What I pack in my BIG cooler.

School has taken most of my time. Well, on Tuesdays and Thursdays that is. I am at school from 8am-10pm on Tuesdays and 8am-7pm on Thursdays. Mondays and Wednesdays I have one 45 minute class. I wish I could've balanced it out more. oh well, it's only one semester right? So, lots of my meals are consistent everyday, except the weekends or if I ever eat out.

Lately I've been eating lots of greens! I used to dread making salad because I hated salads (I used to think they weren't filling enough, but I was wrong). Depending on what I put in my salad, I can stay full for up to 4 hours!

especially with this. I added 2oz of sweet potato and 5oz of chicken breast buried beneath this green goddess.

It wasn't til after I ate my salad, that my mom begged me to go eat with her! I was FULL, but I went anyway. She didn't want to eat alone and I felt her pain.

She ordered Pho; pronounced Fa? (vietnamese beef noodle soup) my favorite comfort food!

I ordered the Three-Bean dessert. With coconut milk, mung bean. and mashed up yellow corn mush! (don't really know what it's called)

My mom also decided to give me a facial because my skin has been actin' up, maybe due to stress? With honey and lemon may I add. Oh boy, it stung my eyes so bad!

Do you guys have any recommendations for a flaring acne prone skin like mine? It's been actin' crazy and I don't like it.

On Friday, I met up with friends just to catch up and mingle!

I ordered the seaweed salad (I ate my salad 4 hours before hand and was still FULL)

Really green! and refreshing.

My eel roll.

E- ordered a huge chicken katsu curry bowl!

R- ordered this, it looks really good!

I had a bite, but it was plain to me. I guess we both have different preferences. He didn't like my eel roll bc it was too fishy, I loved mine because it was fatty!

Alright, time for the dirty business! Since I am at school ALL FREAKIN' DAY on Tuedays and Thursdays, I had to learn to adapt to a) being at school all day and b) pack my food for this transition and carry my cooler all day.

Take a look at my typical meals I pack for school.

I carry this BIG cooler with me all day! it gets lighter and lighter through out the day :o)

I love how it is easy to carry and how much food this cooler can fit. I love it.

I carry tea bags in my side pouches. In case I crave tea I can always get hot water from the cafe (hopefully it's free of charge!)

I eat breakfast before school, so I pack my mid-afternoon snacks up to dinner in my cooler. So that I have meals planned for the rest of the day. Inside are:

• - Protein Powder
• -Almond milk to mix with my Protein Powder (is it funny I pack this whole carton?)
• - 5oz of chicken breast in wrapped in foil (to eat with my salad)
• - Salad for both lunch and dinner
• - Greek yogurt with pear and pumpkin (in the feta container)
• - Luna Bar
• - Home-made vinagrette

* unpictured I would sometimes carry fruits, brown rice, tortillas depending on my lunch ( I need the carbs!) and of course ice packs!

I have lots of veggies hidden beneath those layers.

Ever since I started eating more salads for lunch and dinner, I find that I add at least a new veggie every other week. This week I added radishes! last week was artichokes and sprouts.

Stevia in the upper zipper, incase I want coffee from the cafe or to sweeten my tea.

Along with forks and spoons and condiments!

It's a drag to carry both backpacks at school! but it's a life-saver to carry all of these and to be prepared, than not to and to order the school pizza. eek!

Do you pack your lunches? And is it now a habit?

- I used to hate preparing food, but now I love to prepare food and I always always always have to bring my cooler with me at all times. It's gotten a lot easier to know what I want. Plus, I thought it was uncool to pack my lunches in a cooler, but now I think I'm super cool for doing so  :o)

Have a great week! now time to catch up on Google Reader (so much easier to catch up, I just created an account and I think I've figured out how to use it) :o)

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tired!

Hey all.
I am so pooped and my eyes are tired and droopy.
Before starting college, as a high school student I was excited that I was the one who had control over my schedule. Over the years I would choose classes that would typically end in the afternoon so that I had free time later in the day.


What was I thinking this semester!??? Today I have class from 8am til 10pm!

class schedule:

Class one: 8-925
Class two: 935-11
Class three (lab): 1-405
Class four: 535-7
Class five (lab again...!): 7-10

That totals to a little over ten hours!! I need to fix this, it might be too late. I thought I could handle it, but I guess I can't!

By the time class three was in session, I was sooo hungry I couldn't concentrate. Of course I couldn't eat since it was a lab. (contaminated desks)


I am writing here (at the library) because I am waiting my fourth class. I have an hour to kill and I am lonely and tired and bored. I just ate a while ago.

Since I would be at school all day, I packed my cooler from breakfast to dinner :o)

Breakfast: Oats with Pumpkin (I bought four cans to last me!) and TJ's Pumpkin Butter. Cocoa Powder. Banana. Lots of Cinnamon. PB. Chocolate Cheerios to top. Deeelicious

Early Morning Snack: 12oz of 1/2 Unsweetened Almond Milk & 1/2 Soymilk with 1.5 scoops of Chocolate Whey

Had to head back to school and buy books! At this time i forgot to eat and rushed to my three hour lab! so hungry...and grumpy.

Lunch (four hours later and after lab): Spring Mix with cherry tomatoes, onions, herb feta, avocado, carrots, zucchini
with homeade dressing :o) yum!
with a side of whole wheat tortilla and Costco's  marinaded Salmon, and 1/2 a Luna Bar


Although it had been four hours since the last time I ate, before that it wouldn't be a problem that I didn't eat past the four hour mark. It could be because I just simply had a protein shake as a snack?

Well I should use up this time to nap in the library (making sure to set my phone alarm for my next class)

No pictures. Just a spontaneious post because I was bored and tried and lonely, ha. I'm so dramatic.



Have a great one!

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French inspired dressing and food shopping.

Hey all!

How are you guys doing?


Man, I think I am just having one of those weeks where my hormones are whacked out due to a "friend" who appears every once in a while. Which results in eating anything in sight! It's not that I am eating junk, I'm eating things such as greek yogurt, parsnip, oranges, and I just feel so stuffed up in a bad way. And even though I feel so STUFFED, all I can think about is filling my mouth with food.
It doesn't help that today is rest day from the gym, and I am upset just thinking about all the amount I put in the gym this week to have it all go to waste because of today. My progress will hinder down if I continue doing what I am doing. Enough of my venting!

After work on Friday I decided to hit up the local market, I was very excited when I saw fresh produce in stock! I looked at vegetables I've never seen or ate with oogily eyes. I circled around the store plenty of times.

 I heard someone say "you're still here?" I'm not sure if it was directed towards me, and I didn't want to turn around to find out either! :o)

Left with this!

I love eating carrot as a whole, it's fun and I actually feel like bugs bunny sometimes. No joke

When I saw this tea, I was instantly intrigued. Red Apple? I told myself I won't buy tea til I run low on my stashes at home. As you can see, I got it anyway!

This tea is soooo amazing! I had three cups that night. Smells really wonderful and tastes amazing, especially with Stevia.

They gave out samples of NuStevia. I really like this brand of stevia, it tasted pretty good.

(Karen is my sister) I find that drinking tea from a mug is pleasant rather than a to-go thermo. I think.

I know better than to get chocolate, especially when my hormones are actin' crazy!

This was my first time trying out Green&Blacks. I wanted something chunky and fruity and delicious.

 Look at those chunks of Hazelnut and Currant!

It was amazing!!! Hazelnut and Chocolate makes a great combo. It was fun eating this bar because I definately tasted the currants and the crunchy seeds made it fun to eat.

Lots of pictures from today.

Decided to roast Kobacha and Parsnip (my first time).

I peeled and chopped the parsnip into slices (like fries)

Tossed it in olive oil

garlic & herb seasoning

Cayenne pepper

ground pepper

350 oven for 40 minutes.

*no picture, but it was delicious and sweet. naturally sweet. Tasted great with ketchup

Not my frist time trying Greek Yogurt, but my first time trying Chobani 0%

Loved it!

These fat blueberries were on sale and I have enough to last me this week! yum

After my Kobacha roasted

I didn't want to add pile to the dishes and also wishing I didn't finish all that greek yogurt. It would have finished nicely with this Japanese Squash! boo

I was so full and tired. I accidently took a hour nap, slightly groggy but refreshed later. I was probably tired due to laziness, I hate that. I didn't eat til 9pm. I was starved yet my body still felt full. I hate those mind/physical tricks your body can play. But I knew I had to eat because I haven't eaten in almost 5 hours.

Stuck to salad.

Broccoli Crunch from Whole Foods (amazing!)

and a Spring Mix with:

Crimini Mushrooms

Shredded Carrots

Artichoke Hearts

Onion Sprouts

Red onions

TJ's Herb Feta

ANNND an amazing home-made dressing!

Ingredients for French inspired dressing (serves four):

- 1/2 clove of garlic
- 1 Tbsn Blsamic Vinegar
- 1 tspn Dijon mustard
- salt and ground black pepper
-splash of soy sauce
- 3 Tbsn olive oil

I got the recipe from Melissa D'arabian a while back. She lived in France for quite some time and really enjoyed the dressing to the salad she'd have at the local cafe in France. She finally asked the owner for the recipe after two years and here it is out for the inter-webers!

Directions:
Rub the inside of a large wooden bowl with the garlic clove and then either discard it or save it for another use. Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.




I really enjoyed the salad and dressing. I remember I used to be so intimidated making my own salads, and now that I've come to enjoy it tonight (I haven't made salad in forever, since the summer) I hope that it would help me get my veggies in for the day. I'm also hoping that it would help me lean down slowly.

I know it takes more than just eating salad to lean down, I need to eliminate the chocolates *cough and other stuff. Just fixing my food choices in general.

Got this Sparkling Mineral Water (mixed berries) at Whole Foods. Wanted to make a simple concoction.

Whisked Crystal Light wild strawberries flavor, silly method I know, laugh.

Added Sparkling water and voila! It was nice.

Method not so classy, but I felt classy.

That was my day, hope you have a great week!

Got to wake up early for class tomorrow. It's an introduction to sport and fitness exercise. I'm excited!

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Random stuff in my gym bag.

Moments ago it was hailing, that was cool.
Hours ago I drove while it was hailing, so not cool.

Last night I drove home and it was scary. The drive from my moms house to where I reside is 13 minutes, in that span of 13 minutes, the night sky flashed six times due to lightning. I was so scared that a few curse words escaped from my mouth, oops. I was terrified of getting struck by lightning (but then I calmed a bit knowing that other drivers probably felt the same way that I did, so I felt like I wasn't alone). Then when I got out of the car, I heard thunder. It was scary, yet amazing.

I was actually standing outside a bit to catch another sound of thunder before I got in the house, but I lost my patience after a minute and went inside.



After I got home, I decided to wash my dirty workout clothes and my back-pack that I carry to the gym. I thought it'd be fun to share all the junk I keep in my bag. This isn't the worst of it, I'm suprised at all the amount of stuff AND trash  my bag can carry!

It felt good to clean out the junk, it felt like I clarified my mind a bit. So I can't imagine how I'd feel once I clean my car AND room.

I don't think many of these things are nessesary, but I bring them just in case.

* I'm checking for spelling errors, and I just noticed a tampon, further embarrassed, but we're all girls here.

Three Now four scraps of my work-out logs that I need to actually write in my binder.

I forget to bring my work-out logs, so I resort to napkins and a flyers to write down the sets whilst I'm done with said sets.

Actually, yesterday I was working on triceps and *imagine (when I would finish my reps, I'd croutch to the floor and write on a durable tissue paper the reps and lbs I did). The manager at the gym was working out and noticed, he said "Nice use to logging your work-outs" I smiled and I replied that "I try to make it a habit"

Moments later he came over and gave me a clipboard, haha, made it easier.

Gym!

I had a great work-out today. I did 45 minutes on the stair-master and I originally resorted to do 15-20 minutes of spinning after, but I kept setting higher goals (aiming to stick in 5 more minutes) and managed to do 60 minutes of spinning. I really enjoyed it! So I'm looking forward to taking Spinning Classes at 24. Hopefully I don't over-do spinning to the point where I no longer have interest in it. That's what I'm afraid of. Then it was back and chest.

Post work-out snack:  12oz Unsweetened Almond milk and 1.5 scoop of Chocolate Whey and a carb addition was this

They were giving this out at the gym, a cute mini-sample. I'd say it was 1/4 cups, less than 1/3 that's for sure.

It was enough to keep me content for two hours til I was starving.

Late Lunch!

Because of staying at the gym longer than usual, I had a late lunch. Boo, I didn't have lunch til 5:35 pm

I packed my tupperware full of food. I transfered my lunch onto a plate.

All I had for lunch was Zucchini :o(

I'm kidding, did I fool you?....ha, okay not funny.

I would've been grumpy if all I had were Zucchinis'

I had a tiered lunch.

Bottom: Brown Rice

Middle: Grilled Chicken Breast

Top: Zucchini

Microwaved and topped with

Ketchup, Black Peppa', Red Peppa' flakes, and Parmesan Cheese.

It was good, but then I realized I couldn't actually eat my tiered lunch like my future wedding cake :o(

especially with a plastic fork.

No longer pretty, but pretty tasty. I haven't had that much ketchup in forever. srsly

What do you keep in your gym bag that is a must-have! and if you're willing to, what is the most random thing you keep in there?

- I must have my work-out clothes, socks, undies, towels, shampoo, brush, locker, chapstick, deodorant...the list goes on, I basically shower there more than I do at home. The most random thing? well the most random thing I ever found was a multi-vitamin, which went bad, ha. I must have forgotten to take it.

Have a nice weekend, it's here!

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Two many packages.

Howdy ya'll.

It's been raining like crazy here in sunny San Diego for almost a week. It's insane, and there's a storm-watch every 15 minutes, I think I just heard thunder? With the rain and high winds here, the weather has turned me into a bum. Seriously, I wake up, eat breakfast, and then nap!

I just had it set in my mind that I didn't want to go to the gym due to the weather, but the sweet angelic side of me convinced me to go. Just because it's raining like crazy outside, don't mean it's raining in the gym! Going to the gym was a great distraction from the outside world, it was really really nice.

The Package has arrived!:

I drove home from the rain to find this package on the doorstep, by this time the sun came up.

A package from PurelyElizabeth

which included a vegn protein supplement in Vanilla Chai (I love chai!)

her Perfect Pancake Mix and The Integrative Nutrition Journal.

This journal calls for you to

Be yourself: I can be myself and write down struggles and feelings that I necessarily wouldn't want to bore ya'll with :o) It's being honest! If I'm going to have a darn carrot cake, I better make sure my butt writes it down! and write every emotion associated with it...did it serve me?

Morning Intentions: I like this one. Begin each day in a positive way, checking in with yourself and expressing gratitute. Plan out your goals and action steps.

Evening Reflections: Reflect on how your day went. What worked and didn't work. Remember to be loving and appreciate your efforts.

Weekly Check-ins & Guided Excercises: Record new discoveries and accomplishments.

I can't wait to start using it.

About Purely Elizabeth's pancake mix (from her website):

"Made with all natural, organic and gluten-free nutritious ingredients, including: millet flour, an ancient grain high in B vitamins; coconut flour, rich in fiber and protein and low in carbohydrates; teff flour, an ancient grain from Ethiopia high in iron and calcium; buckwheat flour, made from a fruit rich in b vitamins and flax seed, hemp seed and chia seeds- superfoods providing excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and protein.

purely elizabeth was created in 2009 by elizabeth stein, certified holistic nutrition counselor.
Ingredients: Millet Flour, Organic Coconut Flour, Non-GMO Corn Flour, Teff Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Flax Seed, Organic Hemp Seed, Organic Chia Seed, Baking Soda, Organic Cinnamon, Sea Salt "

Yesterday I had an amazing oatmeal breakfast with a cup of cold soymilk.

Pear microwaved with pumpkin, almond milk, cinnamon, flax, vanilla extract, stevia, egg whites

This morning I ate another tasty bowl of oats whilst gazing at the rain outside my window.

It was very chocolately from what I remembered

-mircowaved 1/3 cup of oats with 1/3 unsweetened almond milk and a little over 1/3 water

-I added instant coffee and vanilla extract to the mix

- 1 T of unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/2 of a banana in slices

- 46g egg whites from carton (3 Tbsn)

- 5g of chia seeds/ 7g Flax seed/ cinnamon/ stevia

Dollop of greek yogurt and one almond biscuit crumbled on top

Yes, I ate my oats with a plastic fork. Don't ask me why!

Last night called for a trip to TJ's. This thing is sooooo good. Why do I do this to myself????

And I also got Crunchy Curls which contain 4g of fiber and 3g of protein I believe. Made from lentils and potato. I was close to getting Pita Puffs, but I knew I'd ravage through that bag during one car ride home :o( I need to learn self-control and stop mindless eating, forrealz. ergh

The good thing about these curlz is that it's pretty plain. So it was easy for me not to pop 467364738 curlz in my mouth every second.

Instead of bringing the whole bag in the car today, I packed one serving of curls in a zipbloc (I know myself too well not to bring the whole bag!). I might have snuck in one almond biscuit :o)

Exercise:

My mind couldn't keep up with the stairmaster this morning. My mind was racing and the stairmaster was just too slow for me and I was really really hungry, I opted to try something else. I did 30 minutes of stairs before moving on. Since I really liked spinning last night, I tried it again. Spinning is absolutely amazing! especially paired with a great upbeat music. I managed to do 30 minutes of intervals, it was intense. Maybe I'm ready for a real spinning class?

Another Bonus Package?:

I was extrememly hungry, but when I hopped on the bike, my hunger vanished and I couldn't even think about food at all. All I could think about was how great I felt spinning. wow. Then I did upperbody which was great! I left the gym feeling great! Plus, we have a new trainer, and I didn't notice how cute he was until he smiled and said Hi. I went goo-goo-gah-gah :P

And while I was doing upright rows, he was on his break and came to do upper body too. Oh My Gawd, I tried so hard not to stare at his muscles, he had the whole package. Why did he have to smile?? That smile has started a frenzy.

well anyway...I've been hungry since PWO, even after my snack and meal time, hopefully it's the metabolism speeding up.

Do you have a favorite work-out song that keeps your heart pumping during a cardio sesh?

I love Cascada, her songs would include Hold on, Breathless, Ready or Not, Dangerous, and Evacuate the Dancefloor. She reminds me of Lady Gaga. Very upbeat.

 
 LMFAO and Daft Punk are good as well.

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Weekend recap

I hope your weekend was splendid.

Few words and more pictures? okay let's do this, I'll try.

Let's start off on Saturday. I went to work and indulged way too many of TJ's Pita Puffs in the car (after breakfast), so good and addicting may I add. Since work was slow, I decided to hop on the StairMaster for 45 minutes on my hour break. I managed to squeeze in a quick shower, snack, and dry my sweaty work-out clothes in the laundry room after.

On my last 30 minute break and I put on my dry set of clothes as fast as I could, and I did 20 minutes on the StairMaster again ( it's your worst enemy but your bestfriend in some sense) and then ate lunch during my work hour (work is great!)

After work, K- decided to train me at the gym and we worked on upper body. My back is sore still. It's so fun when the trainer actually trains with you.

Then it was time to bowl!

Bowling is so fun, I wonder why I don't do it often. The only thing bad about bowling alleys are the food.
I can't believe they serve funnel cakes, I've only seen funnel cakes served at fairs, but not the bowling alley.

Chilli Cheese Fries! artery clogging

Bacon Cheese Fries (arterty clogging x's 2) I took a few small bites, tsk tsk

But we bowled the night away!

I came third :o(

I think I've heard something like this...you're bound to break a nail when you bowl

okay, I know I need to re-polish my nails. But I got other priorities :o)

But I've never heard that you're bound to tear off some skin when you bowl!

R- bought this brownie and shared with us

not so many healthy options right?

Then after we decided to hit the arcade and play games to share prizes.

E-, Me, R-, and M-

For 55 tickets, I got Pop Rocks, sooo not worth it! my lollipop broke off.

Over the course of the weekend, I bought Kale and have been excited to get my hands on making Kale Chips

(gr, it's sideways and I don't know how to fix it)

It was so delicious and fun to eat! just season with salt, pepper, and cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes at 350.

I love the crunch factor it had, it tasted like veggie chips at the market, but healthier!

On Sunday, my amazing friend S- was opening a show for My American Heart at the Epicentre. This was My American Heart's last show, unforch they are breaking up as a band (they are pretty big in San Diego).

Dustin (guitarist) on the ledge still playing his guitar!

Crazy insane mosh pits and the crowd was pushing each other in every direction! I almost fell but luckily I grabbed on to someones shirt.

I laughed out loud (but no one heard). Someone was missing a shoe and I just kept picturing someone in the audience missing a pair of Toms, hysterical.

This happened to me two years ago too, I lost my shoe due to a mosh pit. With the help of my friend A- and holding her hand through the crowd, I retrieved it.

Two weridos behind us. Don't know who they are.

This is the lead singer Larry- he is so small and tiny! After the picture I impulsively touched his stomach and said "you are sooo cute" and he said thank you.

Dustin (that crazy guitarist)

Let me explain. I told him to do me a favor and look at me like he's in love, you know...for the sake of putting it on Facebook.

This was the result, but it just looks like he wanted to kill me and you can tell by my face I was timid, ha.

"No, it does look like love, intense love"- Dustin Hook

This is cute. I got a picture of S- talking to Larry. S- has been a fan of MAH since day one, when the band used to be called No Way Out.

Bought this shirt, everything had to go! so it was $5. I wore this to the gym today and got quite a few looks :o)

** I am so sad My American Heart is no longer together, right now I am listening to them. They have been part of my weight loss journey over the summer, ha. I listened to them on my ipod for two months straight whist on the cardio machines, pumping it up!

Take a listen, I say you listen to the slow stuff first like Tired and Uninspired on their myspace

Today I am resting and it's raining. I decided to bake (which only took 10 minutes)
I tried baking Angela's vegan spelt biscuits but got the ingredients mixed up! I prepared the mix at home with the list of ingredients that I tried to remember at the top of my head, including the measurements. Still turned out great.

I used raw sugar packets (that I "borrowed" from starbucks) to sprinkle the top, the sugar carmelized nicely.

Topped with crunchy PB and Raw Vegan Choco Coconut Spread from LoveStreetLivingFoods

 poofy and delicious.

Also *unpictured. I tried Greek Yogurt last night, and the last time I had G.Y was a year ago. I had it with a microwaved pear (cubed and sliced) with cinnamon and the vegan chocolate. It was sooooo delicious. I ate this before I went to the show at 7:30 and it kept me full til midnight. So amazing. I need to buy more G.Y and pairings to go with it.

And who wouldn't want to win a Vita-Mix given away by Katie from her chocolate covered blog! I've seen the Vita-Mix used at demonstrations and it lives up to it's description. I wish I owned one, and here is your chance. Why not?
That was my week.

If you eat Greek yogurt, what do you like to pair it with? If you don't, what are you waiting for, try it!

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