Tag Archives: stationary bike

Staying Sharp

September 10, 2009

Good morning!

I haven’t even recovered yet from last weekend and now it’s almost the weekend again. Time is flying! As most of you probably already know, I graduated from college in April and have since been looking for a job while working part time in retail. It’s been almost 5 months now since I’ve been in school and my biggest fear is that everything I learned will be forgotton once I finally do find a job. Fitness magazine’s September issue had an article with 5 stay sharp strategies I thought I’d share, aside from eating healthy and working out of course!

  1. Get your ZzZ’s. Getting enough sleep is not only important for good skin, but also for the brain!
  2. Protect your head. Always wear a helmet when cycling or skiing. I, myself, am pretty bad with this – I’ll need to invest in one.
  3. Stop Multitasking. Working on two things at once will split your concentration, making it harder to learn new things.
  4. Do Mental Aerobics. Everyday, challenge yourself to memorize new information, like the important facts in a news story or the names of people you’ve just met at a party. Crosswords and video games count too.
  5. Butt Out. Smoking increases your risk of cerebrovascular disease, a condition in which your breain can’t get all the blood it needs to function properly. Just another reason to not smoke!

Yesterday’s lunch included not one, not two, but three brain foods.

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Spinach salad with walnuts, pears, feta, and Annie’s lite raspberry vinaigrette.

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Whole wheat English muffin with Naturally More pb.

Can you name the brain foods?

A dinner of potato gnocchi and pesto was served to me by Mark’s Mom. She’s the classic Italian mom and is not too good with portion sizes. It’s ok, I only ate half.

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This morning I was feeling dessert for breakfast so I made some waffles with Fiber One pancake mix (plus my own added flax) and topped it with triple berry jam, whipped cream, wheat germ, and shredded coconut. This was my first time trying the Fiber One mix. I prefer Bisquick heart healthy for some reason – maybe I’m just used to the taste of it.

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I did 45 minutes on the stationary bike this morning and then got motivated after having a healthy eating convo with my Dad and decided to start dinner. I’m working til 7 so I got out the slow cooker.

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8 hours from now we’ll have lentil stew – perfect timing! I have a feeling I’ll be using this a lot in the months to come. Yay for the cooler fall weather!

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If there’s any West coasters reading, Lynn from The Actor’s Diet has her movie White on Rice premiering this weekend. It looks really good so go see it! Here are the dates and locations it’s playing:

SEPT 11th:

Los Angeles: Laemmle Sunset 5 (PRE-BUY your tickets NOW!)

8000 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

Orange County/Irvine, CA: Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 & IMAX

65 Fortune Drive Irvine, CA

SEPT 18th:

San Francisco, CA: Metreon 101 4th St San Francisco, CA

San Jose, CA: Camera 12 Cinemas 201 S 2nd St San Jose, CA

SEPT 25th:

Salt Lake City, UT: Century 16 Cinema 125 E 3300 Salt Lake City, UT

Provo, UT: Provo Towne Centre: Cinemark USA Inc 1200 Towne Centre Blvd Provo, UT

Berkeley, CA (Bay area expansion): UA Emery Bay Stadium 10 6330 Christie Ave Emeryville, CA

OCT 30th:

Honolulu, HI Regal Dole Cannery 18 735 B Iwilei Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96817

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Ok, off to work. See ya later :)

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From Ultra Busy to Ultra Lazy

August 25, 2009

Hey everyone – long time no see!

So I did end up going a bit MIA and I’ll be honest, it was due to laziness rather than busy-ness. Sunday I worked all day, like Saturday, and passed out early. Then Monday I didn’t wake up until noon and spent the rest of the day just lying around with Mark watching movies, napping, and eating – a lot! I feel bad about it but, what’re you gunna do. I’ll just get back on track today :) I did 45 minutes on the stationary bike, ate some fresh tomatoes from my garden, and went for a swim.

I didn’t take pictures of everything I’ve been eating (bad blogger!) but here’s a random assortment of food from the past 2 days:

Finally got my hands on the superfood packets. I wasn't a fan of this chocolate one - I mixed it with almond milk.

Finally got my hands on the superfood packets. I wasn't a fan of this chocolate one - I mixed it with almond milk.

Salad made up of leftover taco toppings.

Salad made up of leftover taco toppings.

The Bee's Knees pb and banana sandwich. YUM.

The Bee's Knees pb and banana sandwich. YUM.

Sweet potato with Naturally Nutty vanilla almond butter. This stuff tastes like the center of oreos!

Sweet potato with Naturally Nutty vanilla almond butter. This stuff tastes like the center of oreos!

Side of kale sauteed in balsamic vinegar.

Side of kale sauteed in balsamic vinegar.

Breakfast pizzas on Arnold sandwich thin.

Breakfast pizzas on Arnold sandwich thin.

Mushroom Mozzarella boca burger on Arnold sandwich thin. Definitely my least favorite boca burger flavor!

Mushroom Mozzarella boca burger on Arnold sandwich thin. Definitely my least favorite boca burger flavor!

Salad with apples, craisins, feta, walnuts, and Annie's lite raspberry vinaigrette.

Salad with apples, craisins, feta, walnuts, and Annie's lite raspberry vinaigrette.

Brown rice, kidney beans. green onions, greek yogurt and mexican blend cheese with a side of sugar snap peas.

Brown rice, kidney beans. green onions, greek yogurt and mexican blend cheese with a side of sugar snap peas.

A close up.

A close up.

Cranberries and almonds with orzo pasta, topped with kale.

Cranberries and almonds with orzo pasta, topped with kale.

Sunflower seed butter and strawberry preserves sandwich with eggplant crisps.

Sunflower seed butter and strawberry preserves sandwich with eggplant crisps.

Now I can’t wait to catch up on all your blogs :) See you tomorrow!

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A very blue breakfast

July 13, 2009

Buongiorno bloggies :) Sorry for the MIA-ness last night but I got way too much sun at the flea market and was super tired. I even ended up taking my workout rest day 2 days early because it just wasn’t happening. Next time I must remember to bring an umbrella, or at least sunscreen!

Besides the burn I got, the flea market was fun. Here’s me hard at work:

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And there was a farmer stand! I came home with some peaches, pears, snap peas, and hot peppers. Eats for the day weren’t anything special since there wasn’t many options there besides a hot dog stand.

Breakfast:

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I brought bread, a banana, and almond butter to make my Mom and I lunch sandwiches but we had it for breakfast instead. With a plum on the side, compliments of the farmers.

Lunch:

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There wasn’t really any food to buy so I had an apple I had brought with almond butter and a maple nut clif bar I found in my bag.

Dinner:

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Kashi U cereal with blueberries, soy milk, and chocolate chip cookie dough pb. I told you I was tired!

Snack:

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Banana with chocolate chip cookie dough pb and blueberries. This peanut butter is actually growing on me with it’s chocolaty taste. So far my favorite P.B. Loco flavor.

Now for some morning fun. I’ve been meaning to make a pancake creation for Katie’s pancake challenge but haven’t gotten around to it… until now :) After 45 minutes on the stationary bike this morning, I decided to skip strength training and make some Blueberry-Almond Tort Pancakes with a blueberry cheese topping.

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Here are the ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup almond milk mixed with tbsp lemon juice (or buttermilk if you have it)
  • 1/2 cup egg beaters (or 2 eggs)
  • 3 tbsp apple sauce (in place of oil)
  • tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
  • tsp almond extract
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup blueberries

And the directions, although I’m sure you all know how to make pancakes!

Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together separately and then add the wet to the dry. Heat skillet over medium heat and cook, flipping once.

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For the topping, I added 1/2 cup cottage cheese to my mini food processor with 1/4 cup blueberries and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

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I had them with blueberry tea. It was a very blue breakfast!

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I’m off to work til 7. Enjoy the Monday, at least it’s sunny out for all the Northeasters – I’m lovin this weather!

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