Tag Archives: Soup

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 13: New Protein and Dining Out

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Doop-doop dingle ding ding-ding-ding.

I slept through the sound of my alarm (above) for eight whole minutes this morning! This never happens. I wasn’t tired once my eyes actually opened so I pulled on some stretchy pants and headed to Body Pump.

6 am classes are fun because for the first half I have no idea what is even happening. How did that bar bell get there? Why am I doing push ups right now? What is this!? By the time I fully wake up the workout it half done and my endorphins have taken over.

Green monstrosity.

Not long before I started this cleanse, I began incorporating organic whey protein into my smoothies. I really enjoyed the texture, flavour, and staying power that it offered. The ingredient list was short and recognizable and the stats impressive. Since the cleanse is dairy free, I have eliminated my protein from smoothies (subbing in a few tablespoons of chia seeds, coconut flour or a hefty scoop of nut butter) but I decided to sample a vegan source of protein. Yesterday I picked up a sampler pack of Vega Sport Performance Protein: a plant-based protein supplement with a blend of pea, sacha inchi, sprouted brown rice, hemp and alfalfa proteins.

It offers 26 g. of protein and 8% of your daily fiber requirements per serving. It is also delicious! I have heard that plant-based protein powders are notoriously bitter, grassy and gritty, but this was lightly sweetened with stevia and vanilla and blended well with the ingredients in my smoothie (frozen banana, cherries, almond milk, cocoa powder, and spinach)

I met my friend Natradee for a lunch hour yoga class. It felt amazing to stretch out my muscles from this morning’s Body Pumping. Afterwards we headed to lunch, I realized that it was my first restaurant meal on the cleanse!

Playing it safe, we went to Gratitude Cafe, since many of the entrees there are already cleanse friendly, however my friend Christa recently wrote a post about how to take control and enjoy a healthy, vegan and gluten-free meal at any restaurant.

We each started with smoothies. Nat had the banana ginger with e3live and I enjoyed the mango basil with e3live.

Both were delicious and unique flavour combinations and absolutely perfect after yoga.

For lunch I had the I am grateful: Raw Mexican enchilada lettuce cups. I subbed hummus for the guacamole since I can’t do avocados.

This dish was so satisfying and flavourful. Light but packed with so many different tastes and textures. I cleaned my plate.

I also had a bite of Natradee’s Eggplant Canape with cashew risotto which was rich and buttery, but maintained a wholesome, healthy appeal. I can imagine how delicious this dish would be on a cold winter’s day.

Once playtime was over, I headed to work for the evening where I also had dinner: a quick salad from home and a cup of celery-cauliflower soup that I took to go from Gratitude. There was also a few pieces of raw, dark chocolate with hazelnuts enjoyed.

I just ate a million mini red grapes and am ready for bed. Tomorrow was supposed to be a juice fast day but I think I’ll push it to Saturday as I am still pretty low on produce. Costco trip in the a.m. !

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 11: Kittens, Oatmeal, Veggies, Yoga

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My friend Jessie is a new yoga teacher and wanted some head shots but the only time that worked was early in the a.m. For convenience sake, I slept over after yoga last night and we were up bright and early to get some pictures of her pretty face.

I packed a green juice. Nerd.

We took a quick snap, snap, met some nice people with a bag of kittens.

Literally a bag full of kittens. 

Once I arrived home I ate some delicious overnight oats in an almost empty peanut butter jar with tonnes of fruit and a little sprinkle of granola.

 

I had a pretty lazy morning which included laundry and a Girls marathon. I had a late lunch of curried lentil soup and a giant salad. I also had some Mary’s Crackers on the side.

Eventually I peeled myself off of the couch and headed to yoga.

My mom once told me that when living in New York she often enjoyed the Hallmark slice of street car pizza for lunch. One day, her boss came to work with TWO slices for herself. The thought had never occurred to my mom that one could eat TWO slices of pizza. I think of that every time I do a yoga double. 4:10 ishta + 6:10 Hot (half an hour in-between classes). Crazy Sweaty Bliss.

Once I got home I threw together some sautéed veggies, brown rice noodles and a generous serving of spicy almond butter sauce.

Goodnight!

 

Crazy Sexy Adventure Day 2: Always room for chocolate

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Day two was a much better experience! Yesterday kind of got me off on the wrong foot but everything was deliciously nutritious and my energy levels were manic.

Woke up to my lemon/ cayenne cocktail and then made a smoothie to take to work

Banana, cherries, cashew butter, cinnamon, kale, spinach and almond milk.

So much better than yesterday’s blended salad.

After breakfast I took a power yoga class. Like I mentioned yesterday, I’ll make sure to eat enough based on my hunger cues. I’m understandably much hungrier on days that I’m active. Yesterday I didn’t have much of an appetite (that horrible smoothie really put me off) but I don’t think that would have been the case had I exercised. To give you a comparison of yesterdays and todays yoga classes, yesterday’s restorative practise is essentially an hour and forty five minutes of laying on a bolster in different positions. Today was almost two hours of constant flow, a million vinyasas, arm balancing, warrior sequences and back bends and as a result I was hungrier throughout the day and made sure to eat accordingly.

Lunch was a salad beast with romaine, arugula, spinach, quinoa, cherry tomatoes and roasted butternut squash/ onions/ asparagus with a scoop of hummus.

One of my sweet coworkers brought me a baggie of chocolate cookies which contain at least three things that are not a part of the Crazy Sexy Adventure cleanse

So I took them home for my brother -who ate a bunch as an appetizer-and snacked on chocolate chia pudding with coconut and mango you can still get your chocolate fix while cleansing

Tropical Chocolate Chia Pudding

Serves 1

  • 2 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 ripe mango, diced
  • splash of almond milk

Mix all ingredients, let sit for at least an hour and serve.

Last night I made a big batch of green juice for easy, early morning fuel.

This had broccoli stems, kale, romaine, cucumber, celery, apple, strawberries and lemon. Kris recommends running your juice pulp through the juice again and it really does squeeze out about 1/2 a cup more juice. I drank about a cup as an afternoon pick-me-up.

There were sliced melons at home upon my arrival from work which I devoured in seconds

and dinner was lentil soup made by my mom and a big salad with lemony-tahini dressing

I feel awesome today. Again, no bloating/ cramping/ pain. It’s more work than throwing together a yogurt bowl or making a sandwich but it’s so worth it to feel normal. I’m a little bit hungry and though one of the guidelines is to no eat three hours before bed (so that your body can focus on repairing, not digesting), I have plans for spin in the morning and I’m not crazy about going to bed with a growly stomach so I think that a dip into the almond butter jar is in order. Goodnight!

Thunder and Showers

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I was rudely awaken just before 7 this morning by a grumble-grumble-POW. That’s my interpretation of the loudest clap of thunder that got me out of bed when my alarm clock failed.

I had an interview at 10, so I was able to ease into the busy day with hot shower, and episode of Mad Men, and a huge pancake

Kodiak mix with cinnamon, blueberries, banana, greek yogurt and peanut butter

My interview was for a volunteer photographer position at the AIDS Calgary Awareness Association. It went really well and I’m happy to get involved in such an important cause.

After quickly looking at the address last night, I determined that the interview wasn’t too far from the area where I work, so I figured I could walk. FALSE. It took me about 45 minutes to figure out where I was going (the opposite direction than what I had initially thought, go figure) but luckily I made it on time. I just wish I didn’t wear heels today

After my interview I headed to class, where I was informed that my research paper is due next Thursday. Nothing to do but cry laugh and write. I refuse to pull and all nighter for this one.

Class ended early so I rushed home for a shower and a snack and was right out the door again for yoga

It was the sweatiest beast of a class, thanks to the humidity from outside and I immediately poured myself a cocktail once I got home

Watered down pomegranate juice, coconut water and lime

Showered –is anyone keeping a tally of how many showers I took today?– and dined

Sweet Potato – Chickpea Stew

Serves 3-4

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 large sweet potato, diced
  • 1 large tomato, diced
  • 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch of ginger,grated
  • handful of cilantro
  • Squeeze of lime
  • salt and pepper

I was rushing to yoga so I threw everything into a pot, brought it to a boil, and then transfered it into my slow cooker on low for the 3.5 hours I was away. It turned out perfectly! Salad of spinach, hearts of palm, walnuts and chopped dates dressed with lime juice and truffle oil on the side

Here, There, Everywhere. Also, Soup.

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I think the weather makers in Calgary are confused. Alternating threats of rain and blasts of sunshine. WHAT DO I WEAR !?

Slept in and made a yogurt mess

Greek Yogurt, Rolled oats, trail mix (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and golden raisins) banana, honey and peanut butter.

Eaten with my favorite spoon that makes everything taste better. It’s science.

School: Research paper on psychoanalytic feminism, the male gaze and the portrayal of women in advertising. Boom.

Physical Activity: Body Combat, Quick weight sessions, Yoga (always) and walking everywhere because I’m too poor to buy a car. Also this:

Work: I like it a lot.

Social life: #FAIL. I’ve kind of become that friend who sucks at making time for her friends. Not cool, acknowledged and working on it.

I bought a day planner. I expect it to fix everything. Also, do you even realize how difficult it is to find a day planner half way through the year? Some people need some time to get their shit together.

I’m at this weird stage where I want to do everything and have no money or time to do any of it. Buy a car, move out, yoga teacher training, travel the universe NEW KITTEN. None of it is happening any time soon. Not cool, acknowledged and working on it.

After school snack

Cinnamon apple sauce, granola and almond butter. This is even better if you let it sit for a little while so the granola gets soggy. True story.

I went to hot yoga later in the evening and just finished the quickest dinner, let’s call it spicy Thai soup with shrimp and vermicelli.

Boiled vegetable broth and a splash of full fat coconut milk, threw in shrimp and lemon grass, garlic, ginger, sliced onions, diced tomato, siracha. Simmer while you shower off your yoga stank, throw in a handful of brown rice vermicelli and shrimp. Simmer for a few more minutes until cooked through and finish with a squirt of lime.

If I go to sleep RIGHT NOW I will be able to get 7 hours of sleep. This weekend is insane!

Sleep Squatting

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I had a rough sleep last night! Maybe late afternoon coffees aren’t such a good idea on lazy days. They don’t affect me on weekdays because I’m using my caffeine but my mind was racing and I only got a couple of winks throughout the night.

Unrested, but relieved when my alarm went off at 5:45 so I could officially start my week.

First breakfast was a morning-glory muffin with peanut butter and banana slices. I saw Leanne’s recipe last week and was so excited to see that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry. This is the first recipe using coconut flour that I have actually enjoyed, they are slightly sweet and really satisfying.

I’m very lucky that school is on the way to work for my mom, so I can get a ride with her and I really do prefer to work out first thing in the morning (before my body figures out what I’m doing)

I warmed up with a 15 minute jog and followed up with a lower body workout that left me weak in the knees.

Exercise Weight (total) Reps Sets
Barbell Squat 45# 12-15 4
Stiff Leg Deadlift 55# 12-15 3
Superset
Bulgarian Split Squat 16# 8-12 2
Weighted Step ups 30# 8-12 2
Walking Lunges 24# 10 3
Sumo Squats 55# 15 3
Leg Press 120#, 140#, 160# 20, 15, 10 3

Apparently, a bad night’s sleep = an amazing work out, who knew?

Second breakfast was a mango protein smoothie.

I have yet to find a protein powder that I enjoy and prefer to get my protein from food. This was 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 1/2 a mango, and a splash of almond milk to get things moving. I prefer to have 3 solid meals but it’s just not ideal during the week. I am usually having breakfast a 6:30 and I end up starving by 10 or 11. It simply makes more sense to split breakfast up because a) I don’t enjoy feeling weighed down by a big breakfast during a work out b) Breakfast #2 comes right after my workout meaning my big scary muscles get a chance to refuel and c) There is less chance of me becoming excessively hungry and therefore cranky and unpleasant.

The rest of the day was spent in class and at work, and the sky started dusting the earth with a fluffy, white, powdery substance. The cold kind! I came home and quickly wiped off my disguise

I’m magic.

Warmed up with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and an English muffin with butter.

Going to squeeze in a bit of reading before Gossip Girl!

Oh, Snap

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It’s a cold snap.

Temperatures in Cowtown have dropped to below 30 degrees. Eyeball freezing temperature!

Mouth burning oats

rolled oats, chia seeds, almond milk, cinnamon, apple, almond butter, pumpkin butter, granola

I headed to class and then to the University gym. I’ve heard rumors that it is always crowded and unfortunately, the rumors are true. Dang healthy folk! I still managed to get in a good work out, hurts to type (but it was a leg work out…?)

I went to work for the afternoon and made the painfully cold commute home.

My mom has this annoying habit of reading my mind and made cabbage soup for dinner. This aint your Cabbage-soup-diet-cabbage-soup. Super simple and delicious with a side of cheesy toast.

I’m currently listening to the Robinson Crusoe audio book. I just could. not. focus. on that novel! But having someone read it to me works quite nicely. I’m a little annoyed, however, that I dropped $35 on the book itself. Lesson learned!

 

Feet on the table

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Hi!

It has been a funfunfun couple-a days around here. It is my first week back at school and I am loving every minute. I’ve gotten lost on campus more times than I can count, ran into friends from highschool and consumed copious amounts of coffee, not because I need the energy, because drinking coffee while reading textbooks is what students do, right !!?

I’ve gone through the tedious introduction classes for the  courses that I’ll be taking this semester and I’m ready go. My schedule has me schooling in the morning and working three afternoons a week. Plus yoga/ gym/ cooking/ socializing/ and house work that I have no intention of actually doing.

Nothing too exciting on the food front, although my mom made some delicious coconut-plantain soup last night, which I inhaled a big bowl of after a day of school->work->gym

It’s not winning any beauty awards though…

Since I was a wee-little thing, I’ve had this tendency of propping one foot onto the table while eating.

It’s just more comfortable! I don’t do it all the time, but it just feels right when I do, I need to dig through my old photo albums and find the picture of me as a toddler, in my diaper with one foot on the table chugging a glass of chocolate milk

Off to read some things! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

New Year Ramble

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Umm…

Merry Christmas Eve/Christmas/Happy Boxing Day/Happy New Year.

I’m embarrassed. My coworkers insisted I took some time off. They all but had a restraining order against me, keeping me away from the clinic between December 23rd until January 3rd, leaving me with SO. MUCH. time on my hands and still I neglected senorita blog for the entire break.

I wasn’t terribly busy. Honestly. I alternated between sleeping more than is probably even allowed, eating…more than is probably even allowed, catching up with friends that I should and will hang out with more often (New years resolution!)

You could find me spending money on kinda-but-not-really-neccessary things because I won’t be working full-time any more and I probably won’t be able to afford things like my FOURTH nose piercing (I’ve had to repierce four. FOUR times.) and a new iPod and lots and lots and lots of coffee and a new years eve dress and three new pairs of Lululemon pants (on sale do you think I’m insane?). This was also the first year that I could actually afford to get my loved ones Christmas gifts, which makes me so happy

Oh! I also spent my time practising YOGA lots and lots of yoga! I kept going strong with my December yoga challenge, and though I missed a couple of formal classes, I managed to find myself in some compromising positions and awkward twists while watching TV most nights.

My camera has basically been collecting dust for the past two weeks, so I would refer to this post for an idea of what Christmas was like at my house (although, this time I was lazy and only made one dessert, decreasing the total number of sticks of butter involved in Christmas dinner to 2)

New year’s eve was spent dancing my face off with friends and strangers alike.

I like the idea of new years resolutions but I’m rather impulsive and if I want to do something I like to do it right away. With that said, this year I’ll floss more, meditate more, be an awesome student, think before I speak , prioritize, keep calm, see friends more often, blog more consistently, sit up straighter, shave my legs once in a while, learn my parent’s language (so they can stop talking about me behind my back in front of me!) and learn more about wine. Which will require a lot. a. lot. of studying.

Story of my life for the last two weeks.

Now I’m back to work for one more full week and then I’m going to be a student again! I can not wait to start geeking out. I’m studying communications part-time, working part-time.

During my yoga focused December, I literally did not go to the gym once. I love yoga-high but I did miss the different kind of rush that a work out offers. On Monday, I took the familiar stroll to my gym and lifted weights for only 30 minutes and my body went from confused to uncooperative to thankful and now it is just plain angry. Everything hurts. Tuesday night I went to my favorite 6:10 hot yoga class with Gord, I basically skip to the studio giggling with glitter in my eyes on Tuesday nights and float home with a dopey grin on my face.

I don’t even care that I’m soaked with sweat and it is usually over an hours commute via foot/train/bus home in the cold and I don’t usually eat dinner until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. meaning I’ve gone between 5-9 hours without food and we know how I get when I get hungry.

Nope. Tuesday nights are my favorite.

I’m trying to get back into the habit of waking up at at least 6 a.m. For the last little while, my alarm would go off at 5:29, I’d blink and it would be 8:30 ?! Deep down I am an early bird, so today I made the effort to JUMP out of bed at the sound of my alarm.

Broke fast.

 

Toast, apple, peanut butter, granola, pumpkin butter

and had like four hours to kill until I had to leave for work. So what else would I do? I made dinner so that it would be waiting for me when I got home from work.

Roasted garlic and brie soup. I had about half of a large wheel of brie left over from our Christmas dinner so after a brief browse on Foodgawker I put the cheese to use and it turned out delicious!

I feel like we’re caught up! I hope everyone is having a good start to the year <3

Driving Miss Daisy

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Embarrassing truth: I’m 20 and don’t have my drivers licence. This morning, my dad took me out to practise driving so that I could take my test and not fail over something silly or… kill myself and the exam giver. Examiner? Examinator…

Aside from frequent reminders from my dad to ‘get away from the curb’ and ‘pick up the speed’ <— does driving 60 in a 100 zone really warrant a middle finger? I think I did all right, just a bit of parallel parking practise and I should be good

Driving fuel was a yogurt bowl with granola, banana and peanut butter. Honestly I thought that my stomach would seize up after one full month of avoiding dairy but I felt fine after. Phewf.

The star of the show was obviously my cup of tea. I’ll never take another sip for granted again.

After my dad and I got back from our joy ride, I wanted to get in an at home work out. I did a silly little hodge podge that looked like this:

2 minutes of this BodyRock video. The work out is only 10 minutes long but I am a wimp and burpees are the best/worst thing to happen to man kind.

1 round of this boot camp workout. Again. Wimp.

The 100 work out

 minus the running because I am allergic to running at the moment.

Completely random but it made me super sweaty so I’ll take it. Work out, done.

Though I’m happy to start eating ‘normal’ food again, I do want to continue on with some of the habits that I picked up over the course of the cleanse. If I can eat gluten/dairy/sugar free meals for 28 days, I can apply those ‘rules’ to at least one meal out of the day.

Lunch was curried lentil soup, steamed kale and asparagus, and mary’s crackers. I had the pear and walnuts while I was at work.

When I got home from work, my mom had made a big fat, beefy, cheesy lasagna with salad and garlic bread which I enjoyed with a sip of red wine

I think my mom is happier about this cleanse being over than I am! She felt bad when the dinner she made contained something that I ‘couldn’t‘ eat.

Does anyone else feel that this week is drraaaagggggiiing?