FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

A Quick Review

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When I was at Whole Foods earlier this week, I stocked up on a couple emergency frozen meals.  Ordinarily, I buy the same Amy’s Organic Mexican meals every time.  But during this stroll down the frozen aisle, I noticed a heavily discounted new brand and decided to give it a shot.  I’m glad I did!

While microwaving, I made the connection between Candle Cafe Vegan and Candle 79.  I was so pumped because it brought back memories of when my friend Cesa and I dined at Candle 79 when I visited her in NYC in 2009.  The frozen meal was obviously no match to the amazeballs Candle 79 experience, but it was a nice change-up from my ordinary.  The macaroni & cheese and tofu spinach ravioli were out of stock, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for them during my next trip to the market.

On a side note, I finished Week 6, Day 3 of the Personal Running Trainer app! I’m still amazed at how well this program has enabled me to go from only being able to run a few minutes at a time to running for almost 30 minutes straight!

Even though 11 of the 40 minutes were a brisk walk (5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool-down), I still have a lot of work to do in the speed department.   I’m hoping that yoga and barre fitness classes will help me build muscle and, in turn, make me a fast(er) runner.

Do you have any tips for increasing your running speed?

Some Sunday Randomness

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I woke up this morning with an itty bitty problem: my car was still parked at Val’s house from Friday night.  And the bigger problem was that all of my friends that were in town would most likely hold me captive for Sunday Funday brunch before dropping me off at my intended destination.  I was not going to let that happen.

I grabbed my phone and  keys and walked a music-less 3.23 miles across town. I thought about how much smarter it would have been to eat something, drink water, anything, before I left.  Apparently, from the moment my eyes opened, I was on a mission to get that car!

By the time I arrived, not only was I super thirsty, but I was craving juice in a bad, bad way.  I headed to Village Health Market, with hopes they’d have something M Cafe like.

I ordered apple, celery, carrot, ginger, and beet juice.  It wasn’t really what I was craving, I really wanted a lemon-ginger combo, but it was still really refreshing.  And it was really pink, so I suppose that was fun.  I also ordered an Oriental tuna sandwich on Ezekiel bread that came with a side of veggie chips, a pretty standard order for this girl.

I spent the afternoon looking for a new ebook to download, creating a wish list on my public library account, downloading and reading 40% of You Lost Me There  (love Kindle stats!), and picking at the second half of the tuna sandwich.

Did you have a good weekend?  How did you spend your Sunday?

Handy Dandy, In Pictures

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Breakfast: Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds & Maple Syrup

Lunch: Brown Rice Pasta with Spinach & Leftover Veggie Patties

Dinner:  Greenwise Salad Bar

An iPhone case that holds a license and credit card has got to be the handiest invention ever.  I’m obsessed.

I stashed my cards, completed Week 5, Day 2 (can you believe it?!) and headed to the grocery store for some salad bar action.  The cashier that checked me out was pretty darn obsessed with the iPhone case too.  His jaw dropped in amazement as he twirled my phone around in his hands.  Hooray for a good purchase!

Post 5k

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It turns out that running a 5k smack dab in the middle of 5k training is highly motivational! I did not want to run tonight one bit. My new phone (4S!) arrived at work late in the day, and to be quite honest, all I wanted to do was go home and get it all set up.

But I also remembered how great it felt to race and how it would have been even better if I ran a tad faster than snail speed. And running faster than snail speed means training.  Consistently.

I definitely felt faster today than I have to date and I attribute that largely to the Personal Running Trainer app. Every single time I feel intimidated by a new level, I finish to the tee. It’s almost like the app knows my body better than I do. Hmm…

I also haven’t had time to create any new playlists, so I’ve been alternating between the 7 I had created before DC and LA took over my life. Tonight I made a good choice with Week 1, Day 2, but I need some new stuff stat! I’ve started to memorize the lengths of each song and do weird lyric countdowns to predict when I’ll be finished (annoying!).