noBOLOGNA

Favorite Things #2

Happy Wednesday to you!  It doesn’t quite feel like Wednesday because of the holiday on Monday and luckily that means the weekend is closer than it appears! yippee!!  I just got back into town late Monday night, so I didn’t have much time to meal prep and get ready for the week.  Yesterday for lunch I grabbed something from Whole Foods and then ate something light for dinner before going grocery shopping.

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[[ Quinoa Stir Fry, Pasta, Spicy Tofu, Fruit, Cucumbers, Black Beans, & Fire Roasted Corn ]]

I have some full re-caps for y’all about my trip to Charleston, SC to visit Meg this past weekend, but first we need to dive into my second Favorite Things post of the year!  So far my New Year’s Resolutions are shaping out pretty well and what I loved about creating some specific blog goals was being able to go back and view them yesterday so I could see where I’m slacking and plan my posts for the rest of the month accordingly!

  • Charleston, SC

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I can’t help but mention that Charleston, SC is now one of my favorite places!  I still feel like there is so much to do and see and eat there, but I got a pretty great taste of it this past weekend!  Not to mention, my long time blog friend Meg now resides there and is only a whopping 9.5 hours away from me!  I know that probably seems like a long road trip to most of you, but when she was a good 18 hours away before, the 9 hour drive now doesn’t seem so bad! I have so much good food to share with y’all (which btw, was NOT part of my Engine 2 Diet Challenge – I already knew I was making this exception when I left town).  I was excited for her to finally meet Nick and I was looking forward to getting to know Mike better!  Luckily the weekend wasn’t filled with awkward silence like you might imagine with half the people who had only met once their entire life and the other half who had never met before.

  • Engine 2 Approved, Health Starts Here Approved Dressing

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I’ve been head over heels in love with this no oil dressing!  My favorite so far is the Tangerine Vinaigrette, but I have my eyes on the Avocado Vinaigrette for a meal this week!  There are so many things to love about this dressing – It’s healthy, It’s super tasty, It’s light on your stomach, and it has no added oils!  My only regret is that I didn’t know this dressing existed when I did the Health Starts Here Challenge last August!

king-street-cookies

This was a difficult one to decide on, but I went with King Street Cookies.  I promise, you’ll hear about a thousand other things that also topped my favorite list, but if I let all the good stuff out on this post, then I wouldn’t have  a recap to write.  King Street Cookies was one of the many places Meg & Mike took us this past weekend!  Nick and I splurged and got the 1/2 dozen which gives you one free, so we got 7 cookies total.  Each cookie was absolutely delicious and when we polished them off the very next day, they were just as soft as when we first ordered them!  I’ll dive into which ones we specifically got on my recap post, but I was very impressed with King Street Cookies!

  • Menu Planner

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When I got home from Charleston, I had one last Christmas present waiting for me.  My aunt, uncle, & cousins all came down to Mississippi while I was gone (they planned their trip after I planned mine so we ended up missing each other).  They made me the cutest customizable menu planner!  I immediately made out my weekly menu for the rest of this week!  I’m excited to try some new recipes!!  Nick will be coming into town this weekend, so anything I can’t finish off or end up not liking, I’ll just pass it on to him!  I have one more except
ion in my diet coming up this weekend and that’s for our Annual Awards Banquet because they’ll be providing a free meal & drinks.  I plan on sticking to the diet completely the last 2 weeks though.

  • Grapefruit Beer

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Oh my goodness, this stuff is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously, it’s one of my new favorite beers!  Meg introduced me to this beer at a local pizza place this weekend and I couldn’t resist ordering it.  I’m so glad I did because I think mixing tangerine with beer was a genius move.  It has the perfect tangy flavor and it doesn’t feel heavy on your stomach like regular beer does.  It was also a refreshing beer to drink since it had that fruit flavor.  I’m on the hunt for a tangerine beer that I can buy in Mississippi now!  I have no clue if this one even exists in Mississippi, but I’ll be on the hunt for it or something similar!

I think it’s safe to say that we had an amazing time in Charleston and I am so excited to recap our entire trip so you can see what we did and what we ate!  It’s going to be legen— wait for it — dary!  I’m so thankful for this little ole’ blog that brought me friendships I’d drive 9 hours to see!

  • What’s on your favorite things list today?
  • Any idea where I can get some grapefruit beer?

I said no to Peanut Butter Cake!

Hey there!

How is your Tuesday morning shaping up?  I’ve already enjoyed a delicious breakfast and coffee, so I’d venture to say I’m doing pretty well, although I’m heading into work a little early this morning so it’s going to be a fairly long day!  I have my second Chiropractor appointment this morning and I’m hoping to get the a-okay to run again!  If I do, I’ll be screaming it from the roof tops so you should know pretty soon too!

Today is Day 2 of the Engine 2 Diet and so far so good!  Here’s a quick run down of my food from yesterday (Day 1):

Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Ezekial Bread + peanut butter + banana + cinnamon w/ a cup of coffee flavored with almond milk and cinnamon

Snack: Clementine + half a cucumber

Lunch: Whole Wheat crackers + peanut butter + a Lara Bar

Snack: Clementine + half a cucumber

Dinner: Whole Wheat Pasta with Tomato Sauce + Leafy Green Salad + Tangerine Vinaigrette dressing

Dessert: Kiwi

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I decided to keep track of what all I turn down over the next month so I can realistically see what all I would have eaten and how many calories I would have taken in.  I’m sure it’ll be shocking once I add it all up at the end of the month.  I remember during the Health Starts Here challenge that I turned down A LOT of junk food mostly and I wish I had kept a journal of what I said no to so I could see the real impact a plant-based diet made in my life.  I know one thing… I turned down this beautiful peanut butter icing cake and opted for a kiwi.  If that’s not self-control then I have NO IDEA what is!

peanut-butter-cake

I am concerned that I’m not getting enough food.  Don’t get me wrong, I felt satisfied pretty much all day, but I also felt like I missed out on some important nutrients so I need to work on that.  I know last time I felt the same way until eventually I got the hang of it and it became relatively easy to get enough nutrients during the day.  It’s a learning process and takes a lot of effort, but it’s entirely worth it!  I’m excited to see how I feel at the end of the challenge – it’ll end about 2 weeks before my Marathon so I’ll be nice & healthy for it!

Here are some dessert recipes I look forward to trying on the Engine 2 Diet so hopefully I won’t need beautiful peanut butter cake:

  • What would you miss most on the Engine 2 Diet?  Dairy, Processed Foods, Sugar, Oil, or Meat?
  • Have you been to a Chiropractor?  Did it seem to help the issues you were having?

I definitely miss sugars the most, I have such a sweet tooth.

I’m really hoping the Chiropractor will help my knee pain and get me back to running.  I’m also hoping that I see such a drastic difference in my stride since I’ll be properly aligned.  It amazes me that I’ve been running with these issues for so long that surely this will be such a shocking improvement on my first run back!

Engine 2 Challenge Orientation

Good morning y’all and happy Friday!! Who is ready for the weekend? <raises hand!>

This weekend is the MS Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS, so Nick will be coming to town because his brother is flying in to do the half-marathon as well as a team leg in the Marathon.  So I’ll be up bright & early tomorrow morning heading out to the race!  I don’t have many plans the rest of the weekend other than to spend time with Nick and my sisters, who will also be coming into town on Saturday.  Before I dive in to what I’ve been up to this week, let’s talk about breakfast!  Last August when I did the Health Starts Here Challenge with Whole Foods, I discovered the most delicious & healthy breakfast on the planet, well it made a slight disappearance from my life the past few months, but I’m excited to say it’s returned with a bang!  I cannot get enough of this Cinnamon Raisin Ezekial bread toast with 365 Peanut Butter, Bananas, Honey, and Cinnamon!  Pair that with my favorite cup of coffee & I’m in heaven!

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Try it, it will change your world!

The past few days have good, yet somewhat unproductive.  I always start a week off really good with staying on top of things, then Netflix takes over… but I’d like to believe that the first full week of 2015 has been really great for the blog!  So even though I didn’t get some of the posts out that I wanted too, I still had a great week!

The other night, I was delighted by some peanut butter & apple slices… they just literally hit the spot!  If you follow me on Instagram then you saw!

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Then yesterday at work, we had a nice surprise because one of the Rep’s came in with coffee for all the staff ladies on our side.  It was a thoughtful gesture and one we were not expecting at all!  I believe I was pretty productive after this.

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I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I’ve been having trouble during my marathon training the past few weeks due to some sporadic knee pain when I run.  I decided to see a Chiropractor and I’m so glad I did!  Hopefully this treatment will get me back up and running within the next week, but I had a mile long list of issues with my back, neck, and hip.  When you’re able to pop your lower back by just tightening your legs…. clearly something isn’t right.  Now he’s asking me to NOT pop my back if at all possible while he’s working to get me re-adjusted.  I admit, it’s been like Chinese Water Torture, where you’re so frustrated that you think it might literally drive you insane.  I never realized HOW OFTEN I try to pop my back.  I’m on the healing route though, hopefully and will be back to it by mid next week.  My training plan will not go as far as I’d like, but with this and the Engine 2 Challenge I’m about to start, I think I’ll be fairly healthy & ready to race come Feb. 22nd.

What is the Engine 2 Challenge?

Last night, me and 2 of my co-workers attended the Engine 2 Challenge Orientation at Whole Foods.  It’s very similar to the Health Starts Here Challenge I did last August.  I’m excited about cleaning my eating back up and pushing out dairy & processed foods for a healthier and happier body!  The Challenge begins Monday and it’s a nation wide challenge so we will have people from all around US participating at their local Whole Foods as well – if you’re near a Whole Foods, CHECK IT OUT!  Mary Lindsey was kind enough to meet with me separately about some additional requirements on the diet with my marathon training, but it’s encouraging to hear from another healthy eating specialist out in South Carolina who has trained for major races while on the E2C with great success!  My co-workers are really excited about it too and up for the challenge.  I’ll start out going all in, while they will more than likely choose the path that phases you to the full challenge.  I’ll do some more indepth posts on the challenge over the coming weeks.

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I’m excited to get started on meal planning for next week and I already have one item ready for my Favorite Things #2 post in the next few weeks because by golly, I tried the most amazing salad dressing at the orientation and immediately went down stairs to buy some afterwards!

Well I better get off to work, hope y’all have a great weekend and I’ll check back in sometime between now and Monday!

  • What’s your favorite healthy breakfast?
  • Have you done the Engine 2 Challenge or plan to do it with the rest of us this time around?  I’d love to know who you are so I can keep in touch!

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