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By Liz, December 10, 2009 10:23 pm

Well hello there! It’s about time I wrote a post, isn’t it now?!

So what the heck has been going on since last Friday? I think a list is in order for this recap:

• Friday night I went to a fun Christmas party aaaand I got to dress up in a cute little black dress. Always fun to dress up and get all girly every once in a while!
• Saturday night involved some friends getting together to celebrate Jacob’s 22nd year of life. Some drunken Jenga was played, and I may have deejayed my awesome trance music
• Sunday was Jacob’s official birthday and we just lazed around doing nothing. Good stuff!
• And this week has involved school, work and more school. What a surprise!

Today was actually my last day off classes, with finals being the only thing I need to worry about now…till next semester that is. But I’m trying to stay in the present and enjoy the fact I’m done for now. It’s a very good feeling!

Eats have been especially yummy over here. Here are some highlights of the week:

I don’t know why I don’t eat baked sweet potatoes more often. I always make fries with ‘em. But this was sooo good! Just a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon. Pretty heavenly!

That’s Jacob’s birthday brunch. Whole wheat waffles from scratch, eggs with spinach, pure maple syrup and orange slices. Always, always good!

There’s Jacob’s birthday dinner. I made his favorites…pigs in a blanket and spaghetti and meatballs. I added my healthy twists though. I made whole wheat biscuits and used whole wheat pasta. The meatballs weren’t exactly health food though. But they were delish! I had actually never made meatballs before. It was surprisinglyreally easy! I mixed together the ground beef, panko breadcrumbs, spices and parm. Then I shaped the meat into golf ball sized balls, browned them in a skillet with olive oil and finished the cooking process by simmering the meatballs in my homemade marinara sauce. Soooo good! Jacob was a very very happy guy. I mean, who doesn’t love having someone cook a special dinner for them on their b-day?

I think I ate this yesterday. I haven’t been eating as many salads lately and I felt I was due for some leafy greens and cruciferous veggies. And that totally is a huge dollop of homemade hummus in the middle there. This hit the spot!

All messed up with Alison’s easy peasy salad dressing…1/2 and avocado mashed with salsa.

I’ve had oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast this week. However this was my favorite, and I just happened to eat this one this very Thursday morning. This oat bowl included 1/2 cup oats cooked with 50/50 water and milk, an egg and a chopped apple. I mixed in ground flax and cinnamon after cooking and topped it all with chopped dates, pumpkin butter and peanut butter.

And…the finale of my super great week of eats…..duh duh duh dunnnnnn….

This is the sinfully delicious cup of fro-yo I indulged in tonight. Oh sooo necessary! There is frozen yogurt under there, chocolate and peanut butter to be exact.

Just to make it clear, cause it seems you can never be too clear in the blogosphere…these pictures do not reflect everything I ate this week, just some of the more interesting meals and treats.

I’ve fit in some working out this week too, but nothing too spectacular. Just some running, weight lifting, swimming and ellipticalling in no certain order. I love breaking a good sweat. I just puts a smile on my face to think about it!

Now, I’ve gotta toot my own horn here for a sec….I think I’m gonna end up with a 4.0 this semester. I’m pretty stoked! I have an A in all my classes as of today, so if finals go well, which they should, I will end up with a 4.0. I got a 4.0 last semester too, so to get another one this semester is pretty cool. Okay, *end of bragging*

Well, it’s time for me to hit the sack. I have a big day tomorrow. Working out, working, then cleaning a house. I love making money Almost as much as working out….now I just need to find a way how I can make money through working out. Dare to dream!

Nighty night!

Comments (8)

By Liz, December 4, 2009 12:33 pm

Hey y’all! How’s life?? In Liz world, I am sooo happy it’s Friday. School has really been ka-razy lately! Let’s see, Monday night was full of essay writing, Tuesday was more essay writing and school, Wednesday was spent writing a speech all darn day and Thursday was school all day and into the night aaannnd working on a group project after school. I got home at 9, ate and passed out. But now, I just have a weekend full of work and homework. Wait, did I say I was happy it was Friday?? Scratch that! I’m just happy I’m one week closer to the end of the semester.

Anyways, even with the hectic schedule this week, I still found time to exercise and make yummy food. You know…the things that keep me sane!

First off, I received a bunch of comments for the recipe of the super amazing, fluffy biscuits I made on Monday….well look no further:

Diner-Style Whole Wheat Biscuits

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• dash of salt
• 5 tbsp butter, cut into piece and very cold
• 1 cup fat free milk

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Stir in the milk until dough is moist. Flour a dry surface, place dough on surface and knead with floured hands a few times (for a minute or two). Add more flour to dough while kneading if necessary. You don’t want the dough to be sticky, but smooth and supple. Once done kneading, roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Roll dough to about 3/4″ thick, so you want it pretty thick so they get all fluffy and big. Use a biscuit cutter, or anything circular to cut the shapes and place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Makes about 8-10 biscuits. (Recipe from Liz @ Thereforeieat.com, adapted from Joy of Cooking)

I hope you guys like the recipe! Biscuits are one of mine and Jacob’s favorite breakfast foods. His birthday is on Sunday, so I’m pretty sure I will be making these for him again very soon.

Okay, next on my agenda is another recipe! I was adventurous on Tuesday night and tried out a new kind of food…homemade Thai curry! I get stuck in a rut making the same dishes over and over…mexican this, italian that, chili, stews, salads. I don’t venture far from these types of dishes, so it was very exciting to make an ethnic dish I had never tried. I actually came up with this idea on my own and with a little advice from the lady at the Asian Market near my work.

Turkey and Veggie Green Curry

• 2 tbsp. green curry paste
• small pat of butter
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 regular sized bad of frozen stir fry veggies
• leftover turkey or any cooked meat, tofu, etc.

Melt butter over medium heat in a large pan. Stir in the paste with the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 the can of coconut milk to the pan and completely incorporate it in with the curry. Add in the whole bag of veggies and the rest of the coconut milk. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add in the meat, simmer some more until veggies are completely cooked. Serve with brown rice, whole wheat couscous or noodles. (Recipe by Liz @ Thereforeieat.com)

This meal was delish! It was also another great way to use up leftover turkey.  Just a word of warning…this dish is pretty darn spicy, so if you’re not very tolerant of spice, I’d cut the curry down to 1 tbsp. Also, coconut milk is very rich (ie. lots of fat) so go light on the portion size. Jacob was only able to eat about 1/2 of what is shown above. This dish was suuuuper easy, yummy and fun!

Next up, I feel I have finally worn my Vibram Five Finger around enough, and done a good amount of running in them, that I can do a full fledged review….

Vibram Five Fingers Review

A few weeks ago, I decided to purchase the Vibram Five Finger shoes. A couple girls on my Cross Country team have them and I had read about them on Marks Daily Apple and other sites a while back. I was very curious the first time I heard about these shoes, or “unshoes.” The idea of running barefoot, or as close to barefoot at possible, is very intriguing. The idea behind these shoes is that running in modern running shoes is actually hurting our natural biomechanics. Modern running running shoes have built up heels that force us to heel strike, which is unnatural and the posting in the arches disables our feet’s natural strengthening systems, which weakens our feet and more. This all seems to make sense. However, I work at a running shoe store, and sell people shoes with posting and built up heels and whatnot. This puts me in a quandary. I think running shoes do have their place…heavier runners, beginning runners, people recovering from injuries, or people with severe biomechanical problems may not be suited for these shoes…but they might receive some benefit from them, even if it’s just walking around in them. I don’t see myself tossing out my running shoes in the near future either, but we’ll see how I adjust to the Vibrams in the long term. Who knows, I may eventually never wear anything but Vibrams. We shall see.

I bought my Vibrams for two reasons: 1) I really don’t like wearing shoes and 2) I wanted to see if running barefoot really is all it’s cracked up to be. And, after wearing these shoes for about 3 weeks now, I have to say that it’s great to wear these all the time. They’re even better than flip-flops! And yes, I think barefoot running is the real deal.

Here is my experiences with the Vibrams. The first few days, I just simply wore them around to school, doing errands, to work…just everyday kinda stuff. Then, I wore them to warm up and cooldown at practice. Running in the Vibrams is really amazing. I feel so free, so natural and just darn amazing running in these. It really is a whole new experience. They didn’t take much getting used to, for me at least. I naturally land mid-foot, so I didn’t have to adjust from heel striking to mid-foot striking. And, dare I say, that running seems funner in these?!

Okay, so I totally love these, but there were some downsides.

• My feet are a little sore after running on a hard surface or spending all day in them. However, I think this may subside after getting used to them more
• I have gotten blisters. I got two blood blisters on both my big toes. They hurt real bad the day they formed, but the pain subsided after that. Also, I only got the blisters on the days I ran 4 or 5 miles in them…so maybe that was a factor. However, as a runner, I’m kinda used to the occasional blister so this didn’t bug me too bad
• 

• The shoes rubbed my foot raw in one spot. I actually didn’t know this happened until after I took the shoes off. This kinda sucks, because I think I will have to put a bandage on this spot from now on.
• The last down side to these is the price. They are 90 bucks with tax, which is pretty darn expensive to pay on top of regular running shoes. I didn’t mind spending the money, but some people might.

I have come to the conclusion, that you do not have to break these shoes in…you have to break your feet into the shoes. Pretty much, you have to get some blisters and stuff to get calluses and toughen up your feet to break your feet into the shoes. So, if you’re big on keeping your feet pretty, these may not be the shoes for you. Even with the cons of the Vibrams, I still love my unshoes. They are pretty darn comfy. You really feel like you are barefoot. They are machine washable, so they are easy to clean. And, the biggest reason for loving them, is the fact I feel so good running in them. They do take some getting used to, and you really shouldn’t go out and bust out 6 miles in em without adjusting to them….but all in all…these rock!

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So I hope ya’ll found my review interesting! Like I said, I really like my Vibrams, I highly recommend them.

I will leave y’all with a picture of my yummy Chunky Strawberry that I had had this morning. I switched it up and served it in a mug instead of a glass. Gotta keep things interesting!

Have a Happy Friday! See ya’ll later!

Comments (5)

By Liz, November 11, 2009 9:37 pm

Okay, so I’m a bit ticked right now…my 3 month old 250 buck camera has something wrong with it. Okay, I’m not ticked…I’m pissed!

Anyways….now that I got that off my chest….

I bet you are all biting at the bit (or not ) to know what the “special” purchase I made on Sunday was. Well the wait is over…

Vibram Five-fingers baby! For anyone not aware of these amazing shoes, read about them here. In short, Vibrams are the ultimate “unshoe”. Wearing these is essentially like walking around barefoot. I personally LOVE being barefoot, and I think most people prefer to not wear shoes. I will be using these for walking around, working out, daily activities and running. So what do they feel like you ask? Well, you feel everything under your feet. Every rock, every change in surface. You feel very attune with your surface and surroundings. I warmed up and cooled down with my Vibrams on Monday and I warmed up with them on Tuesday, as well as walking around all day at school with them. They take some getting used to, and there is definitely a break-in period. I am not ready to wear these 100% of the time yet, but I am working up to that. What I can definitely say thus far is that these shoes (or unshoes) are amazing! I have fallen in love with them, and cannot wait to be able to spend more and more time wearing and running in them. Vibrams rock!

So lets see…what the heck have I been up to these past few days?

The most notable parts of Monday include:

Running an awesome workout: 5 miles including 1mile warm-up, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 4 min, 3 min all ran hard then a 1 mile cool-down. Loved running in the Vibrams for the warmups and cooldowns!

Hugh jass taco salads, with blue corn chips and salsa.

Aaaannnd…spending all evening and into the wee hours of the night working on a speech that I procrastinated on until the night before it was due. Ahh, good times.

Tuesday was the usual school, school and more school. I think I rocked my speech, even though I didn’t prepare as much as I should have. Also, in English my teacher used my paper that I turned in last week as an example of A+ work. I was really humbled by her praise for my work. Totally put a smile on my face! My mandatory sweat sesh was an easy 4 miles with the xc team.

Wednesday…nothing too special here. Breakfast was exceptional though.

I had some leftover pancake batter in the fridge from Sunday. I also had about 1/4 cup of pumpkin in the fridge, too. My genius brain decided to put the two together and make pumpkin pancakes! Topped with pumpkin butter, almond butter and walnuts…this was a pancake breakfast made in heaven. Oh ya, there was some maple syrup on there, too.

The whole spread:

Lunch was pretty darn good too.

That’s 2 slices of ezekiel bread stuff with mashed pinto beans, 1/4 of an avocado, red pepper slices, spinach, carrot, radish and tuscan dressing. This sandwich pretty much rocked. It was accompanied with blue corn chips and strawberries. Yum!

Workout today was 40 minutes on the elliptical, 15 minutes of swimming and about 5 minutes of ab work. By the way, have you guys checked out Angela’s Whittle Your Middle challenge? I’m totally on board!

Dinner tonight was pretty quick, thrown together and unspecial. Also, my camera has been taking totally crappy pictures as of tonight (there is a line running through the middle of all my pictures)…so I will not be including those pics.

I’m watching Glee right now…totally addicted to that show!

Nighty night guys.

Comments (3)

By Liz, September 18, 2009 1:25 pm

Hey! Sorry for my short hiatus there. Yesterday was extra long. School was pretty run-of-the-mill, but after my last class, I held a little group project sesh at my house. I made quesadillas and chocolate chip cookies for my project group. No pictures though…sorry So, my day didn’t really end till about 10pm when the peeps left. I was beat. I tell ya…having to use my brain and body from 7am to 10pm is no easy feat!

I do want to highlight the workout I did yesterday though. It was pretty spectacualar. I had to do a speed workout.

• Intervals: 1000, 800, 1200, 800, 1000 (2.5 miles total)
• 2 mile warm-up; 1 mile cool-down
• Interval stats (in order): 4:24, 3:34, 5:30, 3:36, 4:15

I was just a tad quicker then the paces that my coach gave me. I was so proud! I was running really strong. I pushed my pain threshold, especially on that last 1000. I was so worried about hitting my goal of 4:30 that I totally blasted through and ran my last 1000 in 4:15. Rock on! My coach said my running form was really great and that I looked strong and fluid. Truthfully, I went into the workout feeling really tired and sluggish due to a tough weights session in the morning. But, when I started my first interval, something came over me…I’m not sure what it was. Maybe I was just really focused?

Anywho….by the end of the day yesterday I was so ready to crash…2 workouts, project stuff, a whole day of school…man I’m glad it’s Friday!

Today I woke up with a grumbly tummy. I hopped right outta bed and made some oats ‘n a jar.

Lookin pretty:All messed up:I made my oats with milk, chia seeds and banana. I mixed in cinnamon and ground flax after cooking and I topped the oats with dried cranberries, walnuts and sunflower seeds. But, as usual, the best part was the ooey gooey peanut butter on the bottom of the jar. Yum.

Oh, and I need to confess that I did have 2 cookies this morning pre-breakfast. Hey, they were just sitting out from last night calling to me!

This morning when I was contemplating lunch choices, I realized that I had a ton of leftovers that needed to be used up. So, I got creative…I give you a breakfast burrito. I used up some of the leftover eggs from my breakfast for dinner, some shredded cheese, avocado, black beans and chopped tomato. I wrapped in all in a whole-wheat tortilla. It’s kinda weird but the eggs are green due to the spinach that was in them. Looked funny, tasted delish! I also had a juicy pear for dessert.

I’m just about off work now, then I’m gonna run. It’s really hot here today, so I am contemplating doing a treadmill run while watching Judge Judy and Ellen…or I might just gut through and run in the heat. Decisions, decisions.

Adios!

Comments (0)

By Liz, August 27, 2009 4:49 pm

Hey all!! I’m just about to hop into English class, but just wanted to say HELLO! I’ll have a full post tonight with nummy food pics! Can’t wait!