Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Easy Riding


Hi everyone! 

Well this week is off to a splendid start.  Cold albeit, but that's about the only thing I can complain about these days.  

You all know how much I savor my breakfast bowls.  My absolute favorite bowls are ones that combine a little of each of all of my favorite foods.  Oatmeal, Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit, Nut Butter.  When I can put all of these things into one glorious bowl, it makes my morning worth living. 

I use to accomplish this with overnight oats, seeing that making stovetop oats just took too long in the mornings.  But since the weather has been colder than anything, I've recently discovered a new love for this method.  Instant Oats. 

I picked up a new brand of Instant Gluten Free Organic Oats over the weekend at the Health Food Store. 
I can't remember the brand but the flavor is Banana Nut with Flax and they are FAANNNTAASSSTICC!!! 

I know most people stray from Instant Oats, and I don't think I could ever make an entire breakfast from one little packet (the portion size blows!) but when I can add a touch to all of my other goodness, it makes the most wonderful breakfast experience. 

Banana Nut Oats and Yogurt Bowl 

1/2 Packet Instant Oatmeal, 1/4 Cup Total Raisin Bran, 1/4 Cup Chobani, 1/2 Banana, Blueberries, 1 tsp Banana PB, Hunk of a Banana Nut Muffin, A few crushed walnuts 

This rocked my world.  Just think of the combination of hot creamy oats with cool smooth sweet yogurt and the crunchy texture of cereal mixed throughout.  And then add a touch of peanut butter all throughout and you have yourself one little masterpiece.


After a morning of interviewing students, I finished around lunch and made a special visit to see my sister and my nephew.

On the way to her house, I picked up lunch for us at Juice and Java.

My Usual: Greek Salad with Black Bean Burger

I haven't seen my little cupcake since Thanksgiving and I was beginning to have withdraw symptoms. 


This was him before I got there.  You can tell he missed me and I like to believe he has been crying like this since I left him last.  As soon as I got to him he was all smiles. ;) 



Brooke and I had a great lunch and convo.  We had so much to talk about and it was a fantastic visit.


But as always, this little munchkin was the focus.  Just look at that face, how could he not be? 


After work, I hit the gym for a run.  Okay, I need to talk about something.  Usually, I use the same treadmills at the gym because they have a separate room just for woman that I like to work out in. But recently, I've been trying to break out of my comfort zone and try to machines and in different parts of the gym. Well, today I hopped on one of the treadmills out in the main part that has its own personal TV.   It was great and I loved it but the weird thing was that this treadmill seemed incredibly EASY!  It's like the speed was off or something.  But the miles still clocked around the same time and my HR was at it's norm but I didn't at all feel tired or winded.  I did 6 miles in under 50 min and it felt more like a light jog. How could this be?  Is it possible that some machines are just made so much nicer than others or do you think there was something wrong with it?  For example, I was running at 9.0 mph when I usually average 7.5 mph on the others.

Either way, I of course loved this machine.  Not only do I have my own TV to watch Oprah and Ellen, but it was the most enjoyable run I've ever had.  Guess I know where I'll planted in the gym from now on.

When I got home, I heated up dinner compliments of my favorite frozen meal chef, Amy.


This was my first trying the Tamale and I loved it.  The rice was okay, I could do without, but the tamale was delicious.  I'm not even sure I know what a tamale really is but who cares, it's Mexican, it's full of veggies and covered in salsa.  Need I know more?


That's all I have for today. 

 How is everyone's Christmas shopping going?  I think we are actually ahead of the game this year.  Just a few more things to finish up and some little odds and ends. 

Goodnight! 

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14 comments:

  1. beautiful bfast bowl. I am craving hot breakfast right now too. Its been wayyyy colder than normal in Charleston. Look at that baby face! So freaking adorable. The black bean burger on your salad looks awesome. Sometimes I have the SAME thoughts about certain machines at the gym. I usually go by my HR vs. what the machine is telling me the speed is.

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  2. Nice job on the run! I agree with you, that some machines are jsut easier then the others! I like to think that I am just having an amazing workout day when this happens! I'll have to try the Amy's Tamale sometime! She is my favorite frozen meal go to as well!

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  3. I totally have "my machines" I like to use when at the gym. My Christmas shopping is almost done too! It's making me hapy!

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  4. Not done Christmas shopping quite yet...but close. My husband is in charge of his family tho.
    I have gym anxiety too about being in front of everyone, mostly because I don't know how to work some of the machines.
    And I agree on that instant oatmeal packet, I'd need 4 to fill me up!

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  5. First off I think its pretty cool that your gym has a women's only area, but at the same time think its pretty sad if its only focus is on cardio. I have my favorite treadmills at the gym based on cushion and what the display looks like. My favorite has 400m track loop on it and its really helpful when it comes time to do some dreaded speed work.

    Most of my Christmas shopping is done because my sister is really on top of things this year and split up the list/initiated a lot of the purchases :)

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  6. Tamales are awesome! I've had them from street carts in Mexico; nothing better. :-) My favorite Amy's dish are her burrito's. Yuummmy.

    We're pretty much done with shopping; just a few more things to pick up. And I still have to buy for my husband. Oops!

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  7. So I have exercised on those treadmills, and I can't say much about the speed, but I can say that I love being able to watch Food Network on my own little screen! So much fun. And I wanted to tell you that one of the many things that I love about you and your blog is your positivity. Each time I come here, I feel like I am taking a deep breath of life-giving affirmation and positive thinking. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a festive remainder of your week!

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  8. cuuuteness. just look at those eyes!
    i'm doing really well on my x-mas shopping. i did a lot of it online, since most of my family is across the country, so i don't have to worry about much now!

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  9. Beautiful breakfast :)
    Once upon a time I had a gym membership, I was used to running on one treadmill and then one day I walked in and they had replaced them all over the weekend with new and improved treadmills. I couldn't believe how smooth and easy it was to run on the new ones....awwww love!
    What an adorable little munchkin!!!
    We have almost all of our christmas shopping done. At least for the 3 kiddies.

    Jen
    http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/

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  10. Hey Alexandra!

    The woman's room is very cool and usually pretty quite which is why I like it so much. Plus Oprah is on ALL time time! ;)

    They actually have an entire set of all kinds of machines in there and definitely more weight machines than cardio which is great! I will always do my lifting in there because the HUGE men scare me out in the main part. ;)

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  11. Man, I left you TWO long comments yesterday and then wordpress told me I "wasn't signed in " and basically DELETED them! RUDE!

    Anywho! This better work!!!

    1) That baby is sooo precious!
    2) I love Tamales!!
    3) I used to love stair master, but haven't done it in years!! (In regards to your last post!)

    Love. Your. Eats. (And, your face. ;) )

    Thanks for your never-ending support on my blog. You are amazing, Lauren!!

    HUGS,
    GC

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  12. I've noticed that some treadmills feel different than others too. I don't know- maybe the speeds are slightly off? Wouldn't surprise me, since they're used to often. I know a lot of machines at my gym show completely wacko numbers, so I try to just focus on how I feel!! Your experience is interesting though, maybe ask one of the trainers there for their opinion?

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  13. awhh. this makes me miss bo! i haven't been able to see him since thanksgiving day either :( glad you had a nice visit, lady! xo. great job on the run, too!

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  14. I use instant oats pretty often since I make my oatmeal at work and think they taste fantastic! Regular may be a little better, but not much!

    Also, I work out at two different gyms and one treadmill seems so much HARDER than the other! It's a super old machine...but does it really make a difference! Keep me posted on responses you get!

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