Thursday, April 15, 2010

Life is Like a Bowl of Berries


Mmmm, summer fruit is on the early verge of perfect ripeness.  I celebrated this today with a big bowl of berries.


As well as 1/4 Cup of TJ's Twigs and Flakes, 1/4 Cup of Kashi Go Lean, 1/4 Cup of NP's Flax Flakes, Greek Yogurt and Almond Milk 

More fruit that is getting summery good….


Cantaloupe with cottage cheese


Before I quenched my palette with this delightful breakfast, I woke up and went for a run. 

I decided to try it without the knee brace today, just to see how things would go.  Well, things didn't go so well without it.  I started to feel pain after about a mile and it increasingly got worse.  I ended up doing 3 miles with a few walk breaks in between.  I'm not sure if I had trouble because I didn't have the brace or because this was my 3rd day in a row of running on it.  I came back home and did 10 min ab core workout (killer) and rolled out the IT band. 

Does anyone have any advice on IT Band troubles?  I try to ice after runs and roll out as much as I can, but I'm wondering if there are any other good exercises, stretches or rituals that I can do to keep the knee feeling strong. 

So work was crazy again, and I spent the day running around from one place to the other.  Somehow, I managed to find time for a quick 30 min lunch in between appointments. 

I rushed home and threw together one of the best wraps ever!


1 La Tortilla Wrap, Peanut Sauce, Spinach, Tofu, Asparagus, Sprouts, Sesame Soy Miso Dressing



Truly amazing!

I also ate this with a plate of veggies (carrots and yellow squash) with hummus, a pickle, and a boat load of fruit (pineapple and grapes).  I crave fruit when it's warm out and it doesn't hurt that fruit tastes like candy when it's perfectly ripe and in season. Oh, and that would be a POM spritzer in the background.  (Seltzer and splash of POM) 



This was such a great lunch and kept me entirely full and satisfied to get me through my afternoon of back to back meetings.  

I wasn't even hungry all afternoon, but I decided to eat 1/2 a granola bar before Zumba.  I signed up for a Zumba toning class that is being taught at a local school right down the road.  I love Zumba but Zumba toning uses weighted sticks. You not only shake your booty, you shake these fun little sticks that sound like moroccans.  A good time indeed!

When I got home, I was pleasantly surprised with a visit from my sister, who came bearing gifts…



She baked me my FAVORITE cake for my birthday!  I am not really a cake person, but this cake is out of this world.  It's basically a yellow cake with pudding, cool whip and fruit.  OMG sooo good! I love when she makes this for me! ;) 

I resisted eating the entire pan  a piece before dinner so that I would not spoil my appetite.  I had BIG plans on the menu. 

Do you guys remember when I made The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich Ever!?!?!  Well I made it again tonight. 




This baby is honestly one of the best sammies I have ever eaten in my 24 years of existence.  Now Toly tells me I exaggerate all the time, but I promise you, I am hands down, 100%, not exaggerating.  I would bet my life that this sandwich will rock your world, that is how much I believe in it. 

It consists of two slices of TJ's Multigrain bread, 1 laughing cow wedge, grilled cinnamon pears, wilted spinach, dijon, goat cheese, and mango chutney. 

AHHH-MMMAAA-ZING!! 

Here's a backside view….



I made roasted broccoli (balsamic and agave) to go with it.


The rest of my pears desperately needed to be used or tossed, so I decided to make a quick Homemade Pear sauce.  But honestly, I think the pears were a little too ripe because it came out very watery. Still good though,



The only thing that will make this night more complete is ending with a piece of that cake.  It's calling my name! 

So I am thinking of registering for a Duathalon.  It's something I've always wanted to do and I feel like if I don't do it now, I never will.  I think a Triathalon would be way too much because I am NOT a swimmer, but I could handle the biking and running.  I'd just need to start biking again but I would still have pleanty of time to train.  The duathalon that I am looking at isn't until July. 
 What do you guys think? Anyone ever do a duathalon? How was it?

Okay, time for TV and cake! :) 

Hope you had a great day! 





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11 comments:

  1. Ive been looking into dualthons too, but the swimmer in me cant turn my back on a tri!

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  2. Hey sweetie! Love all of the fresh fruit! Makes me just even more excited for summer. And your dinner sammy? Out of this world. So sweet of your sister to make that for you. I'm not much of a cake person either, but anything with pudding is awesome! On the IT Band front...my advice will not make you happy but...I think you should vary running days with lighter impact days and roll roll roll!

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  3. Wow, I don't even know where to begin! All of the eats in this post look AMAZING! But that grilled cheese sandwich might take the cake. It has grilled cinnamon pears?!?! My mouth is watering at the thought!

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  4. I'll support you whatever you choose, Lauren! Just don't over do yourself.
    And your sister is SO sweet! What a huge and lovely cake! The only cake I'll eat is green tea cake, and banana pudding. I'll eat that, too. Pudding is awesome, with whipped cream!

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  5. 1. I love La Tortilla wraps!!
    2. I love pears and now I want to grill them and put them in sandwhiches (without cheese though).
    3. Enjoy that cake :)
    4. I think if you want to do a duathalon, then you can do it and rock it! I agree with Kate as a swimmer I'd miss the swimming. I'd love to skip the running and do the swimming/biking!

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  6. That cake looks sooooo yummy...I'm a chocolate girl, but I can't resist vanilla cake with buttercream and fruit!!

    As for the knee strengtheners, I know that building up your QUADS is super important to prevent further injuries. I use the knee extension several times a week, and you can also just practice flexing them and raising your leg while you're sitting at your desk!!

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  7. you can do it! I've never thought about doing a race like that because I will NEVER do anything competitive on a bike. I am not good on things with wheels :\

    love the berries - I can't wait until their in the farmer's markets!

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  8. you go for that duathlon girl!

    and ahhh, you eats are always so amazing! the fruit-filled breakfast (which i agree, there is NOTHING better than fruit in the summer time), that asian-inspired wrap and that GRILLED CHEESE! ahhhh, i need that in my life. and i also tend to exagerrate, but i am not exagerrating about that either :)

    happy weekend lady!

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  9. I am the IT Band queen! Or so I tell myself. I stretch it after every run and roll it after long ones. I roll my whole leg too, thigh to ankle! There is a really great stretch for it but I think I might have to do a photo-shoot as it's hard to explain! :D

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  10. My IT bands are SO ANNOYING!!! They hurt for a week after one run! What I've found is a good stretch is a variation on the standard 'bend over and touch the floor' stretch in which you cross your feet and touch the floor. You should feel a stretch right on your IT bands.

    GET OUT of here with that sandwich! Holy cow!!

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  11. I admire you for taking on Zumba! I found that I'm too rythmically challenged to stick with it, haha. Yoga all the way for me. Toning sounds like it'll be a fun challenge - although, do you mean sticks that sound like maracas? Those would be the musical instruments used in Latin music, unless you meant actual people from Morocco! ;)

    I've never heard of a duathlon before. I'm not much one for swimming, either, so it sounds like a good time! Best of luck training for it!

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