healthy habits

sarahdussault:

Boston is No. 2!!!

Minneapolis-St. Paul is number 3! That is so awesome.

I have a mild — okay, severe — obsession with Chipotle’s salads. Just ask my boyfriend. Every time we’re going out for a quick dinner and he asks what I want, I say Chipotle steak salad. Him: “Thanks for being honest, but let’s not get that AGAIN.”

Sighhh, but I could seriously eat it every…

I went to Chipotle for the first time ever (I know,right?! Shocking!) on Sunday and mmmm…. I love it.

urbanfoodie:

Readers, this $2 pupusa is just one of many reasons why you must give St. Paul a chance. Manana Restaurant y Pupuseria, located on E. 7th Street past Mounds Blvd, serves food native to El Salvador and other South American culture. Slightly crispy on the outside from the griddle, filled with oozing cheese and your choice of meat or beans, pupusas make for a very hearty snack. In pairs, threes, or with a tamale or taco (also under $2!), you have yourself a super cheap, knockout meal - as in, holy crap I need a nap. Be sure to eat your pupusas and tamales with the complimentary Salvadorean slaw and hot sauce, which help to lighten each bite. Then don’t forget to wash it down with some sweet horchata!

There isn’t much space for hanging out and digesting afterwards, so check out the thrift store across the street. Or the place that sells hair extensions next door (they’re made out of real hair!).

Special thanks to Erica for introducing me to this awesome hole-in-the-wall and ethnic food gem! One more reason to consider St. Paul.

I will be eating here soon….and if my boy won’t go with me, I’ll go by my dang self!

urbanfoodie:

A great list of tips for engaged, mindful shopping at the Market!

Also awesome!

urbanfoodie:

regilovesveggies:

nutritionista:

Thanks to @KimberlynnAce for pointing me to this wonderful resource. I’m printing it out to post on my fridge!

I want to yell from the rooftops: NO TOMATOES IN THE FRIDGE!

This is awesome. Going on my fridge as well!

I love cooking with fresh ingredients.

I made french fries and veg sloppy joes today, with a side of broccoli…and it was delicious. Yesterday I had a hummus & veggie crepe with cheese and bistro sauce from my favorite cafe…. I’ve been doing really good lately. There’s been a little bit of snacking, but I make up for it with water and healthy food. Overall, I’m happy.

I had a few days that I tried to eat healthy but there was too much dessert (mom’s work picnic….ugh!) and other days that I just had a really bad day and needed to eat Cheetos and drink Hawaiian Punch. But I HAVE been trying!

I’ve been eating healthy whenever I can, and walking and running. I made veggie stir fry with tofu & rice noodles on Sunday… and last night I made grilled veggies, sweet potatoes & broccoli on the grill, along with rice.

So I’m doing my best, but I realized it’s not going to be as vigorous as I had planned. And you know what? I’m okay with that. As long as I do my best, and eat healthy and exercise, I will be happy.

maxineblogzzzzz asked: Hi, my name is Maxine, I’m a teenage vegetarian and I sometimes get bored with the salads, veggie burgers, and veggie sandwiches.I love your blog and all the creative and really tasty looking foods you eat. Sorry if you answered this question already, but do you…

A good post with vegetarian/vegan resources…these are definitely going in my blog reader!

Another goal: GET MORE SLEEP.

All of a sudden it’s past 1 am…and I’m still awake! I need to work on this, because it’s a very big part of being healthy. Also… I’m hungry again. Definitely time to go to sleep.

Day ONE!!

So, today was the beginning…. and it actually went extremely well!! I was planning on getting up early to use the Wii Fit and have breakfast, but that didn’t happen because I was very tired and felt icky….so I ended up sleeping in way too late. I’m only weighing myself twice a week, on Day One and Day Four, so I don’t get too obsessed with a “number.”

Starting weight for Week One: 132.2
Goal weight: 125

• FOOD

I made brunch when I got up, which was delicious…and I got to poach my first egg! I had a poached egg over toast with carmelized onions, on top of a salad with mustard red wine viniagrette. It was very filling and I wasn’t hungry the rest of the day. After that, I read my book on Core Training and went grocery shopping for fresh food! I spent entirely too much money, but I got so much food….and I am very excited! Fresh fruits and vegetables are one of my favorite things.

For lunch, I made homemade hummus (YUM!) and I have no idea how I have never made it before! It was so easy and delicious….mmm mmm good! I served it with sliced raw veggies (cukes, broccoli, grape tomatoes, celery & orange peppers) and I also made myself a sandwich; two pieces of 12 grain bread spread with hummus and drizzled with sesame oil, one slice each of colby and provolone cheese, cucumber slices, lettuce and salt & pepper.  Very simple and very good.

For dinner, my mom & her boyfriend had leftovers so I made dinner for our foreign exchange student and myself. We had leftover rice, so I made a simple stir fry with orange peppers, onion, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, snow peas and tofu. The sauce was a mix of garlic, minced garlic (from a jar), soy sauce and mirin (Japanese rice cooking wine). It was so awesome, I will never get sick of Asian food! I also had a small amount of mashed potatoes with butter and salt & pepper.

For dessert, I cut a gigantic grapefruit in quarters and topped it with brown sugar, then popped it in the oven on the top rack for about 8 minutes at 500 degrees F. It ended up being very good, the brown sugar added just the right amount of sweetness. For snacks throughout the day, which I probably didn’t need, I had a square of my favorite chocolate (Hershey’s dark with almonds and dried cranberries & blueberries), one small coconut ice cream bar and a few (three) chocolate chip cookies.

• WATER

I drank a ridiculous amount of water today…somewhere around 96 oz! I’m trying to cleanse my body as much as I can, so for the first week I will be drinking an insane amount of water and then I will probably cut it down a little.

• EXERCISE

My music for today was definitely not what I’m used to…. it was a total “pump-up” playlist, including hip-hop/rap/dj beats on the digital music station on our tv, and later the Pitbull station on Pandora…I could almost not concentrate because I wanted to shake my booty so much!

I was planning on starting out the day with 30 minutes of yoga on Wii Fit…but the Wii decided it didn’t want to work so it was off to plan B… which was core training exercises. I warmed up and then spent about 30 minutes doing the exercises. After that, I went right into the Beach Body exercies for about 30 minutes and then some cool down stretches.

After dinner and watching Bones (and CSI….), and after we had fixed the Wii, I did 30 minutes on Wii Fit as well as a 5 minute run. I ended with my favorite balance game, the Ski Jump.

• OTHER:

When I got done with Wii Fit, I was tired and sweaty and needed a shower. So I ran a bath, poured in some dead sea salts (From the Czech Republic!) and dried lavender, and mixed myself a sugar body scrub with sugar, olive oil and mint. It was such a luxurious mix, and my skin is soft and glowing. After soaking in the bath I took a quick shower and finished getting ready for bed.

Now I’m getting ready to do my FAFSA for summer online classes! I got an e-mail this morning from one of the jobs I applied for in Minneapolis, telling me to set up a phone and in-person interview….so I am very very excited about it! I was also notified that I’ll be eligible to receive the full $5500 for online classes next year, which is awesome!

I was looking into dance classes in Minneapolis and found a couple that look awesome and very fun, I will look at more later; first is Zenon Dance Company/Studio, which looks like something I would definitely enjoy. There are a variety of dances for adults, ranging from hip hop to ballet to ballroom! They’re also a dance company and they actually tour…how cool is that?! The only problem I’ve found so far is that it is very expensive… and I don’t think I can deal with that.

Next is Flex Appeal Studios. This place looks like so much fun! They teach pole dancing and lap dance classes, long with the other dance classes…while I don’t know if I’d sign up for those, it’s definitely an awesome thing to offer. Some of the classes they feature are “Booty Groove” and “Abs and Ass,” along with yoga, pilates, belly dance, cycling and a burlesque class. It sounds like this might be the place for me…

Also… tomorrow I’m thinking about making sweet potato fries and veggie burgers for lunch. Yum!