Bathub blogging

Yes, I am taking a nice relaxing bath and thought multitasking sounded fun!

When you start a new or harder workout routine it is important to "pamper" your body. Epsom salt baths are a great way to do that. It makes getting back at it a lot easier and helps relax your mind too!

Yoga was absolutely amazing! More about that when I am not using a touchscreen to write!

Until next time....bath helpers say goodnight!!!

I wear my sunglasses at night....

I don't really, but that song is stuck in my head for some reason so I thought I'd get it stuck in yours too! :)



Corey Hart is a bit creepy in this video... just saying...

This morning I decided to experiment in the kitchen a little. I am really loving the Red Mill products first of all. They have affordable organic flours, flax seed, cornmeal etc... I have their hemp protein right now, their quinoa flour, pancake mix and much more. This morning, I thought I'd try to make myself a "protein" pancake with their pancake mix.

One serving is 1/3 cup. The directions call for eggs and oil and milk, but, I try to avoid oil (yes, even olive oil most of the time), I don't have eggs (we're out!) and I don't drink cows milk. SO - I improvised! I read somewhere that you can substitute chia gel for eggs and oil, I couldn't remember how much I was supposed to substitute, so I just used my best judgement and used 2 tbsp. (1 for the egg and 1 for the oil.)

The next step was the milk. Like I said, I do not drink cow's milk. I have never been a big fan anyways, but since becoming vegetarian I have completely cut it out. SO, again I improvised and used Almond Milk!

It said to use 3/4 of a cup, but I just poured what I thought it needed in (the chia seeds are pure liquid practically, so I figured 3/4 cup milk would be too much.) Next, I decided to add some flavor to the pancake! So, I added 1tsp. of cocoa powder and 1tsp. of dark chocolate peanut butter PB2. :)

I stirred that all up and added a touch more almond milk to fix the consistency and then started the cooking process.

Once I started cooking I regretted not adding vanilla extract, agave or any other sort of sweetener, so I put some cinnamon/sugar on top :) It helped.

I definitely COULD NOT have done this alone... luckily, I had my very trusty kitchen helper by my side!

He's so damn cute.

Ok - so disclaimer time. Although I am doing great creativity and flavor wise (most of the time), I am still working on the whole "cooking" thing. So, the following product is not properly represented. Basically, it looks like a big ol' pile of dookie on a plate, however, it DEFINITELY tasted GREAT, especially with banana!

Next time I will definitely add vanilla extract and maybe some agave to the actual batter. I put some agave on top and it was delicious, but in it would have been  even better had it been incorporated. I will also add a bit more PB2 to the actual mixture (maybe a tbsp. rather than a tsp.)

I will make this for JT for breakfast one of these days and let him tell you what he thinks so you have a fair representation... I may be a bit bias because I was the creator!

Do any of you have any AWESOME and YUMMY breakfast or pastry recipes? (OMG! Do any of you have any pumpkin pancake recipes.... oh why oh why didn't I make a pumpkin pancake this morning!)

So, most of you probably saw on my facebook, but I made the paper (they quoted me about how to use a pedometer) for the fit  challenge Saturday! In case you missed it, I also made the video! The video is made by newspaper personnel, so its not the BEST in the world, but it is pretty cool! Don't bother watching the whole thing, you can see me at about the 2:51 mark. :)



It was definitely a blast.

I already swept and mopped the entire house this morning and cleaned the kitchen up (even my mess from breakfast!!!) so I am going to get ready and run a few errands before taking JT some soup for lunch and going to my internship. We're going to do a serious  workout tonight, so I'll try to post about that later today.
OH, and JT is reading the Rebel Running Guide and learning TONS - I started that this morning as well, so once I find some info worth sharing I'll pass it along. :)

Thanks for reading!

The new health journey - Food.

Happy Thursday! Today I want to start out with a sweet picture <3 My Boys!! <3

Also, I'd like to share a picture of my breakfast.... This is a protein shake made with the protein powder I made... This was NOT a good experiment. It is disgusting beyond words and smells like absolute shit... but, it was expensive to make so I feel bad wasting it! THIS IS WHY VEGAN PROTEIN IS SO EXPENSIVE! Because it is HARD to make and even harder to make taste good! lol!

PS how cute are the sweet bullies in the background snoozing away? Also, please excuse the mess... I have a one year old bulldogge who just REFUSES to put his toys away when he is finished! lol!

OH and for those of you who want to try your hand at making your own powder (maybe you'll be more successful than me?) Here is the recipe I used -  Protein Powder


Yesterday was so productive. I went to my internship in the morning and then came home around 1 and had some lunch before decorating for Halloween. I have some great decorations so far and every year JT and I add a little more. I really love the fall!

This is probably my favorite area of my decorations so far. I think it may be a little crowded, so I may take a few things out and move them elsewhere and just keep the cool bottles. We're going to hang lights up outside too and I have a GREAT windchime up now! (This was a World Market Steal!)

I also cleaned the house up, picked up JT's drycleaning and stopped at Big Lots to pick up a loaf pan. Why you ask? Because I had TWO recipes to make that called for one yesterday. The first of which, was Millet and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers. These came out MUCH better than the protein powder. In fact, they were definitely the best thing I have ever made. Quick shout out to The Daily Garnish - the girl who writes that blog has AMAZING and easy recipes and although the protein didn't come out well for me, I'll take the blame on that one!She's also VERY pregnant right now and looks so cute! I hope I am as lucky some day!

After that, I washed the loaf pan and made Blueberry Greek Yogurt Banana Bread. It is as delicious as it sounds!

Both recipes were SO easy too. My food definitely isn't near being on par with JT's (he is truly talented...) But, i am so proud I was able to make a yummy and healthy dinner for us. It is also nice to be able to contribute more to the eating aspect of our life. I know it has to be exhausting to always have to be responsible for feeding us, and he always has been due to my lack of domestic skills (and lack of effort to learn!) That has changed though and I am going to keep working on it! :)

Eating is so important to our health. I have always been so focused on working out and cutting calories, but truthfully I've been wrong all along. It doesn't matter as much  how many calories we consume, but rather what those calories contain. And we are SO brainwashed to think we should avoid fruits and juice because "they have so much sugar." That is so not true. Yes, we should avoid fake juice that has high fructose corn syrup in it, but fresh juice? No way. Fresh fruits and vegetables? No way! And I will say one more thing about really cutting my meat consumption (to nothing but seafood) and eating 80% raw fruits and veggies - I feel so much better. I feel like a new person. I am no longer having the severe digestive issues I've had in the past, I am less fatigued, I have more energy and I sleep so much better. And I just feel better about ME. I no longer crave bad crap either (especially sweets, which have ALWAYS been my downfall.) I also feel like my skin looks WAY better.. check me out! loL! (not sure if putting a picture of myself on my blog is appropriate, but it is my blog so oh well! hehe)

The agenda for today includes: Finishing this blog, going for a run and doing some deep stretching afterward. Shower, errands (to pick up cilantro, cucumbers and other veggies for juicing, lara bars (JTs new fav!) and a few other things that I can't remember right now...shoot! I need a list!) internship (and meeting with my supervisor) then home to do more cleaning/decorating. Tonight JT and I are going to pick up prizes for his treasure box for his little babies and then I have softball. <3 What a fun day!!!

Hope I didn't share too many pictures today. If I did please let me know - I want this blog to be enjoyable to read and something to look forward to. Feedback is ALWAYS welcome, especially if it is constructive!

Enjoy your day and life! I know I AM!