Introducing...Daily Manna! 8/12/13

Welcome to this new section of my blog! I've decided to log my daily meals and workouts in the blog as a sort of journal for myself. I believe this will be a fun way for me to track my progress with some pictures and journaling! I'm calling it "Daily Manna" because of the significance this concept in the Bible has had on me. Exodus 16:4 states: 'Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions." '

I love this verse because it shows that God gives us His provision daily, but that it is our job to go out and collect it for ourselves! I apply this to healthy living and working out because God has blessed us with healthy bodies and has given us so many opportunities to live healthy lives. The food he has put on this earth, as well as the ability He has given us to move and do amazing things with our bodies are both blessings . It is our job to go out, do the work, and gather our daily manna in order to receive all that God has promised to us. With that being said, here is my first Daily Manna post!

This morning, I woke up feeling exhausted. I usually love working out  in the mornings, but because of my sleepless weekend (which was very worth it...one of my best friends got married...yay!), I decided to skip my morning workout and push it to the afternoon. I ended up having my first meal at work, which was an egg with 3 egg whites, a peach, and some tea!

Work was busy and stressful today. I call it "work" but it is actually my dietetic internship that I am completing! I am three weeks away from being done with my clinical rotation in the hospital and being able to study, take, and hopefully pass the board exam to become a registered dietitian! I am so excited! It's been quite a journey and I can't believe it is coming to an end.

For lunch I had a salad with a black bean burger patty. I usually ask for grilled chicken breast for my salads, but they didn't have any ready, and since I only get a 30 minute lunch, I opted for the black bean burger patty. I don't know why but it felt SO heavy for me, I barely finished half of it. I topped my salad with some shredded cheese and pico de gallo for a yummy Mexican variation!

Since I am NOT an afternoon worker-outer, I knew I would need a snack around 3pm before hitting the gym. I packed a chocolate chip quest bar with me to eat before I got to the gym for some added energy!

This definitely did the trick! I had tons of energy while doing my 40 minute elliptical workout with some added incline and resistance. I really wanted to run, but since I have a blister the size of a golf ball on my foot (thanks to my cute, but PAINFUL bridesmaids shoes from the wedding), I decided to go easy on my feet and do the elliptical. I also did some strength training and focused on my chest and triceps. I got a new cute and fun workout journal to track my workouts in to have a more detailed record of my strength training:

As I've mentioned before in a previous post ("The Strength Training Woes of a Cardio Queen"), I have a hard time being motivated to do toning workouts. I'm hoping keeping track of my strength training will motivate me to actually DO strength training...we shall see!

For dinner, I cooked some Turkey Marinara, which is so easy to prepare and tastes great! I posted the recipe in my "Recipes" section if anyone is interested!

After dinner, I decided to experiment with a baking recipe I have been brainstorming for a while. I love baking, but I also love trying healthy alternatives to some of my favorite baked goods so I can enjoy them guilt-free. I finally was able to try a Cocoa Brownie Muffin recipe that I created, and they turned out amazing!! I will be sharing the recipe soon on the blog, but here is a picture as a teaser for you all :)

These turned out so yummy and are high in protein, gluten free, and are a great pre-workout snack before hitting the gym! Which is precisely how I plan to use them tomorrow morning!

That concludes my first Daily Manna post! I am so glad I made healthy food choices and was able to work out today, even though there were many things (exhaustion, aching feet) to stand in my way. Thank God for His strength and grace daily! :)