Comments (4)

By Liz, February 1, 2010 10:10 pm

Hello Hello!

So, I’m just gonna jump right in and announce my 100th post giveaway winner:

Congrats Marissa! It sounded like you needed them, too! Just e-mail me your info and shoe size and I will send a new pair of Drymax socks your way.

So, yesterday was my birthday. Yay for 22! I went to my parents house for a very lovely dinner.

I’m assuming some of you have seen Julie & Julia. Well, my dad made one of the star dishes of the movie. I had none other than beef bourguignon for my birthday dinner.

The whole meal:

This was one of the most soul warming dinners I have had. I’d liken beef bourguignon to a fancy beef stew….extremely amazing fancy beef stew. I also loved the sides. At first glance, it looked  just a small potato. Yet when ripped open with a fork, the potato turned into the perfect vessel for one of those perfect bites. And of course, you can’t go wrong with green beans. They’re like french fries I swear!

Of course, there was some wine involved. Who would I be if I didn’t accompany a good class of wine with a meal like this?

I picked up this bottle about a month ago and wanted to save it for a special occasion. And I couldn’t have picked a better occasion. I have to say, I think this is my favorite red wine at the moment. It is one of the most drinkable red wines I have found, like sipping real grape juice but with a kick. Soooo good.

And next, there was the yearly chocolate cake. Every year since I can remember, I have had my Dad’s chocolate cake for my birthday.

Pillows of chocolate heaven covered in fudge. Yeeees please!

Truly, this has been one of the best birthday’s I ever had. I was surrounded by my family and friends and felt so blessed.

On one final note, I wanted to recap my track workout today. It was 200m repeats but with a twist. Maybe I’ll call it Continuous 200s.

Warmup: 2 miles, 400m pick up and 2×200 strides

Workout: 10×200m with a 200m running rest at easy run pace between each repeat. Run each 200 repeat (not the easy 200) progressively faster as you progress through the workout. The first should be the slowest, the last should be fastest. Total, you will run 10 laps around the track equaling 2.5 miles. What I did: Started at 48 sec and worked down 41 sec.

Cooldown: 2 miles        Total miles for workout: 7

What I really liked about this workout was the fact you had to run it continuously. Firstly, you had to endure fast repeats without stopping. It was shocking how quickly the easy pace 200m rests became almost difficult. Mentally, I felt like the workout taught me how to deal with surges during a race, yet keep enough endurance to finish strong. I felt super accomplished after this workout. It gave me the itch to get on the track and race!

Well, the bedroom is calling my name. I sure can use the sleep.

G’night!

Comments (10)

By Liz, January 30, 2010 11:05 am

Hey guys!! Today is a big day in Therefore I Eat world!! It is my 100th post!!! I think that’s a pretty big milestone, don’t ya think? I started all of this in August, after reading other blogs for a while, and just decided to take a chance and try blogging. I still don’t think I’ve truly found my voice or real path I want the blog to go, but I’m just taking it wherever it goes. And one thing I know for sure is that I have really enjoyed blogging and interacting with all the other awesome bloggers and the healthy food/running blog community!

Okay, enough with the sap.

I decided to do a humble yet fun giveaway to celebrate my 10oth post. It’s nothing big, just a small gift that one of my lucky readers will have a chance of winning (and since there aren’t to many of you, the odds are good )

So what am I giving away??1 pair of Drymax socks!

These socks are my fave for running and doing just about everything else. They wick moisture (goodbye blisters!), are fitted through the arch to prevent slippage, have a wider variety of sizes for a more specific fit and are just freakin cool! I know many of you guys are into running or exercise of some sort, and even if you aren’t, they are a great, comfortable sock for everyday use.

So, here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment ab0ut anything really. (If you are a regular reader, I would appreciate a comment about what you would like to see more of on the blog.)

2) For a second chance to win, link back to my blog on yours (if you have one) and leave a second comment telling me you did. (Hey, gotta spread the TIE love, man!)

And one final legalish note: I have not been compensated or given the socks by the Drymax company. I have paid for the socks with my own money for this giveaway.

I will pick the winner on Monday….so ready….set….comment!! ……after you finish reading the rest of my post of course

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Okay, now with that business out of the way, I wanted to share a foodie discovery that blew my mind!!

The other night, the roomies and I made breakfast for dinner. My contribution to dinner was whole wheat waffles topped with yogurt sauce and blueberries. I ripped into it and almost forgot to take a picture, but I thought the half eaten pic was a good testament to how freaking delish this was!

So, the big thing about this waffle is the fact that it tasted just like cake. This tasted sorta like a white cake with vanilla frosting and blueberries. A cake-waffle!!! Soooo good.

Here’s how to recreate this amazing masterpiece:

1) Make your fave waffle recipe or use a good quality frozen waffle

2) Mix vanilla yogurt with a tablespoon of honey and a couple drops of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

3) Top the waffle with the yogurt and a generous handful of blueberries. Enjoy!

Seriously you guys, A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

So tonight is a pretty big night for me. After I get off work today, I’m celebrating my 22nd birthday!!!! My actual b-day is tomorrow, but I’m gonna rage it up tonight with a bunch of friends. I’m soooooo excited! And then tomorrow my rents are cooking me a special dinner. I love birthdays! I have good feelings for my 22nd year of life. Yay!

Have a good Saturday everyone! I’ll definitely recap the night tonight and my special birthday dinner (most likely on Monday).

Now…enter my giveaway! Adios!

Comments (6)

By Liz, September 30, 2009 9:24 pm

Hey guys! I’ve been MIA for a bit there. Life’s been a bit crazy. However, today was quite nice!

The day started with a light breakfast. I wasn’t super hungry so I just had an apple with peanut butter and 2 eggs, scrambled.

This surprisingly kept me satisfied for 4 hours. Maybe it was the combo of fats and protein?

At work I was actually really busy. I didn’t really have any customers, but I got a huge shipment of Asics shoes in. It was about 10 big boxes. So, I had to inventory them and put them away. That took my whole shift to complete. Because of that, I wasn’t able to do my normal lunch post. So…if you were wondering, that’s why. I did take a bit of time to eat lunch.

I had a salad with greens, broccoli, cuke, carrot and sunflower seeds. I dressed it with some TJs caesar dressing. I’ve been getting a bit tired of beans in my salads, so I decided to get my protein from some yogurt. Thus, dessert was 1/2c. lowfat plain yogurt and strawberries. It was a lighter lunch than usual, but I actually really liked that. I felt lighter and more energized eating a little bit less for lunch. I may need to make a habit out of having lighter lunches.

Now the highlight of my day was going to Bikram Yoga!!!! After I got off work, Jacob and I headed to a Bikram class. I’ve never done bikram before and was really excited. I’ve been meaning to try it out for a while now, but haven’t found the right situation to go. Well, the circumstances finally were right today. I needed to cross train, my afternoon was free and I’ve been feeling kind of ”eh” lately, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to detox. Truthfully, my eating habits in the past week or so havn’t been up to my usual standard. I’ve been eating a lot of sweets and a lot of grains. I don’t have anything against grains, but I can tell that my  body doesn’t feel the best when I base a lot of my diet on grains.

Anyways, the class was intense! For anyone who doesn’t know, Bikram yoga is a series of 26 poses, repeated twice, all done in a room heated to 105 degrees. The heat is supposed to help detoxify the body and help you get deeper into poses. This workout is challenging but amazing. It was an extremely spiritual experience for me. I really had to get inside my body, push myself and really reflect of my strengths and weaknesses. It was empowering! I was really surprised at how well I did for a beginner. However, by the end, I was pretty over it. I was so hot and so sweaty I just wanted to get out of there! Nonetheless, I will definitely go back. I bought a first timers package, where I get 10 consecutive days for 20 bucks. So, in the next 10 days I’ll probably go back a few times. If any of you guys get the opportunity to take a bikram class, I highly recommend it. I have been walking on a cloud all evening and just feel amazing. I’m interested to see how I feel tomorrow and how my running feels. I hope bikram can become part of my regular fitness routine.

On the way home from yoga, I snacked on some raw almonds and a banana and drank a venti iced green tea (unsweetened).

We got home, showered and I whipped up a quick dinner.

I made an “un-burrito”. It’s pretty much a burrito but without the tortilla. My plate includes: quinoa, black beans, spring mix greens, sauteed onion and pepper, avocado, tomato and cheddar cheese. After snapping my pic I mixed it all together and topped it with a little hot sauce. Yum! This is a really satisfying meal, for one because it’s mexican-ish food, which is always awesome and secondly because it was fresh and healthy.

I finished off my meal with some hot cocoa.

I made my cocoa with 1 cup of fat free milk, 2 tbsp of plain cocoa powder and 1 tsp. of brown sugar. This was a good alternative to ice cream. I always crave something sweet after dinner, and I’m trying to find ways to satisfy that craving without loading up on sugar. This did a good job.

I’m really proud of my eats for today. I made a point out of trying to eat lots of whole foods, pack my day with nutrients and consume less sugar and grains. I think I did a good job. Let’s see if I can keep the ball rollin’!

I’m off to write an essay now. Nighty night friends!

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By the way, Christina has an amazing giveaway going on right now. Check it out!

Comments (2)

By Liz, September 18, 2009 10:43 pm

Tonight ended up being a lot more fun then intended! Here’s the rundown…

When I got home from work I really, really did not want to run. It was hot, windy and I just didn’t feel like running on the streets with cars, smog and tons of people. So, I was trying co-erse Jacob to run with me…but he didn’t want to run either…so, I started brainstorming. What would make me want to run? How could I enjoy my run? Well, I started thinking about Montana de Oro, and how it’s one of my favorite places ever, and how the weather is cooler. Jackpot! Now, I didn’t want to drive all the way down there just to run. Then I had the genius idea to have a little picnic with Jacob after my run! Jacob was all for it. Yay!

We packed up a picnic, got our running clothes together, and we were on our way. I snacked on a few oat squares on my way out.

When we got down there the fog was in, and the air was crisp and cool. Perfect running weather! Jacob decided to run too, but he wanted to run a shorter distance. So, I ran 5 miles and Jacob ran 4. I ran my 5 miles in 50 minutes. I was definitely running slow, but during my run I was trying to focus on enjoying my surroundings and my run, and not worry so much about how fast I was going. It ended up being a really pleasant run. My legs were stiff, sore and kinda dead feeling, but my mind was really happy. I enjoyed myself and had fun, something I don’t always focus on deliberately while running.

After our runs it was picnic time!

It was a humble. yet fun picnic. I made some hummus before we left. The hummus was made with garbanzo beans, olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, lime juice and woodstock dressing. I pureed it all up in the food processor and voila, I had some delish hummus. The woodstock dressing was a great addition. Woodstock dressing has tahini in it, so I thought that since tahini is an ingredient in pre-made hummus, it would probably taste good in some homemade hummus. It totally worked. To accompany the hummus, we chopped some carrots, celery and cauliflower. We also had a whole wheat pita chopped into triangles. In that little pink container next to the beer on the right, are some chocolate chips for a sweet treat. What about the beer, you ask? Well, it’s none other than my favorite beer ever (as of the past few months)!

It’s called Great White by Lost Coast brewery. Lost Coast is a microbrewery from Eureka, CA (which is northern CA, near Oregon). It’s a light, refreshing beer with an earthy flavor. I’m no beer connesuir, but I just think this one is awesome. A must try!

Our little picnic was a success! It was a really nice way to spend some quality time with Jacob.

On our way home, we stopped at the store to pick up a few things. I impulsively bought some dates! I broke into those the second we got home…

I had three dates smothered in peanut butter. I’ve seen this on a bunch of people’s blogs…although you guys usually use almond butter. It was a super yummy snack! I will need to purchase some almond butter some time soon though to truly try this culinary creation.

I went into a bit of a baking frenzy tonight. First, I baked banana nut bread. I will have a picture and recipe for you guys tomorrow morning. I’m planning on having a slice or two for breakfast. After baking the bread, I made brownies. Of course, I had to test the batter

Oh yeah, I totally licked that saucepan clean! Once the brownies were baked, I served myself a little dessert creation.

In that bowl of sweetness are 1.5 brownies topped with 1 scoop of fat-free vanilla fro-yo and 1 scoop of moose tracks ice cream. I swear, this sweet tooth of mine will be the death of me someday!

Now, because I love you guys so much, I’m going to give you guys the recipe to those amazing brownies I baked!

Super Chocolately Brownies

• 5 tbsp. butter
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2c. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. whole-wheat flour
• about 1/2c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate chips in medium saucepan on a low heat. Be careful not to scortch the chocolate. After the butter and chocolate are melted, take pan off the heat. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Then, mix in the eggs. Then, mix in flour and rest of chocolate chips. Pour into a greased square baking pan (you could also line the pan with foil. Bake for 28-30 minutes using the toothpick test to check for doneness.

Now, these are by no means “healthy”, but I have tweaked this recipe to lower the amount of butter and sugar in the recipe. I also use whole-wheat flour, which adds more fiber than white flour. So, they are a sweet treat that you can feel a bit better about.

It’s just about bedtime…goodnight!

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Check out the giveaway for some delish granola bars on Allison’s blog here! I hope I win