Chocolate Chia in the Morning

Nick and I went for a run this morning. Man, is it getting cold out. My car was completely iced over. Upon coming home, I decided I wanted something warm. I've mainly been having boring cereal for breakfast (Special K Protein Plus, to be specific), but I had a little extra time today, so I made something that took a little more effort.

Chocolate Chia Oat Bran

Honestly, this can only be described as love in a bowl. I have tried oat bran, and I have tried chia pudding, separately. This brought them together, with a nice dollop of chocolate soynut butter, and totally made my day.

For those of you who like recipes:

What You Need:

1/2 cup oat bran

2 cups water

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup or agave

1 Tbsp chocolate nut butter (you could use regular, but you've already got so much chocolate goodness, why stop?)

pinch of salt

What You'll Do:

On a stovetop, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil and add oat bran and salt. Cook until the bottom becomes dry, then add the rest of the water, the chia, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in sweetener, top with nut butter, and enjoy.

Serves 1 Big Bowl of Oats

Nutrition Information: 443.1 Calories; 17.1g Total Fat; 7.8g Saturated Fat; o.omg Cholesterol; 67.0g Carbohydrates; 21.3g Fiber; 19.7g Protein

I know I waffle when it comes to calculating calories, but I really love doing it. Look at all that fiber!! Also, this is a lot of food, and it might be even better with 1/3 cup of oat bran, and some frozen cherries added. Experiment!

I also suggest adding some stevia, for those of you who are not allergic to it, which I think I am. I have been getting fairly bad hives for the past few months, and I couldn't pin down what it was from. I actually went to a doctor, who put me on prednisone, and it got worse. At first I thought it was just the Vitamin Water 10, but I have now also cut it out of my morning tea, and have stopped using my protein powder that has stevia in it, and the hives have practically stopped. There's a chance it may not be the cause, but I would bet on it. This makes me sad, I am a big stevia fan, and I had used it for over a year before I started drinking the Vitamin Water in September, and the allergy started.

Sorry for the lack of postage lately. Work has got me fairly busy, and I have time to blog, but not really time to cook. I doubt you want to see what I had for dinner last night (hint: Soyatoo, Chocolate Soynut Butter, and Rice Crackers. NOT together, I'm not completely crazy). I'll try and get in here as often as possible!

I hope everyone is having a great post-Thanksgiving week! Have you started decorating for Christmas yet?

Oh, and our little bug is growing, he's about 5 lbs now. He is a little monster sometimes and a little angel others. He came to work with me a few days ago, and we dressed him up in angel wings. The pictures are on my phone, I'll try and get them on here. This was him on Saturday though, with Nick.

*Sigh* He is cute. I just wish he'd stop biting my ankles!

Vega Sport - An Honest Review

How was everyone's weekend? Hopefully the weather was beautiful for you too, and you went out and did something fun. Yesterday morning, I lay in bed, convincing myself that I didn't have to work out. I don't usually work out on Sundays, but...I missed Friday. So I *should* work out, but it was, after all, a Sunday. A day to relax. The last day of the weekend. You know the feeling, right?

So I used my husband. Its always easier to go out and exercise if he is coming with. Coupled with a promise of breakfast at our favorite place, we took it the next level, and instead of doing cardio in our basement gym, we went for a run around the lake near our place.

Before we went though, we downed some of the newest product from Vega: Vega Sport Performance Optimizer.

I get a decent amount of products to review. Most of them are just fine. Although I've said before that Vega isn't my favorite. The regular stuff is too weird tasting me for me to bother with. The Smoothie Infusion isn't too bad, once its mixed with fruit, fruit juice, and maybe some coconut milk yogurt.

And while I've never been a fan of "performance optimzers" in the past, I really have to say that I love this stuff.

First: The Taste

Well, typical of Vega products, on its own it doesn't taste like ice cream going down. But it doesn't taste terrible either. In fact, I've only taken it three times, and its definitely a taste you get used to easily. I was gifted the berry variety, and its definitely drinkable on its own, but its actually good with half-water, half-apple cider.

Second: The Ingredients

If you know anything about Vega, you know that the ingredients are top notch. The main ingredient is sprouted whole grain brown rice syrup, intended to give you an instant energy boost, and organic palm nectar, for sustained energy (it claims around 30 minutes worth). Coupled with Yerba Mate, Green Tea, Kombucha, Rhodiola Extract, Ginger Extract, etc, this stuff is full of not only energy, but herbs that are meant to stimulate your system to help you naturally perform better.

Third: The Results

So all this doesn't matter if it doesn't work, right? Well, it does. And I don't just say this because they sent it to me, honestly, I wouldn't do that. This stuff, no joke, works. I first tried it last Monday and went for a run on the treadmill after not having ran for over two months because I hurt my knee. It seemed to work, but I wasn't convinced yet. After all, I ran pretty slow, and hey, it could have just been endorphins. I also used it before my first Mysore yoga class on Thursday, just to have something in my system.

But what really has convinced me that this product is awesome was our run yesterday. Remember, this is after not having really ran at all (besides Monday) for over two months). The loop around our lake is 3.65 miles, and I didn't feel the need to stop and walk for any of it. This might not mean anything to you, but I haven't not stopped on a run that long in well over a year. I have never felt that good on a run, my body never got tired, and my mind was completely clear and focused.

I also had a girl yell at me that I was her inspiration as we ran past her and her friend walking. So there you go, I have their new tag line. Vega Sport - Be Inspiring.

It comes in two flavors, and I have yet to try the lemon-lime. I don't really know what that would mix with, maybe orange juice? Suggestions anyone? At only 70 calories a serving, I feel it needs to be mixed with a little something.

So there you have it folks. A product that does what it claims to do. How often does that happen? Of course, Vega is always on the pricey side, but I really think this stuff is worth it. In fact, I will probably continue to purchase it myself once I run out of the container they were so generous to send me.

This actually makes me really excited to start running again. I'm seriously looking forward to doing our Turkey Trot again at the end of the month! Maybe I can get my dad to try it too!

Spring?

My body decided that it was spring this week, and I started running again in full force.  I'm still kind of slow, and the first week of running after not having gone for awhile can feel like this:  

But hopefully soon, I will be as fast as him:  

Haha, seriously though, I can already tell I'll get it back pretty quick this year.

At the very least, maybe I'll be running like this:  

  

Speaking of working out, its been awhile since I updated on my workout.  First, I hated the workout I knew I was going to hate.  Then I said I was going to do a 5x5, and I got frustrated with that because of the people at my gym.  There are a couple of power lifters there, who happen to be there at the same time that I am there, right after school, and I get dirty looks, really dirty looks, if I am "taking up" "their" equipment.  If you are thinking "well screw them", so did I, at first.  Then I realized that it was making me really angry, and was making me not want to go to the gym, so I did two things.  First, a big step for me, I cut back to only lifting twice a week.  Second, I made up a program using equipment that isn't as popular or there are a lot of, and exercises using only your body, .  

Day 1:  Chest and Legs

Part 1

Superset

Leg Press 

1x10

1x8      

1x6      

1x4

Dips

1x4     

1x6

1x8

1x10

Superset

Bulgarian Squats 

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

Barbell Chest Press

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

*Part 1 supersets alternate number of reps each week.  So, next week, I will start with a set of 4 for the leg press, and 10 for dips.

Part 2

Superset

Pushups

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x6

Hamstring Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Jacknives

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Part 3

Tricep Rope Extensions

3x10

Day 2:  Back and Shoulders

Part 1

Superset

Deadlifts

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

Lateral Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

Superset

Cable Rows

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x4

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 

1x4

1x6

1x8

1x10

*Part 1 supersets alternate number of reps each week.  So, next week, I will start with a set of 4 for the leg press, and 10 for dips.

Part 2

Superset

Weighted Hyperextensions

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Upright Rows

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Roman Chair Leg Raises

1x10

1x8

1x6

1x8

1x10

Part 3

Bicep Curls 

3x10 

               

Geez, can you tell I just wrote a lesson plan?  I set them up the exact same way, Part 1, Part 2, etc.  

Anyway, altogether, my workouts for the week have been going like this:  

Sunday - Yoga

Monday - OFF

Tuesday - Lifting: Day 1

Wednesday - Run

Thursday - Yoga & Run

Friday - Lifting:  Day 2

Saturday - Run & Yoga

This has been going really well so far.  I like the lifting workouts because the supersets make it go quickly so that my heart rate stays up and I get a little sweaty, especially Part 3.  Part 4 is mainly just a finisher, my arms are worked pretty well by that point.  I'm so glad to be actually running again too.  I've been doing just over 10 miles a week.  My goal is still to do a 10K run.  I mean, I can already run a 10K, I just want to participate in one...I haven't gotten a new race t-shirt in awhile!  

Enjoy the week everyone!  If you're a runner, or any kind of fitness enthusiast, or would like to be either, I'm leaving you with a few quotes to get you all excited for outdoor exercise in nice weather.  Get out there and get moving!  Its good for your mind, its good for your body, and anything that you can do is the best thing you can do for yourself:  

"Running is a big question mark that's there each 

and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a 

wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" 

- Peter Maher

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. 

The answer is usually: 'Yes'."

-Paul Tergat

"The miracle isn't that I finished. 

The miracle is that I had the courage to start." 

-John Bingham

 

My Happy Thanksgiving

In my personal opinion, being healthy is on the forefront of being happy.  On days like Thanksgiving it's easy to let fitness fall to the wayside.  It's easy for the same to happen when it comes to eating well.  On these days, its inevitable that one has got to give, and for me, it was the healthy food.   To keep health at least half in the picture, I dragged my family out of bed for a 5K this morning.  Some of us walked, some of us ran, all of us were chilly, but it was such a great way to start the day, especially this"special" day.  

Brother - Me - Dad - Sister In Law - Brother

There are always lots of pets at this race, mostly dogs.  But as far as I am concerned, this little guy was the star!  His name is Lucky.  Seriously...how cute is he???  

He even has his own race number!

Now, on to the food!  The Thanksgiving "feast" was fine.  My grandmother was really good about not putting butter on the TONS of vegetables that she always makes.  Seriously, tons of vegetables.  I also brought some seitan.  But really...any day like this, for me, is all about the dessert.  

*Disclaimer* Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday (if you didn't realize, it is actually the greatest holiday and is March 30 if you decide to celebrate it!) and Easter (I love Easter) are big healthy day exceptions for me!  

Enough babble.  Without further ado I present to you my very first vegan cheesecake!  

     

  

Heavenly Vegan Cheesecake

Making this, was beyond simple. 

The recipe we used for the filling is Here. 

The recipe we used for the crust is Here. 

Seriously, it does not get easier than this.  I only made a few modifications.  

First, we added 1 tsp of cream of tartar to the mix.  

Second, we did add the extra tbsp of flour that was suggested in the comments. 

Third, we actually cooked it twice as long (50 minutes).

Fourth, I added lemon zest to the crust. 

Serves 12.

Nutrition Information:  237.0 Calories;  11.8g Fat;  3.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  451.3mg Sodium;  30.8g Carbohydrates;  1.7g Fiber;  2.2g Protein

   

Oh, how did it taste?  Awesome!  It really did taste like cheesecake, and the lemon made the taste very bright.  I actually thought it might be a little too sweet, but that didn't stop me from having multiple helpings.  Oh, and all the meat, dairy, and egg eaters who I was having dinner with liked it as well.  All in all, if you are looking for a plain cheesecake recipe, this is a good choice.  However, not so good that I won't be trying other recipes! (I adore cheesecake)

Today's Baking Song:  Is This It - The Strokes

I hope that everyone else had a great Thanksgiving!