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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Dressing my salad with sweet and rich Salad Dressing :)

I have been trying to eat at least one salad per day (fairly successfully). I can always easily choose the topping I want because I love veggies- cucumbers, broccoli, pepper, tomatoes, tofu, almonds, soy beans, pumpkin seeds, black beans/ kidney beans/ chickpeas, tangerine slices/ some other fruit, asparagus, and I could kee going, but you get it. Basically, the dressings mess me up because so many are so fatty and unhealthy! Thankfully, Pooja has an awesome recipe for rich and sweet Shoyu mustard dressing:

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Photo courtesy of Pooja's Way


Here is another one of my fav salad recipes from Pooja that you can try (really easy to make and yummy!): 

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Basil and Jicama Salad- Yum!


Sunday, September 18, 2011

My 1st 5K completed + Lansky's

I ran my first 5K today (the Susan G. Komen 2011 Race for the Cure)! I am so proud of myself- I really have never been a runner, but with the support of my friend Wei and a wee bit of training, I DID IT!!! There was a point in the run where I wanted to stop, but I knew that I had trained over the 3.2 miles and had a friend by my side- such a great feeling! Plus, it was for a good cause- finding the cure to breast cancer.
SUSAN G KOMEN FOR THE CURE GREATER NEW YORK CITY
Courtesy of Susan G. Komen website (komennyc.org)
Although this may seem like a silly comment, I was shocked by how many people were at the race- it was legitimately overwhelming! On the other hand, I felt like it was easier to continue without stopping because I saw so many other people in the same position as me- becoming a little tired, but determined to run/ jog full out. Also, I thank my lucky stars for Wei- my marathon-running friend hero!
 

After the race, Wei and I hit up Lansky's for brunch. I am not really familiar with the Upper West Side, but Wei said she really liked the place (which is apparently a famous "Old World [Jewish] Deli." Although I had been eating fairly healthy recently, I decided it was time to indulge a little. I really don't eat sweets every day and everything is ok in moderation. This meal was not at all moderate, which is why it was so good/ bad (delicious, not nutritious). As a the basic bread one recieves at a restaurant, we were given flaky, warm, soft-inside, crusty banana bread that melted in my mouth without getting goey. Saying it was good is an understatement- I would go back to Lansky's just to eat the banana bread- no joke. The manna (banana bread) was served with their homemade strawberry butter- they literally took butter and added in strawberries. I was a very happy girl after eating that. But, I also got chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream and strawberries. The pancakes were good, but were mediocre compared to the banana bread. I do not think I will have such a large amount of sugary starchy foods for a while, but it was nice to chow down on yummy eats with a good friend. For dinner, I will probably have a salad ;)
I will be back- for the banana bread. Photo courtesy of  lanskynyc.com

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Health Blogger to Health Blogger Inspiration

The latest blogger in the Pooja's Way spotlight is named Brittany. Here is a little about her:
BLOG IN THE SPOTLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 5th, 2011: Eating Bird Food
When Brittany went away to college she knew she couldn’t gain the infamous “freshman 15″ so she began working out every day and eating healthier. When she says working out every day, this means moderate exercise daily, such as running or walking 30 minutes on the treadmill/elliptical and doing a bit of strength training (most commonly arms and abs). She definitely wasn’t doing intense workouts each day. But instead of gaining 15 pounds her freshman year, she lost about 20. Brittany finally came to the realization that the foods she was eating before were weighing her down. Having a ton of healthy options at school and not eating fast food really helped. It didn’t hurt that she went to the gym often, had to take 3 flights of stairs to get to her dorm room and did a lot of walking all over campus for classes.
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That's me!
I find Brittany's story and her blog super inspirational because I actually did the opposite my Freshman year of college. Because I had been so used to exercising between 2-5 hours daily through stretch and ice skating, I was not used to slowing down my physical pace and my body decided it was time to gain weight. I was eating the same amount of food as I had been and not exercising as much, hence my weight gain. Currently, I still exercise regularly and have changed a lot of my eating habits by choosing more whole foods, limiting my sugar intake, and cutting down on wheat thanks to Pooja. I feel like I am reaching a state of equilibrium for my body and I have a much better idea of how much food my body needs and how much exercise I need to feel good. I also especially love exercise because I am a naturally anxious person and any exercise tends to calm me down and help me cope better. Plus, I know I can sleep better and am in a cheerier mood when I work out- you can tell when I don't.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

5K? No biggie!

I have been waking up early to go to the gym to jumpstart my day and it feels great! I am really focusing on my cardio in preparation for the 5K. Today, my body was being very resistant to the 2.8 miles I was trying to run without stopping. I never thought that I would be able to run more than a mile, which sounds silly considering I am fairly athletic (being an ice skater and all). Then again, I still don’t find running ‘fun,’ but I like the feeling of accomplishment that I ran distance x and that I really sweat because when I am not sweating, a lot of the time I don’t feel like I gave whatever I am doing my all. My friend Wei inspired me to do the 5K and I am excited to see her tomorrow! As for how I run, I always tell myself that I can do it- running itself is not hard, but making your body and brain listen to one another is a whole ‘nother ball game. It really is mind over matter- and by the time of the race, I intend to be running/ jogging the whole time. I want to be able to prove to myself that I can jog/run a 5K (plus, it is for charity, so I can’t really go wrong). I am not sure if I will continue to run as consistently once I am done with the 5K, but I think I am going to return to doing more dance and skating related activities (given moving in and starting classes has been a bit hectic on top of everything else)! As of now, I am also doing the sidehops that Pooja taught me on the treadmill, which are really fun and switch up the same old routine of running for about 30 minutes!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Moved in and ready for a healthy, new semester at collegio!

I am all moved in to my new apartment and it is beautiful! I am so excited and love my roommates (who happen to be my best friends)- plus I am excited to start my classes on Tuesday! In preparation for the start of classes, I have been buying books and stocking up on my delicious (but also nutritious) groceries. In fact, a lot of things that I eat on a regular basis are featured on Pooja's online store, under the tab 'Dorm Room Essentials'.

Bob's Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli, 40-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)
I am particularly obsessed with Bob's Red Mill as a brand (in general), but I am REALLY obsessed with their muesli (a special mix of whole grains that can be eaten hot or cold, and have delicious doo-dads added like nuts, fruit, juice, milk, or yogurt). For breakfast this morning, I made and ate a parfait that consisted on organic nonfat plain yogurt, frozen berries (rasp, black, straw, and blue), and of course Bob's Red Mill muesli. Most people like to eat low-fat or flavored yogurt, but I like to avoid eating unnecessary sugars that tend to be added to these products- or they add sugar/ honey instead. I don't like the taste of things to be sweet from added sugars (because I am weird), so I don't really add honey or anything like that to my foods- though I am a huge fan of adding 100% honey or maple syrup to sweeten foods instead of sugar/ sugar substitutes. After my 6 week sugar cleanse over the summer, I don't plan on doing it any time soon full-out, but I definitely want to moderate my sugar intake because I am more chipper and lively when I am not OD-ed  on the stuff.

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POACHED SOCKEYE SALMON W/CHILI COCONUT SAUCE


I am also super excited to cook for my lovely roomies and am looking forward to maybe cooking up the above delicioso piece of salmon. It takes 15 minutes or less to make and I know that all of my roomies will love it! For my roomie Sophie who is a vegetarian (but hates veggies, so is really a default vegetarian), I will probably try to make these vegan pecan jam cookies (if I am being really nice and am in a cooking/ baking mood): 

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PECAN JAM COOKIES

Friday, September 2, 2011

Back from Vacation and Running a 5k!?!

I recently returned from my vacation in Bermuda and would first like to extend my condolences to anyone affected by the hurricane. Irene made my vacation one day longer and shut off power in my suburban home, but I am currently safe and sound in NYC. As for my eating habits on the cruise, I definitely did not eat as well as I should have. It was really hard to turn down desserts when I not only didn't have to pay for them, but friends and family were eating them right in front of me every day, and I could theoretically have as much as I want. On the other hand, I tried to stick to three meals a day with snacks (because buffet food was available everywhere 24/7), avoid midnight snacks, drink lots of water, indulge my love for tea, skip dessert (some nights) and the homemade ice cream, and go to the gym fairly regularly (which means that I went every other day). My cruise workouts consisted of running/ jogging 2 miles, stretching, minor plyometrics, and ab exercises/ crunches. I would have done the elliptical (which I am unhealthily obsessed with), but the machines on the boat weren't so great. Also, trying to run on the track and the treadmill were slightly difficult considering the waves made the boat shift quite often, so I was not always running on a flat, stationary surface. I really had to ignite my kinesthetic awareness!

Running on a treadmill is hard. Running on a treadmill  on a boat on the Atlantic is really hard. 
Now you ask, how come you are doing a 5K? I have never run a 5K before, but my friend Wei sparked my interest in doing the Susan G. Komen run, which is a crazy good/ charitable run. Wei also runs marathons, so the 5K is no big deal for her, but it kinda is for me because it is my first run.
SUSAN G KOMEN FOR THE CURE GREATER NEW YORK CITY
Photo courtesy of  http://www.komennyc.org/site/TR?fr_id=1230&pg=entry

Wei says the way she likes to train is to straight run, which we did together on the boat! She is such a nice, supportive running buddy, so I feel lucky that I have such a good friend to do the 5K with. Now, I am trying to run 2+ miles every other day to train for the run. I also am back to eating healthily (now that I don't have unlimited, all-ready-paid-for food in front of me all the time) and exercising more regularly. In fact, I did a ballet class and a pilates class yesterday. I have never done pilates before (and I think I am really bad), but I absolutely loved it!