It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! March 6, 2010

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but it has been too gorgeous outside to be indoors despite my terrible allergies!  Here in Texas, it is 70 degrees and sunny, so it is a must that I at least jog the bike path by my house.  My sister is on her way to the Hamptons right now for Spring Break (rough life right?), but it is 50 degrees there and she is a little jealous of our warm weather.  I don’t know I think I would rather be strolling the beach in the colder weather than being in plain old Texas. 

So, I have not really filled y’all in on my allergy history, but I have had terrible allergies since exiting the womb (I was a preemi).  I also have allergy triggered asthma, with my first attack at age 18 months, also the only day I crawled in my entire life.  Needless to say, I have tried every allergy medicine on the market, and I have found that Stinging Nettles a la Whole Foods really work best!  I have to take two at a time to have them really work but they are better than Claritin or Allegra any day!  My seventh grade humanities teacher actually told me this, but it was not until my uncle and fave vitamins department employee at Whole Foods confirmed their love for the nettles was I willing to try the herbal remedy.  I now swear by it and recommend it to any random I meet at the grocery store, a bar, etc that talks about their allergies.  I know, a little out there, but they work so well I feel like I have to spread the news!  My family seriously lives off of these come allergy time!

Dr. Oz (I am a BIG fan!) always talks about the neti pot for allergies.  Has anyone actually tried it?  I have heard great things, but for some reason it just kind of creeps me out!

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This morning before Pilates core fusion aka class of death,  I made some vegan cookie dough a la Averie (of Love Veggies and Yoga) check out the recipe here!  I did not have chocolate chips so I made the recipe without and it was still great!  I made two batches: one with cocoa and one without, also I stuck one batch in the oven for 10 mins at 250 degrees aka made them not raw.  I actually liked the baked ones a little better because the flavors melded together a little better and brought out the sweetness.  Really though, they were both great and I will be munching on them for a while!  I also think they are delish frozen.

I have also been on the hunt for the new Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown.  I have been to Target, Wal-Mart, Dick’s Sports, and a couple of other places,  I think it’s an Amazon purchase waiting to happen.  Has anybody tried it?  I think yoga is a great thing for my breathing, but I can not always handle it in a studio, so I think I need a DVD.  I love Jillian’s training method, so I think that may be a good way to ease me into yoga practice.  I used to do yoga a couple of times a week, but I was just not good at it and decided I needed more cardio in my life.  Does anybody have suggestions for yoga or Pilates DVDs or any other exercise DVDs?  I think I need a break from the gym, I am just kind of tired of it right now.

Ok I am off to eat grilled BBQ chicken and some eggplant, weird combo? Probably, but I think it will be delightful!  I have not had homemade BBQ chicken in years because my sister really does not like it, so I am quite excited to have some tonight!

Goodnight bloggies, have a great Saturday night!  See you tomorrow!

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40 Day Challenge March 1, 2010

So, I know I am a little late in starting this since lent has already started, but I decided I am going to do Kristin’s at Iowa Girl Eats’ 40 Day Challenge!  The Challenge it to get moving everyday, even if it is just for a short amount of time (but the goal is for at least 20 minutes).  Everyone can take part, bloggers and non-bloggers alike.  To join in on the challenge, just leave a comment on her 40 day tab.  This challenge is a way to be accountable and get moving more.

I work out 5 days a week usually, but this is a good goal that will get me moving everyday and hopefully help me lose those last ten pounds.  Also, my doctor suggested I walk for half an hour everyday outside to get my sunshine since my vitamin D levels are a little low.  It is raining today, so I have not walked today, but I am going to Zumba tonight!

I LOVE Zumba!  I did competitive dance a lot of my life until my junior year of high school when I quit because it was taking up too much of my life.  I have never gone back, but Zumba fills my dance void.  And it is exercise I really enjoy doing!  Especially when I take from the instructor I am going to tonight.  She just has such a positive energy that radiates to the rest of the class and gets everyone else in a great mood.

Happy Monday!

xoxo Erin

COSTCO and Chocolate February 28, 2010

So we finally went to Costco to buy the usual, broccoli, Pellegrino, spinach, some kind of protein for dinner tonight and stirfries throughout the week, and Larabars.  I forgot how crazy it gets on Saturday, but there were ohh so many samples to keep me distracted from the crowd 🙂  I was also thinking about buying another Jillian Michaels DVD because I love her No More Trouble Zones workout, but there were none to be found, sadly. 

I also went to the Pilates of death class today, formally known as Pilates core fusion.  I have a love/hate relationship with this class because it is hard and I am always in pain and barely make it through the whole hour.  I had not been for two weeks, so it really kicked my booty!  I was talking to the instructor for tips to get stronger before her next class since my missing it for two weeks really made me weaker, and she said come more often!  haha I really like her and will make sure to go to her Tuesday and Saturday class this week!

Yesterday I made Averie’s (of Love Veggies and Yoga) Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate and loved it!  I changed her recipe just a little:

1 T Coconut oil (melted with the Agave)

1 T Agave Nectar (Instead of her 1.5T)

1/2 t vanilla extract

2 T Cocoa powder

I added in a drop of mint extract with one batch and it was good as well! Peanut butter would also be good in this recipe.

Tonight we are grilling pork tenderloin for dinner.  I did a marinade of miso dressing with Sriracha, should be good!  We are also broiling some brussle sprouts with some cayenne, onion powder, salt and pepper and making a spinach salad with miso dressing and some mushrooms.  We will see how everything turns out!

Have a great Saturday night!

xoxo Erin