It's Only Uphill from Here

I woke this morning thinking that today was bound to be better than yesterday, because, let’s be honest, yesterday was pretty bad. Five AM and I got reacquainted and I banged out a paper that’s due tomorrow (Thursday). Nothing like procrastination. At 7, it was break time, and I ate a breakfast of champions.

I found this recipe on Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free and made it last night with necessary adjustments. 

Apple and Carrot Breakfast Cake

Original recipe

You could use a regular blender for this, but make sure to chop the apples and carrots first.

2 cups Better Batter flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 apples, quartered (leave the peels on)
1 cup of carrots, peeled and chopped (about 3 medium carrots)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until evenly combined. Place eggs, vanilla, apples, and carrots into the VitaMix.  Start on low and quickly increase to Variable 10 while using the tamper to push the apples and carrots into the blades.  Switch to High and blend for 20-3o seconds until thoroughly mixed.  It will be thick. 

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients by hand. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (I think my liquid was too thin, and I ended up having to cook it for an hour!). 

Top with freshly whipped cream, homemade yogurt, or cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Cake with cream cheese and banana/chocolate/green smoothie.

So lovely. It’s a perfect breakfast cake-not too sweet and very healthy and nutritious. I realized that I didn't take a picture of the final product in it's whole form. Obviously, I was too excited to dig in.

  

After I had breakfast and completed my paper, I thought it would be a good idea to take Lucy for a sleigh ride. I was sorely mistaken… After about 25 minutes of rolling around the neighborhood, I noticed three large dogs roaming the street in the distance. Lucy and I have a routine that when we see a dog, I skate faster, keeping her focus on the road instead of the other dog. Well, that plan today was unsuccessful. Long story short, I ended up hitting approximately 79 MPH and then abruptly being jerked to the ground when Lucy thought it would be a good idea to stop and greet the other dogs. With bruised knees and ego, I limped home in pain and felt the bad mood from yesterday creeping into today.

This proceeded to swell to the size of an orange. Awesome.

The more I thought about it and the more intense the pain got, the more my anger grew. I spoke to my poor fiancé immediately following this incident. I say “poor fiancé” because I spent about an hour venting about how stupid dogs are and how everything in my life seems to be sucking right now. I realized that the only cure for this problem was sleep. But first, I had to eat lunch.

Mushroom, onion, red pepper, and spinach scramble on tortillas.

 I woke up feeling about a million times better than before. Thank heavens. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for my weekly vacay to Biff’s house and cooking dinner.

Chicken tenderloings, spaghetti squash, and sauteed greens with Cape Cod chips on the side. Beware: Cape Cods are addicting.

 This dinner was so yummy and comforting. Good food always manages to lift my spirits. After dinner, the fam and I headed to church. I figured I could use some inspiration after my less-than-stellar day. I’m really glad that my day slowly improved and I didn’t stay in my crap-mood rut. Two days in a row is simply unacceptable. I’ve already made up my mind that tomorrow is going to be awesome. I can feel it.

Smile-Worthy Inventory

Hi guys! This week has been a pretty good week. It wasn’t extraordinary by any means, but why chug along through life without noticing the little things that make you smile. I took inventory of those little things from this week and came out with a lot more than I anticipated.

1. Discovered that no matter how many times I watch Star Wars Boy, I still laugh just as hard as the first time. Possibly the cutest commercial I have ever seen.

2. Had a senior research breakthrough of sorts. Well, I guess you could say that now I know what the heck I’m doing… I think.

3. Forgot about any strict workout schedule, following the direction of my athletic fiancé (It's safe to assume he knows everything about everything… don’t tell him I said that.), and did whatever floated my boat at the moment. 

-Mon.- Sculpt and Tone Zumba with my mama

-Tues.- rest day

-Wed.- Zumba, Pilates, and Core Fusion

-Thurs.- Zumba and dance it up with friends

-Fri.- I was super sore from Thurs., so I decided to do some core work and push-ups and call it a day

4. Got a kick-in-the- butt inspiration from Crystal Renn. I have already noticed a difference in my body image outlook.  

Renn with her book.

5. Made a custom domain name for my bloggity. Hooray for professionalism! It's fitfoodlover.com... Oh, wait, you're already here.

6. Came to Biffs and found no-bake cookies waiting to be eaten.

How can I resist GF desserts?

Yumalicious.

7. Found out that I will be getting some new products in the mail pretty soon for review!

8. Enjoyed watching my dogs be cute.

Max snuggled under my desk.

Mizzer. Flippin' cute, man.

Tormentor and tormented. Yes, in that order.

9. Found out that the plank is a million times better than crunches!
    Reasons to Stop Crunching

10. Spent time with good friends.

Smiles!

Dancing it up. I am certain that I could dance indefinitely.

11. Thought a lot about my upcoming wedding and how excited I am to be with my man soon (The only thing that could make it better is if time would move along a little faster)! Although it is a stressful process, it makes me smile every time I think about it. :D Only 4 months to go!

What are some good things that have happened to you this week?

Fats, Frustrations, and Facemasks

Howdy! I woke up Wednesday morning to a face full of zits. What the heck? A few weekends ago my aunt told me how she’d never seen my skin looking so beautiful, and now? Skin rebellion. Gah. I blame the Weekend of Snacks, a.k.a. Superbowl weekend, for getting me on a junk food kick. Since then, I’ve been trailing behind the health wagon instead of hopping back on like a good little girl.

To counteract the trash I’ve been putting into my system (should’ve just skipped the trash in the first place), I’ve been religious about my greens (Green Vibrance) and Vit C. I’ve been taking my omega oil supplements as well, but seeing my decorative skin made me feel the need to step it up. So Wednesday was chock full of fatty foods. Good fats, that is.

Coffee, bagel, and coconut milk (good fats) banana chocolate smoothie.

 After breakfast, I spoke to my honey about the trials and tribulations of senior research. 

Snacking on cornflakes while researching.

 Not being one to worry over school work, this elevated stress level really has me concerned. The more I work, the more road blocks pop up. It is quite possible that my brain is not functioning to its optimum potential, since I have so much going on in there right now. To remedy this problem, guess what I did- ate fat.

Veggies sauteed in coconut oil, apple, and toast with avocado.

 Although I planned on doing work for most of the day, not much got accomplished. I ended up dillydallying in one way or another. Case in point: Mons and I spent 1 ½ hrs grocery shopping. We had a list of 10 items… I got home and proceeded to waste more time by playing with my cute little poopers for a while. Especially this crazy little thing:

Mizzer feeling better after a few days of sickness.

 Pilates, Core Fusion, and Zumba made me feel like an exercise schizo, I needed to do something to maintain my sanity. I stopped working on my thesis because I was frustrated by all the hinderances. Once I stopped, I was stressed out about the fact that I stopped in the first place. I can’t win.

Fortunately, my mama whipped up a delicious dinner. I made myself a salad tossed with super fat in an attempt to brighten up my mood.

Salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar and GF chicken pot pie.

 I finished off my night with a little pampering.

Mud masks are the epitome of all things sexy.

I’m counting on the exorbitant amount of good fats I’m putting into my body to make some magical changes in my life. Ok, maybe not, but I’ll be a healthier girl for it!

Omega Fatty Acid Benefits (just a few):

• Healthy skin
• Organ function
• Energy
• Cardiovascular health
• Brain function
• Regulate blood pressure
• Joint health

If you’re not getting your fatty acids, start now!!

Blog Block (A.K.A. SnackFace Rip Off Post)

I am always, ALWAYS reading health, fitness, and beauty articles and blogs. Tuesday, I was thinking about what they Hades I would post on. Suddenly, I remembered SnackFace’s post entitled, “This is What My Balance Looks Like.” Since she invited her fellow blogginistas to jump on the Balance Bandwagon, I am doing it. Blame the blog block. But I am DOIN’. IT.

MY Balance is… (drum roll please).

Talking to my honey at least twice a day

Me and my hubby-to-be.

Living in a house overrun by dogs

From left: Gizmo, Pixie, Oscar, Lucy, Max, and Kiwi. Yes we have 6.

Eating 3 square meals a day

Toast with apple.

Chicken Soup

Quinoa, barbeque chicken, and broccoli.

Plus snacks…

Fruit of grapes.

Ener-G Corn Loaf. So delish. AND only 40 cals/slice. But who's counting?

…Plus dessert

Pumpkin yog with gingy cookie

COFFEE. Need I say more?

Red lipstick stain on the side. Hot.

Eating some form of chocolate at least once a day

Working out 5 days a week...

Walking dogs 3 separate times in a day (and counting it as my workout).

Spending quality time with La Familia

We were painting my sleeping uncle's face on New Year's

Obsessing over health and beauty info

• Shine.com
• Glamour.com
• Cosmopolitan.com
• Allure.com

Being productive. That means cleaning, blogging, working out, cooking something, or working on school 

work of some sort.

And looking cute while doing it…

NEVER taking myself too seriously

Throwback picture. Me with bangs. Mons with red hair.

Basically, my balance is about enjoying myself, staying healthy, and having fun. Life’s too short of have it any other way.

Food Lover On-the-Go

Hiya Pals! The past few weeks have been extremely slow, save for my hoppin’ holidays.

Tuesday, however, was cray (zay). I had several to-do’s planned for the day, so I woke up bright and early at 7 am.  I headed straight for the kitch (I am feeling the abbrevs). It made me realize how unfit for diets I am…

Egg on toast. Yog with pap (Let me clarify for my South African family..."papaya")

Best egg seasoning ever.

 I had my coffee and breakfast and cleaned a little. I realize I say I clean a lot. If you must know, “clean” means tidy, wipe, down, and otherwise “nicer” up the house. When I say, “I spent 2 hours cleaning,” or “I spent a large portion of my day scrubbing,” you know I mean business.

After my food digested, Lucy was literally nudging me toward the door and showcasing her extraordinary ability of whining in the most annoying possible way while managing to still be cute. I decided to bring Max-er with is. What a sucker I am.

I opted for an early lunch. On Monday, I received a package from Gillian's GF foods. 

Gillian's Food

 I tried out the Penne pasta for lunch. Gluten-free pasta is often fragile and doesn't cook very evenly. This pasta, on the other hand, cooked perfectly. It had a great taste, unlike some GF pastas. The only problem I found with this penne was a starchy coating after it was cooked making it stick together. But, it was easy to break the noodles apart and they did not tear or crumble. Super. I give them a 6 out of 10.

Brown Rice Penne

Chicken salad, carrots, and chilled penne with Italian dressing.

Berry tea and vanilla tea. Perfect combo.

 Then I packed some snackies since I knew I would be on the go all day.

Snackies.

Dogs in the background.

Broken New Year's Resolution. Fashion Faux Pas in action. Tea in hand. Hot. 

After lunch, I headed out to college-ville to see one of my besties.

This is Flo-Rida. She is my 83-yr-old bestie/adopted grandmother.

 My other poopers were super excited to see me, since I haven’t been to Journey’s End Animal Sanctuary in about a week (I usually go 2-3 times a week).  Flo-Rida told me I would be accompanying her on some errands. I love hangin’ with her, so I was totally ok with it. We spent the next few hours out on the town, looking for some home-improvement stuffs. Afterward, she bought me some coffee and coffee ice cream. Did I mention how much I love her? I tried to pay for my own treat but harsh words were exchanged. Who knew an 83-yr-old woman could say such things…  

I went to the bank, made some clothing exchanges for Flo-Rida, and headed back to home base. As soon as I got back, I went straight for the Wii Zumba for some supplemental workout. Fast. Fun. Fantastic.

Feeling the need for something fresh, I made myself a hearty salad.

Lettuce, carrots, quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, a spritz of Italian dressing, and apple cider vinegar.

 I caught up on my favorite blogs and a sudden urge for croissants. Croissants are possibly one of my favorite foods, but I haven’t had one in over 3 years. I discovered a recipe using rice flour, which is super convenient, considering I just got some from Ener-G. Then I read this post “How to Eat Like a French Woman” from I Made Dinner.  It’s fate! I am beyond excited. Wednesday’s post will tell the tale!

I plan on spending the rest of my night watching Clinton Kelly and Stacey London bash the wardrobes of innocent people. It’s fantastic. Then I will go to bed dreaming of croissants.

 2 days 'til Giveaway!

Dogs Rule My Life

Wednesday was a wonderfully relaxed AND productive day. I never thought that this was possible, but it happened. Since my dogs don’t allow me to sleep any later than 7, I woke up and got right to the productivity. And by productivity, I mean making breakfast.

Cookie Dough Oatmeal before

Cookie Dough Oatmeal after

 I was inspired by Snack-Face and Fitnessista and made myself some “low-maintenance oatmeal”. 1/3 cup oatmeal, 1 tbsp. peanut butter, raisins, ½ a scoop of chocolate whey protein, and cinnamon. Thank you, both of you lovely ladies for making my life just a little bit better.

After breakfast, I finished up my final paper of the semester and did a little happy dance. Then I considered working out.

I woke up with achy muscles that were punishing me for putting them through the torture of P90X. So, I made an executive decision that it would be a rest day. Since I have done relatively the same workout schedule for 7 consecutive weeks, I figured it was time to change it up.

Nothing is more of a motivation killer than a monotonous workout routine. This is my new plan:

• 2 days of running
• 2 full body toning and Ab Ripper X (from P90X)
• 1 day of P90X Plyometrics
• 2 days of rest

Unfortunately, dogs don’t know the meaning of “rest day”. Something about the winter weather makes our dogs revert to their primal nature and act like untamed savage beasts. Exercise at times like these are non-negotiable. I gathered the poops and we had a round table discussion. We came to a consensus that nothing less than an hour walk would do.A leisurely walk, that is.

Now, I don’t know if you have ever tried to walk 6 dogs, but let me assure you, there has to be a method to the madness. This was the strategy: walk Lucy for the entire hour. Alternate small dogs. Two for the first half and three for the second half.

I got my warm clothes on, put some Jack Johnson in my ears and put our special multiple-dog-walking-contraption on Max and Oscar.

Happy Ashley and poopers

 The second half of the walk was not so happy. I fastened Kiwi and Pixie to the multiple-dog-walking-contraption. The Mizzer immediately began squealing with excitement and anxiety. Lucy was jumping and licking the squealing Mizzer, while nearly pulling my arm out of socket. It quickly became clear to me that the girls thought it would be fun to take turns tripping each other and then wrapping themselves around Lucy. Lucy got so confused that she eventually plopped down in the middle of the road. All the while, the Mizzer was going back and forth, attacking Lucy and screaming like a banshee.

I had to figure out a solution to this craziness. I attached Pixie to Lucy, and a look of relief washed over Kiwi’s furry little face. I watched in amusement as the 6 lb. rat was dragged against her will. When I finally came to my senses and realized how cruel I was being, I freed the little brown fairy. It was obvious that the Mizzer was not able to walk without a leash in his mentally deranged state, so I attached him to Lucy. This was my worst idea yet. He spent the next two minutes facing me and being yanked backward by my hulking tank of a pit bull.

It was time to take the rats home. I could handle no more. I returned Kiwi and Pixie to the couch where they spendt the rest of the day. The Mizzer, Lucy, and I finished off our walk. Fortunately, there were only a few more unsuccessful attempts on Lucy’s life by the Mizzer.

The insanity made me extremely famished, so I had some lunch.

Toast with cottage cheese and a slice of tomato. Broccoli with humus.

 Later, I did some work for this lovely little blog and did some gluten-free research. Then I used my free time to play the piano and sing (I sound like such a nerd). I haven’t done that in quite a while. Maybe I will post a video of myself one day!

Before taking Mons to horse riding lessons, I had a snack.

Apple with cinnamon millet and flax chips.

 When I got back, I made dinner. I have been anticipating tonight’s meal for a while. Drum roll please…

Dun Dunna Nah!

Gluten-Free Pizza with red onions, green olives, and spinach.

What a wonderful, delicious meal. I loved it.

Paired with red wine. Perf.

I followed it up with Chai tea.

The rest of my night was spent watching TV with the parentals and trying to keep the dogs off of the couch. It was unsuccessful.

Mons and Lucy laughing...probably at the fact that Mons is laying on top of Oscar.

Lucy enjoying her cushion

Mons enjoying her cushion.

So sweet.

 Great fun. Great day. And I am totally ok with the fact that my dogs rule my life.