Category Archives: Breakfast

The Weekend, Briefly

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Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend.

When I last left off, we were leaving for a long weekend in Tahoe. We had an absolute blast – BBQing, hiking, beaching, hanging on the pier at Chambers with great friends and good drinks, making s’mores (probably illegally) with an impromptu firepit, and last but certainly not least white water rafting!

About a year ago (seriously) 6 of us bought a Groupon for white water rafting on the American River. The catch was that it was only good for May-Sept, Sunday-Thursday (of course). It took us a solid year of planning but we were finally able to settle on a Sunday, and figured why not just make a weekend in Tahoe out of it. Done.

Some photographs…

We did the Eagle Rock hike and the Rubicon Trail (ridiculous views on each) if you’re interested. Not too challenging but definitely felt nice to get out and move, get some fresh air, and a little exercise.

We also ate. Like kings.

Grilled Salmon, oysters, sweet potatoes and asparagus are my new favorite things in life. We need a BBQ. And a patio. Or a backyard. Stat.

We rafted through Beyond Limits and did the Chili Bar (South Fork of the American River) 1/2 day trip. Our guide, Christine, was amazing, and it was the perfect ending to a fantastic weekend. Next time…. class 4 rapids!

So. Much. Fun.

Running

I capped last week off with 30 miles, and took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off of running. I won’t lie, I was itching to run… but certainly not in that altitude with air that thin. I like to enjoy my runs… not feel like I’m going to die the entire time.

Besides I had great company, a gorgeous lake, delicious food, and “hydration” to attend to. ;-)

Taking 3 days off just meant my legs were ready to run this morning. Marathon training officially kicks off at the end of the month, so I decided to up my mileage to 50 miles/week in July to prepare my body for the beating it will inevitably take once training really begins.

To start, I ran 11 miles on the treadmill this morning (Us Weekly and Runner’s World were just dying to be read). At an average pace of…. wait for it… 8:02. 

Are you freaking kidding me?!

The moral of this story is REST, it does a body good. As does Apple Pie from Ikeda’s – great long-run fuel my friends.

Off to tackle today’s to-do list – I don’t teach Mondays so I like to take the day to tackle cleaning the apartment, laundry, grocery shopping, my long run, and any errands that need running… before the week really begins!

Have a great day!

Have you ever rafted? Thoughts? What’s your favorite grilling food?

 

French Toast Win.

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We need to talk about breakfast.

I MEAN… WOW.

To backtrack, my morning started at 5:15am, when my alarm started screaming at me. I thought vicious thoughts about throwing my phone straight out the window, when I realized that wouldn’t go over well… for anyone. Especially me since I’d then be phone-less, and have to beg AT&T for my unlimited data plan back. I recently took on the 6 and 7am classes on Wednesday mornings (why does this actually sound fun to me? I swear to GOD I’m not even joking, which is the sad part), so after a half-assed attempt at snoozing for 3 minutes, I grudgingly got up.

I miraculously found clothes that matched, threw on a long-sleeve shirt (heyyyyyo 60 degree SF morning!) and stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee. Starbucks Via. Gross. I promise I only made it because my brain lacked the clarity, intelligence, and general everything-ness before 6am to make sense of the French Press.

Then I took the bus. 4 blocks. To the studio. Speed-walking was just not going to happen at 5:36am. Even I have my limits.

I taught for 2 hours – lots of lunging, squatting, ab-ing, shoulder pressing, bicep curling, leg circling, and quick bursts of cardio… and everyone left sweaty and smiley. Success.

After teaching, I obviously needed my latest obsession -iced coffee, soy milk, and cinnamon (Jaime this is all your fault) and it was clearly a coincidence that I happened to be right by a La Boulange. Would you look at that.

So onto that breakfast.

I was craving about 47 different things this morning (peanut butter, greek yogurt, toast, cinnamon, raspberries, coconut) when I decided I was going to have my cake and eat it too.

Holy Frenchtoast.

I used two slices of Udi’s Gluten Free Multi-Grain bread, and coated it in a mixture consisting of one egg, milk, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract.

Then coated it raw unsweetened coconut. (Mother of GOD it’s good).

Cook on the stove-top, adding an extra pinch of coconut to the side to get it nice and toasty.

Topped the bread slices of heaven with Chocolate PB2, fresh raspberries, Greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage), and the toasted coconut.

ohmygod.

I will now be making this every morning of my life.

Satisfying, salty, sweet, delicious. 

And HEALTHY! No added sugar, lots of protein, some carbs, and a ton of flavor. Is coconut healthy? According to me it is. Just go with it.

And of course since there was a little Greek yogurt, toasted coconut and PB2 left… it too got consumed. With some blueberries picked from my parents backyard.

Breakfast of champions.

Then I made Cinnamon Roll Granola. Someone stop me.

And then I ran 3 miles under the blazing (feels so freaking good) sun.

Balance right? :)

Have a great Wednesday!

Starting the Day Right – Yogurt Bowls

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Good morning! Hope your Tuesday is off to a great start. I started mine off with a couple of mugs of black coffee, a 7-mile treadmill run, and a breakfast favorite – a yogurt bowl.

I love yogurt bowls for breakfast because they’re healthy, satisfying, filling, and totally customizable. The possibilities are endless!

You need 4 main components:

Greek Yogurt: I like to use 0% Plain. It’s a great source of protein, and 1 cup packs a seriously filling punch. The brand honestly doesn’t matter to me. I usually buy Fage because they have the big things of it at Trader Joes but I’ve also had Chobani and the Trader Joe’s brand, and nutritionally speaking, they have the same ingredients/stats… and they all taste the same. The flavored kinds contain double the sugar, and if I’m adding sugar, I want it to be from some delicious add-ins… not already sitting in there.

Crunch: As of late, I use Udi’s Gluten Free Au Natural Granola, but I also have a bag of Good Habit Gluten Free Granola that I can’t wait to break into. You can use literally anything to add some crunch: a crumbled up granola bar, dried unsweetened coconut, almonds, a cookie, cereal, crushed up cinnamon graham crackers – anything.

Nut Butter: I’m a huge fan of adding nut butter to my yogurt bowls because 0% Greek Yogurt can be a little tart and plain on its own. Nut butter also adds extra protein and a healthy serving of fats. My favorites? Justin’s Maple Almond Butter, Trader Joe’s Roasted Almond Butter, and Maranatha Roasted Almond Butter.

Keep the serving size to no more than 2 tablespoons, and you’ll benefit from the nut butter – in terms of both fullness (this will stick with you until lunch!) and health. (Nuts fall into the Monounsaturated fats area, and are known as the “good fats” because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health.)

Fruit: I like to start the day with at least one serving of fruit, and adding fruit to the yogurt bowl sweetens up the tart Greek yogurt, and adds in some natural sugar and antioxidants. I love to add blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, a sliced banana, a chopped up apple (seriously unbelievable with Cinnamon Cheerios). The beauty is you can literally add any fruit and come up with your favorite flavor combinations.

Look at all that delicious, crunchy, Peanut Buttery goodness!

With that I’m off to a Pilates workshop – I’m team-teaching next week and want to make the class the best it can be! I’ll post more details later. :)  Have a great Tuesday!

Are you a yogurt bowl fan? What are your favorite mix-ins?

Thursday In a Nutshell

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It’s FINALLY FRIDAY! Do I say that every week? Probably. I don’t even care, I love weekends that much.This weekend we have a whole lot of relaxing, delicious food, some beverages, and a day of brunching/bridesmaid dress shopping on Sunday.

To rewind to yesterday, I was clearly still riding my runner’s high from Wednesday’s glorious 8 miles of heaven. Even though I was scheduled to be in Sara’s Pilates Reformer Class O’Death, I still felt the need to sweat during my lunch break. Ergo I happily jumped on the treadmill yet again for a solid 4-mile run. I think I was actually smiling for the first 2 miles of said run.

Do you see that average pace? 9:00 people! And to toot my own horn for 14 seconds, for about 2.5 of those miles I was at an 8:49 pace. Hello muscle memory, it’s good to see you.

In case you care, I started a new book on my Kindle for treadmill runs in the foreseeable future : The Darlings. So far, so good. (My last treadmill read was Bond Girl – highly, highly, recommended. Miles flew by with that book. Which is how I now rate the books I read. Do the miles go by fast or slow?)

Running sweat (not to be confused with pilates “glistening”) I missed you so much the past 10 days. Let’s agree to never part ways for that long ever again. Runners sweat. Pilates people “glisten” while we wear our Lululemon and do fun muscle toning and lengthening things. People like Gwyneth don’t sweat. I pride myself in being of the minority – there is a time for sweat and a time for glistening. And on some days you just need both.

I mentioned that every now and again I’d share some of my recent eats – mainly to share ideas, and also get some ideas from you. I’ve upped the protein a bit lately, and I’m keeping things as clean as ever, and let me tell you – a difference is noted. My energy levels have been through the roof.

Breakfast-

1 c unsweetened almond milk, frozen organic mangoes, frozen organic strawberries, heaping scoop Chocolate Sun Warrior, 1 T Chia Seeds, 2 very large handfuls of organic KALE 

When I was at Whole Foods earlier this week I noticed a container of pre-washed, organic baby kale (packaged like baby spinach) and picked it up. I added it to my smoothie this morning, and just like adding spinach, you can’t taste it at all. Win.

Mid-Morning Snack - 

0% Fage Greek yogurt, chopped organic pink lady apple, couple handfuls Banana Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon

Lunch -

Cup of Whole Foods Black Bean Soup, leftover Quinoa smorgasbowl (quinoa, rotisserie chicken, spinach, onion, mushroom, balsamic, parmesan)

If you aren’t familiar, Black Bean Soup looks like sludge. And that’s putting it nicely. There is no way around it. Therefore, since there is no way that I know of to make it look appetizing… just imagine it looks really pretty and appetizing.

Pre-Pilates Snack-

Banana with a packet of Artisana Walnut Butter (surprisingly good!)

Dinner –

Homemade Chicken Enchiladas with cilantro lime brown rice and homemade guacamole, ay papi!

Clearly with a little something, something on the side.

And if you haven’t yet discovered these at your local Trader Joes (thank you Mom for the englightening knowledge!) I highly suggest you pick up a bag (or 5). They dip into guacamole quite well too.

Hope you have a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Tell me – What was the best thing you ate yesterday? (or today?)

That Little Green Monster…

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! As someone who is 25% Irish (Grandma hails from Cork), and looks 100% (woo-hoo pale skin!) have a wonderful (and corned beef and green beer filled) day!

Since the fine people over at the Lululemon Blog can apparently read my mind, and know exactly what I put into my green smoothies each and every morning… I figured I’d share their creation (and let’s be real the pictures they take look a hell of a lot more appetizing than mine!)

Start your day with a different festive green beverage… then move on to your libation of choice :)

image via

ingredients:
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or original)
• a shake of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of natural almond butter (or peanut butter)
*the healthy fat and protein gives the smoothie staying power
• 1 scoop protein powder (I like SunWarrior vanilla or chocolate)
* protein powder is perfect for post-workout muscle repair

toppings:
• a serving of granola (or other cereal for crunch)
• fresh berries

Recipe via

I’ll be sipping this while wearing my finest green spandex apparel getting my Pilates Teacher Training on all morning.

Happy Weekend! :)