about its history.  We could walk inside and look up at the stairs.  But I wanted to climb them!  (I would have NEVER wanted to climb the stairs before I lost weight!)

(At Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Visitor Center)

R and I decided that we didn't want to run any of the half marathon.  We just wanted to walk and have a good time. So that's what we did!  We didn't even run one minute of the half marathon and I was completely fine with that!  Before the race got started, we stopped off at the disgusting port-a-potties.  Yuck!  Runners have terrible bathroom etiquette with the port-a-potties-especially the ones we stopped at along the race.  I think the competitive runners just run in and literally use the bathroom all over the place and don't clean up after themselves at all because they don't want to lose any time.  It was the nastiest thing ever!  Anyway, I digress.  While we were waiting in line before the race got started, we saw this shirt:

Because the race was pirate themed, many people wore clever shirts, dressed up, etc.  It was a lot of fun to see what some people came up with!  I think if I had it to do over, I would have definitely done something with skulls and crossbones.  

Here are some of the pictures along the route:

(The Wright Brothers Memorial was along the route-very cool!)

We lucked out and our rental house was along the route of the half marathon and, even better, was right at mile 6.  When we stopped at the house to go to the bathroom and take a mini break before finishing the race, R decided to switch into her Teva sandals-not a good move!  Here we are at the medical station at mile 9 so she could get bandaids for her blistered feet!

The last stretch of the half marathon was great because we both felt like we were in our element.  It was in a wooded area and was more of a hike than a walk.  We had hills and inclines and were shaded by trees.  The path was dirt instead of asphalt.  It just felt like we were hiking at home!  It actually felt really good on both of our thighs to go up hill.  I think it was because we were able to work different leg muscles and that took some of the pressure off of other parts of our legs.  Whether you are walking, jogging or sprinting, 13.1 miles is a long way and you will feel it!  

Because we walked the race, we were at the very end of the finishers.  The post-party and awards ceremony festivities were pretty much over when we finished.  I think our finishing time was around 4 hours.  That was with our stop at the house and taking breaks when we needed to.  We weren't trying to break any records, we just wanted to have fun and see the Outer Banks.  

After the race, we both decided to get a post-race beer from the beer station.  I am not a beer drinker so I took one sip and poured the rest out.  It was pure nastiness to me.  Overall, I really enjoyed the Flying Pirate Half Marathon. The highlight was being at the ocean and the lowlight was the port-a-potties used by the runners.  

I think I could really get into "active vacations."  I really like the idea of exploring, hiking, and taking adventures in a new place.  We are planning on going to Great Smoky Mountains National Park next month and I am so excited about hiking around as much as we possibly can!

Run for the Paws 5K

At the beginning of April, I participated in Brother Wolf's fundraiser 5K, Run for the Paws.  I found this 5K online and decided to participate because it was relatively close to where I live and I would be able to complete one of my New Year's resolutions--to run in a 5K for an animal organization.  Brother Wolf is an animal rescue organization near Asheville, NC.  Their goal is to make the entire city of Asheville a no-kill zone for homeless animals in shelters.  I felt like this would be an excellent organization to run a 5K for!  

For about 4-6 weeks before the race, I was slowly working my way up to be able to run 3 miles without stopping.  When I found out that my work was offering a health and wellness class for $25 and that price included a temporary membership to the YMCA for the duration of the class, I decided that the YMCA would provide me with what I needed (a.k.a--the treadmill) to time myself and really practice.  So after I signed up for the class, I also signed up for the 5K.  I started with just running a mile and timing myself.  I spent a little bit of time trying to improve my time before moving on to 2 miles.  Because I had been already incorporating a lot of run/walking into my weekly workouts, it wasn't too difficult to increase my running distance.  Before I knew it, I was running 3 miles and was ready for the 5K.  My best time before the race was just under 29 minutes for 3.1 miles.  

(Here I am getting ready to start the race!)

(Here are all of the serious competitors getting started!)

(This was the group that I got started off with.  I really could have moved up closer than this because I spent the first two or three minutes of the race trying to weave in and out of people walking and running slower than me.)

(This picture was probably taken about 3 or 4 minutes into the race.)

 The next few shots are just some action shots taken along the way.  If you look closely, you can see a dog running in almost every picture!  You can tell this was a race for an animal organization!  It really was a lot of fun seeing so many dogs and dog friendly people.  There was also a dog wellness expo set up with the race.  There were a lot of local businesses providing information and giving out free samples of dog food, bones, etc.  I ended up bringing home some great treats for my dogs!

(Here I am getting ready to cross the finish line at 30 minutes and 30 seconds.  If I hadn't had to weave in and out of people getting started, I am pretty sure I could have been under 30 minutes!  I am pretty happy with my time considering the last time I ran a 5K, I weighed around 250 pounds and completed it in about 45 minutes.  Definitely an improvement!)

After the race, we went into downtown Asheville for the rest of the day.  We ate a Mellow Mushroom pizza where I had one slice (yes, I actually stopped at one slice) of vegan veggie pizza.  

Then we just spent some time walking around and enjoying the beautiful, sunny day in Asheville.  It was an amazing day to be outside!

I had already made my mind up before we went to Asheville that I was going to treat myself to some vegan ice cream at the Hop Ice Cream shop.  They mostly have dairy ice cream but they usually make 2 or 3 vegan flavors.  I think it's really cool because they make the vegan ice cream there at the store and they usually have different flavors that you might not find anywhere else.  The photo below is of blueberry lemon pound cake vegan ice cream.  It was amazing!  I always just have one scoop in a cone when I go and that's always just enough.  

I am so happy that I participated in the Run for the Paws event.  It was a great 5K to be a part of and I achieved one of my New Year's resolutions!  Yay!  I think I am going to look for another 5K or maybe even a 10K for another animal organization to compete in.  I found that having a goal that I was working towards with a time table helped me really stay focused.  It kept me motivated and moving forward because I knew where I needed to be by a certain date.  

Starstruck!

(Having Dr. Neal Barnard sign my book-sorry about the poor quality picture from the uploaded from the phone)

April has been such a hectic month and it seems like my blog has taken the back burner.  So many things have happened that I want to blog about, I just haven't had enough time.  I ran a 5K in Asheville at the beginning of April and then walked a 1/2 marathon at the Outer Banks the following weekend.  Then I traveled to Dallas to visit my best friend and then to Oklahoma to visit my family.  Lots of stuff!

Last night, R and I went to a Charlotte Barnes and Noble to hear Dr. Neal Barnard speak.  He's an amazing vegan!  He has written so many books and has inspired me so much.  Here's a link to some of the amazing books he's written:


Dr. Neal Barnard's books

After his lecture, he did a Q&A and then a book signing.  We have two of his books so we brought both of them.  R had him sign the newest book and then I had him sign his cookbook that he published last year.  I couldn't even speak to him!  I was so starstruck!  He's such a hero of mine!  That's something I really need to work on.  :)

It was great getting to see him in person and hear him talk about healthy veganism.

I plan to get back to blogging more regularly very soon.  I hope to have pictures up of my 5K, the 1/2 marathon and other things.  Until then, have a great week!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Once again, I was inspired by a Hungry Girl recipe.  This was one of those recipes that I not only had to veganize but I had to eliminate some of the processed ingredients from it.  (Original recipe)  I wasn’t sure about chocolate oatmeal.  I couldn’t decide in my brain if it sounded good or gross.  So, of course, I had to give it a try.  I decided that it’s delicious, but it’s more of a dessert for me than a breakfast food.  But this recipe is flexible.  It could be breakfast, dessert or a snack.  Also, there are a lot of things you could add to this recipe or leave out, depending on your taste.  This is how I made it:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

-1/2 cup (40 grams) oats (I use the Country Choice Organic Multigrain blend)

-1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk (If this is not available, you could also use regular or vanilla unsweetened almond milk and just add more cocoa powder)

-1/2-1 cup water (optional)

-1 TBSP cocoa powder

-2-3 packets Truvia, Stevia or Organic Zero sweetener

-2-4 TBSP peanut flour (mixed with a bit of water, sweetener, and salt)-or just use real peanut butter if you don’t mind the extra calories and fat

-1/2-1 banana

-sprinkle of cocoa powder on top

Directions:

***I make the Hungry Girl style oatmeal where I add more liquid and cook it longer so the oatmeal gets bigger.  If you don’t like it this way or you don’t have the time, you can omit the additional water in the recipe and just don’t cook the oats as long. 

Pour the almond milk and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, add the oats, cocoa powder and sweetener.  I usually let it cook for about 10-12 minutes-stirring occasionally.  Also, I usually lower the heat down if it seems like it’s boiling too rapidly. 

In the meantime, mix the peanut flour with a bit of water, sweetener and salt to taste.  I usually just add 1 TBSP of water at a time until I get the consistency of peanut butter.

Once the oats are finished cooking, transfer to a bowl and top with the peanut butter, a sliced up banana and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. 

Some other possible add-ins:

-Chocolate chips

-Nuts

-A bit of crunchy cereal on top

-Cook chia seeds into the oats for an added nutritional boost

-Real peanut butter instead of peanut flour (or another nut butter)