One Day Vacation and True Shabu!

Yesterday I had a random, wonderful vacation day...and I definitely made the most of it! It was an odd Tuesday to have off, but I used it to my advantage and got so much done and saw so many people! All in all, it was a great day! My day started off with, of course, a workout! I had a preworkout meal of my high protein, gluten free pumpkin bread before heading to the gym for my run.

I had a really great 4 mile run!! I've been keeping my miles under 10 mins each, and then cooling down for a few minutes after. It feels great to be running again!

After my run, I had my post workout meal, then ran some errands!

I had a scramble, gluten free Milton's crackers (these are so yum!) and a plumicot which is apparently a plum-apricot hybrid, and soooo good! It was blood red and juicy inside!

Alllllll morning, I ran some errands, then headed home for a quick lunch. I had some leftover chicken so I decided to make some cauliflower rice with that. I usually just sauté the "riced" cauliflower with some onions and olive oil, but I decided to add some garlic and parsley to the mix and it turned out so good!

The rest of my day was spent in one of my favorite places...Orange County! I drove out there to visit my cousins and fiancé. I had such a great time! I bought a new purse (on sale wooo!) and had some wonderful quality time with my cousins!

As you can see, I also had some of my favorite nuts. I love making my own nut mix and mixed macadamia nuts, almonds, and cashews! Yum!

Probably the highlight of the night was going to True Shabu for dinner. My fiancé met my cousin and I there, and I was so excited for him to try this restaurant for the first time! True Shabu is an incredibly delicious and healthy place to eat! My cousin opened up this place with his friends a few months ago, and it's the perfect place to go if you want good quality foods and ingredients! You also get to cook your own food, which is pretty much a winner in my book!

They have grass fed meats and organic vegetables. The meat has such amazing flavor and doesn't need anything extra to make it taste better! I got the grass fed rib eye, with a huge plate of veggies and some miracle, carb free noodles (I love that they offer these!) The chef also makes two amazing sauces that are made from scratch with no MSG or gluten!

If anyone is in the LA/OC area, I highly recommend trying out True Shabu!! The food, service, and entire ambiance is incredible and you have such a great experience cooking up your delicious and healthy food!!

True Shabu was a great way to end my one day vacation! Now back to work today! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Healthy Hostess Night!

I have made some two wonderful friends from my job I started just six short months ago. I honestly feel like I have been friends with these two girls for a lifetime! We just seem to "get" each other, not only when it comes to work but when it comes to everyday life. We have been alternating hanging out at each other's homes the past few weeks, and finally it was my turn to hostess last week! I love hostessing and would much rather cook a meal for my friends than go out and spend tons of money. Going out can be fun, but there is just something about sharing a meal at home that makes time with loved ones even better. I decided to make a healthy and delicious meal, and it was definitely a hit!! I thought I would share a few of my tips for healthy hostessing to hopefully inspire some of you to have a nice dinner party with your friends in a healthy and fun way. 1. Appetizers!

First things first, I knew that I wouldn't get home from work in time to cook everything before my friends came over. Appetizers are key in this situation! However I also didn't want the appetizers to be too heavy and filling. We all know how that is, right? We stuff ourselves with bread or chips and then don't even want to look at the food when it comes time to eat. My friends and I are obsessed with hummus, so I decided to go with some hummus, carrots, gluten free crackers, and salsa!

This provided the perfect light snack for us to munch on while I cooked the rest of the food.

2. Make something fun!

I knew what I had planned on the menu: chicken kebab, salad, and sweet potatoes. But I also wanted to make something fun. I decided to spiral the sweet potatoes with the spiralizer my fiancé bought me. This little gadget is SO much fun!! You can spiralize basically anything. It can make any dish stand out and be different!

What's also great about spiralizing is that it doubles the portion of what you make! So basically you feel like you are eating a ton of sweet potatoes when really, you aren't! Portion control without even feeling deprived!

3. Be realistic with what you can do.

So in all honesty, I used store bought, premarinated chicken kebab. I love marinating my own meats, but I also had to be realistic and accept the fact that I would have NO time to make the kebab from scratch. I got the meat from an Armenian market that makes their meat taste homemade and delicious. I trust them and their ingredients, so I went with their marinated chicken kebab! It was so flavorful...we couldn't get enough!

4. Always have a salad! I have been to so many dinner parties just waiting for some kind of salad or vegetable dish to be served. I always get so disappointed when I don't see anything colorful on the table. I've started to bring my own salads to parties, but also make sure to have some kind of salad whenever I am hostessing! I made a spinach salad with cucumbers, tomato, and with lite Italian dressing.

Salad is a great way to add color and beauty to your party, while also ensuring a nutritious option that people can load their plates with!

Here is the finished product!

This plate was very "My Plate" approved if I do say so myself! Half of the plate was veggies, a quarter protein with the chicken, and a quarter starch with the sweet potatoes (yes, they are a starch! But a nutrient-dense one with all that Vitamin A!)

I hope these tips provide some usefulness to anyone who is hoping to have a fun and healthy hostessing night soon! Now I am off to attack this Wednesday...I am working 10.5 hours and am going to need all the motivation I can get! Have a great day everyone and happy hostessing!

A Day at the Zoo!

This week has been soooooo amazing! I had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (today) off from work. These days off came at the perfect time because I have been really feeling like I just need some fun and relaxing time! I think we all need to learn to take breaks time and again, and I have definitely been enjoying my 3 day break! Yesterday, my fiancé and I decided to go to the LA Zoo! He took the day off so we could spend some time together. I love zoos and aquariums...I have no idea why, I just do!! I woke up extremely excited for the day! But first, I had breakfast, then went for a run! :)

I ran outside for the first time in a long time. It felt SO good to run outside in the fresh air! My legs are a bit sore today, but in a good way. I only did a 3-ish mile run, but still felt like I got a really good workout! We live in a slightly hilly area, so some parts of my run were definitely more challenging than others!

After my run I showered, got ready, and then we headed to the zoo! I was so excited, I felt like a little kid!

We walked around for a bit and saw these two lovebirds...

Then headed to lunch! We went to a little grill, where I ordered a Chicken Caesar salad!

I was pleasantly surprised by this salad. The chicken was freshly grilled, not the usual cold and chewy chicken they normally top salads with! It was so yummy and filling. After lunch, we walked around practically the entire zoo!

Giraffs and elephants!

We didn't realize how hilly this zoo was! We got more tired than we thought we would, and we had take a "let's-sit-on-a-bench" break!

I was so amused by this sign below...

The poor diabetic monkeys!!! :( I'm glad they have this sign so people can be a little more careful about what they just throw into the animal cages...which is so sad. But it also made me think about us as humans. We don't have signs hanging around our necks saying "I have sugar problems, don't offer me dessert!" We have to make our own conscious decisions...which is great because God gave us the ability to have discernment and make good and healthful choices! Not to say that it isn't hard...because it is! But at least we know that we have the ability to chose something healthy vs. something not healthy, and nothing is forced upon us! :)

After the zoo, we relaxed a bit and then headed to the mall for a nice dinner. We went to Cheesecake Factory. I love their Skinnylicious menu! I got the Skinnylicious burger, lettuce wrapped, with sweet potato fries...so yum!

It was such a fun day yesterday!!! Today is my last day of vacation before I head back to work tomorrow. I am already thinking about how hard it will be to go back after such a nice and restful week...but I'm not going to think about that and instead, I will focus on making today another fun-filled day!!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Workouts and Eats!

I thought I'd write a quick little post about my week and recap my workouts and yummy eats. It's been such a solid week this week with workouts and meal planning...I'm pretty happy about it! As I mentioned a few posts back, I started working with a personal training in the beginning of May. I meet with him once a week, and workout from a log book twice a week. Having the routine and motivation has helped so much, since I usually hop on a cardio machine for an hour and call it a day. Now, I do toning/circuit workouts 3 times a week, with steady cardio the other 3 days.

I'm a very early riser (5am anyone??) but I still make sure to eat something before I workout. I've found that when I have higher protein/fat foods as my pre workout snack, I have more sustained energy during my workout. This week my pre workout foods have consisted of nuts, hard boiled eggs, or pairing a small banana with a  few nuts.

I usually make my own trail mix because I despiseeeeee dried fruit (yuck!) so this week's nut mix is a combination of cashews, almonds, and macadamia nuts...yum!

My workouts have lasted between 45 minutes to 1 hour. I do 20025 minutes of circuits and then a 30 minute interval run after my workout. On my alternating days, I do the elliptical for about an hour. I found this awesome hill setting on our machines which I am loving!

I've been making sure to have good protein and healthy carbs after my workouts. This morning, I worked on my back and biceps, did a 30 minute run, then came home and reheated the last slice of my frittata with some white sweet potatoes! I posted the frittata recipe a few days ago if anyone is interested!

Last night, we went out to Cheesecake Factory. I got the Skinnylicious (such a funny name) salmon. I had some dental work done yesterday morning which made chewing rather difficult, but the salmon was so soft and flakey, so it was the perfect meal! And look how pretty it is too!

This week has just reminded me how important it is to fuel yourself in order to get the most out of your workouts. If I don't fuel properly, I feel sluggish and exhausted and don't perform as well in the gym. I've found what works for me through trial and error! I recommend figuring out how to get the most bang for your time at the gym and making sure to fuel properly with good nutrition! Nutrition is so key in a healthy lifestyle! Anyways, I am off to work! Happy Friday and YAY for the weekend!!!

Oh Running, how I've missed you!

I am SO glad about the fact that it is Thursday already!! This week has flown by for me and I am so happy about it!! Thought I'd share a quick update on my running progress! As some of my readers already know, I used to be an avid runner (6-8miles/day and a few half marathons under my belt). Last October I hurt my hip and knee somehow and haven't been able to run much longer than 20 minutes (2 miles) at a time. Yesterday, I was able to run 3 miles!!! I was soooo excited! It took me a little longer than usual but it's definitely been a while and I had just worked my legs for about 20 minutes before hand.

I'm so excited to be getting back slowly but surely. I made sure to ice my knee afterwards and am feeling great today!! I've had a random swollen ankle the past couple weeks (no idea why) so that is the only discomfort I feel at the moment. I can't wait to hopefully be able to run more and run OUTSIDE since the weather has been beautiful!!

After my run, I made sure to have a nice and balanced post

Anyways, gotta go hit the gym! Have a lovely day everyone! :)

"Make Good Choices" Monday

Wow! This day flew by for me. I had a training at our main office today which was SO good, it felt like a half day! We blinked and it was 5:30 already...I'm not complaining! Today was a great day as well because my mission of planning and making more balanced meals was a success! I may have slightlyyyyy deviated from my original plan I posted yesterday, but I still made good choices, ensuring my meals were balanced, healthy, and kept me fueled all day long! Here is a rundown of how my day went: I had my personal training session at 6am this morning, so I had one of my gluten free pumpkin protein squares before hitting the gym!

The workout was definitely a killer, but felt so good! We worked on chest and triceps, with a 25 minute interval run to top it off. As my post workout meal, I has some eggies with kale and a small banana. Gotta get that balance of protein and carbs! :)

I made sure to pack a filling day's worth of food for work today so I would not get hungry and tired again during my training. We learn so many new and valuable tools at our all-day trainings, so I wanted to be alert and awake to absorb all the information! I packed a peach for a snack, then had chicken, sweet potatoes, and an apple for lunch. Nuts were my afternoon snack before we got off!

Dinner was one of my favorites, Chipotle! I love their barbacoa and made sure to load up my bowl with lots of fajita vegetables, salsas, lettuce, and a few dollops of guacamole!

I felt like today was definitely a success! My meals were well thought out, contained adequate amounts of proteins, fats, and carbs, and kept me focused and energetic throughout the day. I also made sure to pack my lunch tonight for tomorrow so it is all set! That way I don't have an excuse for a lazy lunch if I am feeling rushed in the morning. Having your lunch packed the night before ensures that you will a) make good choices the next day and b) won't get stuck in a food emergency the next morning if you run out of time to pack a lunch! It's a win-win! :)

And on that note, this girl is definitely ready for bed!! Have an awesome evening everyone!

Confessions of a Dietitian

I have a confession to make. I have been uncharacteristically lazy with my food this past week. Don't get me wrong, I've still been making my nice healthy meals. But I have had NO motivation to pack BALANCED meals. They have been severely lacking in protein (and since I started a new training program, this is vital!), and I have just been in an overall slump with my creativity. There is no excuse, except for the fact that work has been stressing me out physically, mentally, and emotionally lately. It's my fifth month of my first real, full time job, and the exhaustion is finally kicking in. Just a few weeks until my couple days off yay! Anyways, because of my lack of planning and balance, I have been finding myself to be starving within an hour of finishing my meals. And since I have been needing something fast and, well, lazy, I've been eating 2-3 servings of nuts per day! Since they've been replacing my protein foods, the nuts have not effected my weight at all. But, there have been some tummy aches and discomfort, and I'll leave it at that! :) With that said, I definitely want to start this week off right so I thought what better place to make a plan than my lovely little blog here. Writing always helps me clear my thoughts and organize my mind. So here is how I am planning my meals this week!

I decided to organize my meal choices by protein, carbohydrate, and fat in order to make sure I get a serving of each at every meal.

Protein choices - eggs (hard boiled, scrambled, omelets) - protein pancakes and waffles - Greek yogurt - rotisserie chicken - tuna - taco meat - quest bars - leftovers from my Mama :)

Carbohydrate choices: - oats - sweet potatoes...I just got some HUGE white flesh Japanese sweet taters from sprouts, so excited to bake them up! - high fiber wraps (my favorites are la tortilla factory and flat out breads) - brown rice - quinoa - VEGETABLES AND FRUIT! (My favorites!)

Healthy fat choices: - avocado - olive oil - nuts and seeds - nut butters - hummus

These choices give enough variety to have a different choice every day without feeling repetitive or boring. And I love each food on this list! It's so important to not force feed yourself foods that you don't like just because they are "healthy." Find what works for you and do it!

Meal Prep schedule:

Sunday: -rotisserie chicken -bake sweet potatoes -boil eggs

Monday 5/19: Pre-workout: pumpkin protein bread + hard boiled egg Breakfast: veggie scramble w/avocado, fruit Lunch: rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes, veggies Snacks: nuts or quest bar Dinner: toss up!

Tuesday 5/20: Pre-workout: pumpkin protein bread Breakfast: oats + hard boiled egg Lunch: tuna wrap, Greek yogurt, veggies Snacks: nuts or quest bar Dinner: toss up!

Wednesday 5/21: Pre-workout: pumpkin protein bread (I just love my baked goods!) Breakfast: veggie scramble w/sweet potatoes Lunch: Rotisserie chicken, salad, fruit Snacks: nuts or quest bar Dinner: toss up!

*the reason why I don't plan dinner is because I live with my parents (and love it!) so every night we usually all eat together, either cooking at home or going out. Either way, healthy decisions will be made!

I've only planned till Wednesday for now, but will continue to plan based on what I have left over and what I can make into balanced meals. I'm feeling pretttttty good about this plan! I'm hoping this will help tame my hunger and rev up my energy levels throughout the day!

Update on my new training plan:

My new training plan began the first week of May. I've begun working with a personal trainer to give me more guidance and motivation on strength training! It's been going really well! I usually strength train 3x a week with an interval run (yay!) for about 20 minutes after the session, and do about 45 mins-1 hour cardio on my off days. I think this new regimen, along with my complete lack of balanced meals last week, led to my constant feeling of hunger and fatigue! I'm really hoping to have more energy this week and eat for my goals!! I'm excited for my new workout plan and my meal plan for the week! I'll let you all know how it goes, gotta keep myself accountable! :)

Anyways, I am off to get ready for the gym, then church! I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! :)

Life Lately

Happy Saturday everyone! I am so glad it is finally the weekend. I am currently icing my ankle as it has been randomly swollen all week. I had pain and tingling in it at the beginning of the week but worked out through the pain, then Thursday I noticed that it was seriously swollen! So I am icing and elevating and hoping it's nothing serious!

I thought I'd share my latest eats with you all and how life has been lately. In one word, life has been BUSY! I feel like every second of my week and weekends are accounted for. Thank God all my plans are fun with some lovely people, but I am actually looking forward to during the day today! Work has been keeping me busy too...always learning something new and slowly getting more and more comfortable! At least I have been able to keep up with my workouts and healthy eating through it all!

My latest pre-workout meals have been either toast with peanut butter, or some kind of baked good creation. This week, I used Nature's Own Honey Wheat bread to put my peanut butter on.

I also baked some banana oat bread (recipe already posted!) with some added flaxseed (about 2 tablespoons) and an extra banana. This bread came out amazing!

My workouts have been about 40-45 minutes long as I do not have much time in the AM before work! However, I am NOT an evening worker-outer, and will definitely blow off my workout the minute I get home from work. So I love getting my workout done in the morning because it fills me with a sense of accomplishment, as well as energy to sustain me throughout the day! I've been doing 30-40 minute bike workouts with some toning work at the end. Short and sweet!

Post workouts have been tricky. Some mornings, I have time to make a nice meal after my workout. This week, I made oatmeal with half a scoop of protein powder, flaxseed, almond milk, bananas, and nuts! Oh and of course, tons of cinnamon!

I also had some leftover beans in the fridge one morning and sautéed some kale and ate that with half an avocado. Seems more like a lunch, but it tasted great as breakfast too!

And some mornings, I just grab a quest bar and go. I love these bars because they are full of protein and fiber and really act well as a post-workout meal when I am short on time!

Lunches have been delicioussss this week. I packed tuna earlier on in the week, and had some trouble getting excited about it. Usually I love tuna, but I wasn't feeling it this week. I decided that I MUST pack foods I am excited to eat! Especially at work when that 30 minute lunch break is something I really look forward to! So, my mom and I made a Seven Bean soup recipe we got from our William's Sonoma soups cookbook. It's basically sautéing onions, garlic, bell peppers, and whatever veggies you have, adding however many types of beans you want, a can of diced or crushed tomatoes, and some broth. And viola! You've got a nice and healthy chili to take with you all week to work!

I also made a salad with tons of greens, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, black beans, and avocado. Let's just say I've been on a bean and avocado kick lately :) such a great combo!

Well, that's it for my update. I hope this post gives you some meal ideas for your busy week to come! Use this weekend for some serious meal planning and prepping to ensure healthy choices all week long! Enjoy the weekend everyone!

You Tube Workouts!

Good morning everyone! Thank God this week is almost over...yay for Thursday!!! It's been a long and exhausting week for me, but God is good and has helped me pull through! I got sick again last weekend, so I did a lot of lounging around, drinking tea, and watching 24 with my parents and fiancé (ummm that show is addictive, so beware)! I finally feel like myself this morning, with just a few sniffles here and there! I have been wanting to take care of my sleep a little more lately, so I decided to sleep an extra hour instead of going to the gym, and do a 25 minute Jillian Michaels workout that I found on YouTube. If you google "Jillian Michaels kickboxing," it will be the first video that pops up!

This workout is only 25 minutes long, so I thought it would be a light workout day for me. Boyyyyyy was I wrong!! This workout was so intense! I was dripping within the first 5 minutes during the warm-up! There is no equipment necessary either, so this workout was so easy to get motivated for. I just got out of bed, spent some time with Jesus :) then turned on my computer and worked out! She has a ton of other workouts too, ranging from cardio to strength training to yoga. Some are a little longer, or you could even do the shorter ones twice through if you are looking for a longer workout! I am so excited I tried this workout and will definitely be doing this one again, as well as trying her other ones. Check out the calorie burn in only 25 minutes!

After my shower and getting ready for work, I made a nice big breakfast to give me good energy for the day. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper, right? :)

I had two slices of Nature's Own Honey Wheat toast with some natural peanut butter, a scrambled egg, and some awesome strawberries we bought off the street a few days ago! Honestly, those are the best and sweetest kind! That's all for me, gotta head to work! I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Back to the Basics

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone has started this week off with a bang! I thought I'd share my eats of the day with you all as some inspiration to show that sometimes, simple really is better! These past few weeks have been filled with ups, downs, stresses, events, good food, and good times for me. However, I woke up today thinking "I neeeeeed some simple, easy, clean foods back in my life!" So I decided to just plan my meals out and make them as simple, fresh, and easy as possible. And let me tell you, it felt great! Going back to the basics of having lean protein, fresh veggies and fruits, and healthy fats helps you appreciate these delicious and nutrient-dense foods in their natural form, and reminds you of how satisfying and satiating they can actually be! So here is my day! :) I woke up and had a banana before my workout this morning. I am finally get back into working out after being sick for 2 weeks! I did the bike with some toning work afterwards for my arms!

After my workout, I made a quick veggie scramble before heading off to work.

For my day at work, I packed berries, salad with grilled chicken that I prepped last night, veggies, and nuts. These meals/snacks were so simple and were all from fresh, real foods. They kept me full and energized all day long!

After work, I met my parents at one of my favorite restaurants...Lemonade! I got their Pineapple chicken salad and Thai veggie salad. These salads are both so light and delicious and are filled with more of those fresh veggies!

Whoever says vegetables don't fill you up has definitely never...well...eaten vegetables! Veggies are so filling because of their high water and fiber content. Plus they require lots of chewing, forcing you to eat slower and enjoy your food. This helps your body take time to digest, and helps your brain send those helpful "I am full so you can stop eating" signals. In addition to the nutritional benefits of vegetables (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc), they are also great for volume eaters, like myself! I'd rather have a whole big bowl of something than a teeny tiny slice of anything else. That is why I love to fill my plate with lots of fresh, non-starchy veggies that are crunchy, fun to eat, and that fill me up! One of the best things I've ever done for my health is try to incorporate vegetables into at least 75% of my meals for the day, whether that is in scrambles, stir-fries, salads, snacks, soups, etc. Also, pairing high-quality proteins such as eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, or fish, with your vegetables is the best way to help you stay full and energized all day long, without compromising your healthy eating goals!

Whenever you are stressed out about meal planning or just need to snap out of some old habits creeping back up, just go back to your basics. Grab a protein, surround it with tons of veggies, and add some healthy fats to the mix. Simple, easy, healthy, and delicious!