I am thrilled by how many of you are participating in this months yoga challenge. This month you will challenge your body and mind by taking on a task that many of you have never done before. I know this is going to be a challenge for me but I am already carving time out in my busy schedule for yoga to make sure that I succeed.
Also there is still time to sign up! Today marks the start so if you can get in a 20-25 minute session today you can still participate. Just sign up here.
Over the past few months Neil and I have been working on watching the Bourne Trilogy with our good friend Laura who is obsessed with has all three of the movies. Since Neil and I had never seen any of the moveis we decided to do a series of movie nights with drinks and dinner.
Saturday night we finally were able to get together to watch the final movie, The Bourne Ultimatum. We were going to just do popcorn and pumpkin beers but Neil and I ate a late lunch and then both ran so we were hungry for something more substantial than just popcorn. We decided to pick up a vegan pizza from Leonardo’sto have with our popcorn and beer. The pizza was super tasty but unfortunately my stomach didn’t agree, as good as it tasted I ended up with a stomachache by the end of the night due to all the soy cheese.
THE VEGAN SALVATION- Olive Oil Garlic Sauce, Vegan Soy Cheese, Fresh Chopped Spinach, Freshly Sliced Red Onions, White Mushrooms, Plum Tomatoes, Black Olives
Along with our movie, pizza and popcorn we also tasted a variety of Pumpkin beers. Below are the ones we tasted starting with my favorite to my least. Sorry Blue Moon you were awful.
Tasting Beer- Giving it a good sniff first
Now that we’ve finished the Bourne Trilogy we need to think of new movies to watch …hmmm any ideas?
Happy Fitness Friday! What have you been doing to stay fit this week?
I have been doing some running and a little bit of strength training yesterday with the Hubz. Tonight we are going to a yoga class and one tomorrow (getting ready for our 30 Day Challenge).
Hubz and my training blog is up and running again so head over and check out my weekly half marathon training updates.
You can also check out the Hubz review of SPIbelt.
Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for my 30 Days of Yoga Challenge starting November 1, 2011. You’ll have a chance to win a Lululemon gift card and there may just be a few surprise giveaways for participants throughout the month.
Third Street Chai, located in Boulder, CO, microbrews organic chai, iced tea, yerba mate and lemonade concentrates. Third Street creates their delicious tea/lemonade concentrates in their eco-friendly facilities that are 100% wind-powered. Additionally Third Street composts 100% of their ingredients with the help of local farmers in Boulder County. Third Street also uses high quality Organic and Fair Trade Certified ingredients to produce all of their products.
Third Street Chai was kind enough to send me a variety of samples of their products to review.
The samples included:
Ginger Lemonade
Authentic Chai
Spicy Ginger Chai
Pomegranate Green Tea
Peach Black Tea
All of Third Street’s concentrates are lightly sweetened and are easy to prepare; all you need for the chai is some tasty almond milk (or your favorite milk) and for the iced teas and lemonade water! I quickly became obsessed with the ginger lemonade and it was the first to go (and far to quickly I must say). I loved that it wasn’t too sweet like most lemonades and had a nice gingery bite.
As for the chai I have only tried them hot, since it is getting to be winter here, and I enjoyed both of the flavors. Of the two chai’s the Authentic was my favorite and the Spicy Ginger the Hubz favorite. I found the Spicy Ginger a little too peppery for me. To make the chai latte I heated half chai and half almond milk in a pot on the stove and served. I attempted to make a foam with a whisk but failed; I really need an a frother to make some good foam.
Lastly the iced teas- these were my least favorite. I am lover of iced tea but I like mine strong and unsweetened. The fruit plus the added sweetener made these a little too overpowering for me. My dad who tried the peach black tea agreed that it was good but a little too sweet.
Overall my husband and I were huge fans and Neil is now on a search for a 64oz super concentrate so he can have chai lattes all the time (within reason).
Have you tried Third St Chai? What is your favorite beverage?
Disclaimer: Third Street Chai provided me with a sample of their products to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.
When I work with my health coaching clients the first thing we do is set out 1 month, 3 month and 6 month goals, however setting the goals just isn’t enough it’s what comes after. Once you set your goals it’s time to make action steps which are the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. Below are my goals for November (which I am starting today October 26, 2011) and the action steps I will be taking to achieve my goals.
Exercise 5-6x per week and yoga 7x per week. I am currently training for my first half marathon but I know I need to step up my cross training, weights and yoga. To help increase my exercise I am hosting a November yoga challenge; 30 days of yoga and there is an incentive for those who want to participate. I will be doing Option B; to help motivate me I will do at least one class per week either at a local studio or at our gym. I am also doing 3 days of running per week per my training schedule (Jeff Galloway method). For the other 2-3 days I will go to the gym withm y husband to do cross training (swimming, biking, elliptical) and of weights.
Drink more water. Each day I will have 1 glass of water upon waking up and then upon arriving to work fill up my 1L cup at work at least twice (drinking all of it). Evenings I will then drink at least additional liter of water. On weekends I’ll carry a water bottle with me so that I can stay hydrated no matter where I am.
Cut back on alcohol. This has proven to be more of a challenge since my husband starting brewing his own beer. Most nights I only have at max one drink (if any) however I want to take steps to continually improve my health. So from now on Monday-Thursday no drinks and setting a 2 drink per day max on weekends.
Keep my kitchen clean. Between my husband brewing and me cooking almost three meals per day our kitchen can get messy and a messy kitchen is no fun to cook in. To help keep my kitchen clean I am going to spend 30 minutes per day picking up my kitchen. If the kitchen is already clean or it takes less than 30 minutes to clean it then I will spend the remaining time picking up another area in the house.
Do something for me (and him). This month the Hubz and I are going to use one of our Living Social deals to go get ourselves a massage because we desire it. We work hard and rarely treat ourselves to the spa. It is really important to take time to take care of yourself. So I am going to go and schedule an appointment by Sunday night for sometime this month.
What are you goals? What action steps are you going to take to achieve them?
Welcome to day 2 of Sasquatch Books blog tour for Beth Barnett’s Rabbit Food Cookbook. Rabbit Food Cookbook made it’s start as a zine, and is packed with variety delicious vegan recipes like Tofu Pot Pie, Almond White Cake and Crumbly Coffee Cake. This isn’t just a cookbook, though; it’s a guide to eating well to benefit your body and the world. In the first part of the book, Barnett writes about “The Food Supply in Perspective.,” “Health & Nutrition Considerations,” and a history of the industrialization of food in America—I love how it is broken down into a timeline starting in the lat 1700s and going through to today. Another great feature is the “Essential Equipment” guide, which features everything from a cast iron skillet (a must have item in my book) to spice jars and spice grinders. There is also a wonderful D.I.Y. component to the book including tips on everything from how to plant your first garden to how to sew your own reusable grocery and produce bags.
I haven’t made all the recipes that interest me from the cookbook yet (I’ve only had it a few weeks) but I have tried a few that I love. The Pasta with White Beans is quick, easy and delicious- a meal I will be making over and over. My favorite main meal however (so far anyways) is the Smoky Tempeh & Kale it is really incredible and easy to make. I also love how it has directions on how to bake, grill or stir fry it; providing you with a variety of cooking methods.
Recipe posted with permission of Sasquatch Books.
Recipe posted with permission of Sasquatch Books.
As for sweet treats I made the Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies but I subbed raisins for chocolate chips because I was out. Also there was a little more oil in the cookies than I cared for so I reduced it down a little and used some apple sauce. They turned out delicious however next time I’d make them with chocolate chips because well, chocolate is always better.
Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies with "cream cheese" filling
Additional things I love about the cookbook:
It’s spiral bound. This makes things so much easier when you are in the kitchen because you aren’t trying to hold pages down while you cook. I wish more cookbooks came spiral bound for this reason.
It’s hand written with wonderful illustrations. I just love the how artsy and crafty the cookbook is; this makes it so much fun to read.
The variety of recipes. There are so many different recipes in the book including breakfast, soups, main meals, desserts and drinks. Some recipes are quick and easy others take longer and are a little more complicated but all are super tasty and have clear instructions.
While working on my review for the Rabbit Food Cookbook blog tour I came across the recipe for Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies however I didn’t have any chocolate chips. To top it off although the recipe is already fairly healthy (especially compared to most cookie recipes) and I love the use of natural sweeteners, there was still a little too much oil in the recipe for me. I decided to swap out some of the oil for applesauce and the chocolate chips for raisins. Below is my variation on the recipe.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
Cream cheese filing: 2 oz vegan cream cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons agave.
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 325F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix wet ingredients (oil through vanilla) in a small bowl. In a large bowl mix together the remaining ingredients, except raisins.
Add the wet to the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the raisins.
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, scoop the cookies onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled spread a layer of cream cheese filling on the bottom of one cookie and then top with another to create a sandwich. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
