What do you Eat Before A Workout? – August Writing Challenge #26

So, I totally missed yesterday’s post, but don’t worry – here it is! Yesterday’s Blogger Challenge Question was what do you eat before a workout?

Well, for me, it depends on the workout.

Before a Sunday morning long run I have a Vanilla Cliff Shot and a glass of water…usually about 15 minutes before heading out the door!

Before a weekday morning BodyAttack class, I usually have an oatmeal pancake. They are super yummy, easy to make, easy on the tummy and provide enough energy to make it through the one hour, high impact, cardio conditioning class.

Evening workouts are a little different – I’m still trying to figure out what works for me. I am definitely someone who needs to eat before a workout, but I have yet to find the balance between eating too early and eating too late, feeling like I’m going to barf, and feeling like I’m going to pass out!

So, what you eat before your morning/afternoon/evening workout?

5 Foods I Can’t Live Without – August Writing Challenge #5

Today’s Blogger Challenge Question is: What are 5 foods you can’t live without?

1. Starbucks Chai Latte….love. Love. LOVE!

2. Ingredients for my Oatmeal Pancake. This is my most favourite breakfast ever, I probably eat it at least 2-3 days a week! You can find the recipe here.

3. David’s Tea. I had no idea there were so many yummy tea flavours! My faves are Forever Nuts, Cocoa Chai Rooibus and Cinnamon Hearts.

4. Greek Yogurt and Love Crunch. I have this for a snack pretty much every day…so yummy and healthy too!

5. Corona – if I’m going to enjoy a beer, it’s gotta be a Corona! Love a cold one (or more) on a hot day!

What are 5 foods you can’t live without?

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 31

Thursday, June 21
Day 31

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Fresh Strawberries.
Oh how I have missed you oatmeal pancake…Since starting the Green Smoothie Challenge on June 1st, I have pretty much been having smoothies to start the day. But today, shy on smoothie ingredients, I resorted to my  most favourite  breakfast ever! The Eat Clean Oatmeal Pancake.

Lunch – Green Smoothie # 21 – Chocolate Banana – can you say HELLO! This was freaking delicious! Might have to have it again tomorrow.

Ingredients:
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup almond milk
1 frozen Banana
1 tbsp cocoa
1 scoop protein powder
2 tbsp ground flax

 

Snack – Eat Clean Chocolate Chip Cookie

Dinner – Grilled Chicken, Asparagus and Red Peppers

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
6.5 hours. Uninterrupted which was awesome, but not enough!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 17

Thursday, June 7
Day 17

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast– seeing as I have been a little laid up this week, I didn’t make it to the grocery store yet to replenish my Green Smoothie ingredients. So, I went back to my old favourite, Eat Clean Oatmeal Pancake with Fresh Blueberries.

Lunch – today was the last day of Ryan’s Gymnastics class so Lisa, her mom Sharron, and I went out for lunch with the kids. We went to Sgt. Peppers. The menu didn’t have many clean options, so I went went a Chicken Teriyaki Stir-Fry. I was actually really good!

Afternoon Snack – the last two Eat Clean Caramel Coconut Chewy Bars – straight out if the freezer! Yummo!

Dinner – I totally did not feel like eating…or cooking for that matter, so we headed to the grocery store for some fresh ingredients and dinner was a smoothie…Green Smoothie # 7 – Peanut Butter and Banana. This one is definitely my favourite so far!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 banana
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp ground flax seed

Water Consupmtion:
5 glasses – not great…will focus more on that tomorrow.

Sleep:
7.5 hours…no wake- ups! Woohoo!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 9

Wednesday, May 30
Day 9

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast – Plain Oatmeal Pancake with Maple Syrup

Oatmeal pancakes are a quick, easy and nutritious breakfast. They are also high in protein, keeping you fuller, longer. Here is my oatmeal pancake recipe – I’ve changed it up a bit lately, and since I’m eating clean, I’m skipping the chocolate chips and topping it with fresh fruit instead – although today I used 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup.

1/2 cup quick cook oats
1/2 cup egg whites
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix it all together, and cook it up like a regular pancake.

Morning Snack – 2 Eat Clean Caramel Coconut Chewy Bars As I popped in at home to change after team teaching BodyAttack and before heading back to the gym for my Skinny Jeans Workout, I needed something sweet. I grabbed them out of the freezer and ate them immediately…they were so good!

Lunch – Open Faced (not because I wanted to, but because we only had one slice of bread!) Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Dinner – Pork Tenderloin, Corn on the Cob and Asparagus. Asparagus has to be one of my favourite veggies, especially when grilled on the BBQ. I like to mist it with olive oil, add some salt and pepper and let it sit for about 15 minutes before grilling. Yummo!

Evening Snack – Eat Clean Lucky Ginger Spice Cookies – seeing as I ate the last of the Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies, I needed a new treat. These cookies were very easy to make and are delicious! recipe comes from

Ingredients:
1/4 c Olivina Margarine
1/2 c Sucanat
1/4 c molasses
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c Whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
1/8 tsp ginger
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat margarine until smooth. Add Sucanat and molasses and mix well. Add egg whites and mix until batter is creamy in texture.

3. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until well blended. Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Water Consumption:
9 glasses

Sleep:
7 hours. Tanner slept through the night again…unfortunately Ryan decided to come into our room at 5:30 this morning 😦 Definitely need to get that figured out! Any suggestions?

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 6

Sunday May 27
Day 6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Chocolate Chips

Post Race Snack – Breakfast Pita and a Banana, 2 Chia Seed Peanut Butter Cookies

Lunch – Nachos

Afternoon Snack – This afternoon we went over to my sisters house to chill in the backyard and have a few post-race Coronas. We also had a few snacks too…Bits and Bites, Cucumber and Baby Carrots with Veggie Dip Here is a picture of me enjoying my first of 3 Coronas!

Dinner – 4 Mint Oreo cookies and a Coke Brutal! After eating all that crap and drinking a few beers, I really didn’t feel much like eating dinner!

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
7 hours, almost uninterrupted as my husband got up with our son in the night…such a treat!

So ya, today was NOT a clean eating day AT ALL, but when I started this challenge, I knew that today – race day- would be my only cheat day in all of the 40 day challenge. I definitely had my fill of non-clean foods, and I’m actually really looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow…and so is my stomach! Isn’t is crazy how quickly out body adjusts to eating clean, and then how much it punishes us when we don’t! I’m feeling like total crap this evening…tired (I’m guessing that’s because I ran 13 miles – 21,1 kilometers – today), full, bloated…just plain yuck, and I know it’s because I ate like crap today.

I’m sooo looking forward to getting back on my 40 Day Clean Eating Challenge tomorrow!

How is YOUR Clean Eating Challenge going?

Clean Eating Challenge – Day 3

Thursday, May 24, 2012
Day 3

 

 

 

 

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Fresh Strawberries

Morning Snack – Starbucks Protein Platter (I was not prepared to be out of the house as long as we were this morning, so I grabbed the healthiest on-the-go snack I could think of). It was really good, and was only $5.95 + tax….not much more than a chai latte…which I have not had since last Friday  …that’s gotta be a record!

Lunch – leftover Supperworks Black Bean and Brown Rice Wrap

Afternoon Snack – 12 almonds and a half cup of raspberries

Dinner – Eat Clean Chicken, Spinach and Ricotta Quesadillas – again this was another first for me, and although it tastes really good, it took FORVER to make! I ended up making something else for my daughter to eat since I didn’t actually finish making and baking these quesadillas until 8pm! Thankfully it made 8 extras which I’ve put in the freezer to pull out and bake in just 24 minutes!

Evening Snack – Eat Clean Caramel Coconut Chewy Bars – time to make a new treat, this one is super yummy, but I’m ready for something new!

Water Consumption:
10 glasses

Sleep:
7 hours…unfortunately my daughter has been waking up at 5:30 and coming into our room:( Definitely need to put a stop to that!

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 1

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Day 1

 

 

So, I was pretty excited to get started on my 40 Day Clean Eating Challenge today. I have been eating so crappy and feeling so blah, that it was time to make some changes!

Breakfast – Oatmeal Pancake with Bananas

Lunch – Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie – unfortunately my husband ate the pork tenderloin leftovers I was planing to have for lunch today and I didn’t realize until the last minute. Since we were in a rush to get to my nephews soccer game, I whipped up a smoothie to go!

Ingredients:
1 cup of So Good Chocolate Soy Milk
1 banana
2 tbsp ground flax
1/2 cup Activia Vanilla Yogurt (I would have preferred to use Greek Yogurt, but didn’t have any)

Dinner – Eat Clean Turkey and Egg White Scramble – I had never made this Eat Clean dish before, but it was actually really good, and so easy to make too!

Snacks:
Morning – 1 cup of strawberries and 12 almonds
Afternoon – 1 Eat Clean Caramel Coconut Chewy Bars
Evening – 1 banana

Water Consumption:
8 glasses

Sleep:
7 hours of solid sleep before Tanner woke up to eat at 5:10am. This was seriously the BEST sleep I have had in a LONG time!

Overall, I’d say Day 1 was a success, and I think I’ve set myself up for a pretty good week! I am really excited about this challenge and look forward to sharing it with you!

Why don’t you join me and take the 40 Day Clean Eating Challenge? I’d love to share this journey with you!

Motivational Monday and Weekend Review

This weeks Motivational Monday is a selfish one…. I totally need motivation to get back on track with my eating. I can honestly say I ate my way through the weekend, and really, there were times when it wasn’t pretty!

I know I’ve mentioned before how carefree my husband is when it comes to what he eats, well, that combined with my lack of willpower, made for some pretty poor food choices this weekend.

Saturday. Knowing I was heading to the gym for a 7 mile run, I started the day with an oatmeal pancake and glass of skim milk. Not bad considering I really felt like it was going to take a lot to help me get through those 7 miles. I was crazy sore from Friday’s Skinny Jeans Workout and super tired because my son was up all night…literally, ALL night!

I think this was the worst run I’ve had since starting my training. I pretty much struggled through every mile, and dreaded all 77 minutes of it! Good thing I made those yummy granola bars on Friday, they (yes…I had 2 post-run!) totally made me feel better!

Since I had survived my run and burned a ton of calories (totally ignoring the fact that I just replaced about 500 by eating those two granola bars), I was totally on board when my husband suggested McDonald’s for lunch. I chose a Quarter Pounder meal with medium fries and a coke. The fries and coke were soooo yummy, but I think I’d rather have a Big Mac over a Quarter Pounder. Anyways, 1035 calories later, I didn’t feel at all guilty about the meal 🙂

At least one day on the weekend we try to have “family naptime” at our house. Usually when my daughter Ryan goes down for a nap, my husband and I try to sneak one in too. It’s not as easy now that we have Tanner, but we brought him in bed with us, and 3 hours later, we got up! It was awesome! First nap I’ve had in a long time! And to top it off, I woke up to a dinner invite at my sister’s house 🙂

Dinner was de-lish! Since my sister is also trying to eat healthier, she made Eat Clean Buffalo Chicken Salad (check out her blog for recipes & cooking instructions – mypursuitofhappinessandskinnyjeans.wordpress.com). Dinner was super healthy and the Corona I had was super yummy!

Sunday. Usually Sunday mornings I get up with the kids, have breakfast and go to BodyAttack at the gym. This past Sunday we our got off to a slow start and I sort of felt like I could use the rest so we didn’t go 😦 Kind of a Bummer! It’s the first workout I’ve missed since starting this blog. Anyways, we had some running around to do before family came over for the afternoon and dinner. And guess where we ate lunch….yep, you guessed it…McDonald’s….AGAIN! Two days in a row…YUCK! This time I only had a McBistro BLT, it was good, but I would have preferred to eat something a little healthier!

I think since I had only the sandwich for lunch, I totally threw off my eating for the day. I was soooo hungry all afternoon that I pretty much ate anything I could get my hands on! I had two giant bowls of Tostitos, a Coke, 2 homemade Granola Bars, a Corona….all before dinner!

Dinner was an open-faced (on garlic french bread) Pulled-Pork sandwich, with sweet potato fries and onion rings. Not so healthy, but really, really, good! After dinner I was stuffed!

But if you know me at all, you know that dessert is my favourite meal! Good thing my sister brought over Eat Clean Chocolate Banana Frozen Pie – again, check out her blog, she posted the recipe 🙂 At least I finished off the day with something on the healthy side!

So, ya, not the best weekend in terms of healthy eating. Time to get back on track! Here is my motivation!

I’ve been working pretty hard at the gym to get in shape and lose the baby weight. Now it’s time to work hard in the kitchen!

How do you get back on track after a day, or weekend, of poor eating?

Pancakes, Pancakes, Leftovers

After another rough night with my little guy, I needed a little extra something for breakfast this morning before hitting the gym to do my 4 mile run. So I made a super yummy, super easy, oatmeal pancake. I got this recipe from my friend Kathy 4 or 5 years ago, and still to this day, it’s one of my favorite breakfasts – it’s quick, tastes great and gives me the energy I need to complete my morning workout.

Here’s how to make it:
In a small bowl mix together:

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancake

• 1/2 cup quick cook oats
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 2 tbsp flax seed
• little bit of honey
• couple shakes of  cinnamon
• and just to jazz it up a little I like to toss in 1 tbsp chocolate chips, or some blueberries, bananas  or apple chunks  – why not experiment with your favorite fruit?

Then, cook just like a pancake! Yep, its that easy! And, that good!

After hitting the gym  and completing my not so fun 4 mile run, it was time for lunch. It seems like lately the only thing my daughter wants to eat is pancakes. So, you guessed it, for lunch, I made pancakes! Not the usual Aunt Jamima add water variety that we have been having lately. Nope. Today in sticking with my Eat Clean goal, I made Eat Clean Cottage Cheese Pancakes – I know, sounds kinda gross, doesn’t it! Well, they’re actually really good! And, the recipe makes enough to have leftovers, just pop them in the toaster and bingo, you have breakfast tomorrow, or a snack for later in the day. Why not give them a try?

Here’s the recipe:                                                                                            In a medium sized bowl, combine the following dry ingredients:

Eat Clean Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp maple sugar flakes (I used maple syrup instead so added it to the wet ingredients)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Make a well in the  center.                            Then combine the following wet ingredients in a small bowl:

• 8 egg whites
• 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek yogurt for extra protein)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Use 1/4 cup for each pancake. Top with maple syrup and/or fresh fruit and enjoy!

Dinner tonight is going to be leftover Spaghetti Squash. Yep, I cooked a yummy Eat Clean dinner last night. I followed a Precision Nutrition recipe that can be found here. I did make a few changes – I used ground chicken instead of sirloin and shredded the spaghetti squash and used like a pasta and set my meat sauce on top of it instead of scooping it out with a spoon and adding it to the sauce. It was super easy and really, really yummy! Even my 2 year old daughter Ryan ate it!

Spaghetti Squash with a Ground Chicken Meat Sauce

Well, that’s all for today. Tomorrow is a rest day and I am super pumped! I definitely need the rest!