Keeping Up With The Vegetables

TGIF!! Hope your first week of 2011 went very well. I thought I would recap how my meals went this week:


Part of my goals this year was to eat more veggies daily and get as much leafy greens into my diet as I can. Here are some progress pictures:

Spinach, Tomato & Cuke w/ Balsalmic

Morning Smoothie's

1 cup spinch, 1 cup kale, 1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened) 1/2 frozen banana, Amazing Grass Amazing Meal, 1 scoop of wheat grass powder and 1 TBSP flax oil

Another Huge Salad - Spinach, Kale, Cukes, Tomatos, carrots, toasted seasame seeds and sunflower seeds + some light balsalmic

Every morning I had a very Green smoothie, every lunch I had some leftover Vegan Chili from New Years Eve. Most dinners have been very green large salads and some vegetables and some Vegan Alfedo w/ broc.

I also had a huge plate full of brussel sprouts and asparagus last night which was not photographed due to me extra hungry from working until 8pm at the builder show.

I hope you have a great weekend!!!

Nichole

Weekend Eats

Hellllllllllllllo.

This weekend I decided it was time to clean out the freezer. I had 2 packages of frozen fish in there from a trip to Whole Foods last summer. I decided it was time to make the swordfish and mahi mahi.

Friday night it was Swordfish with a Balsamic Butter Sauce....

Balsamic Butter Sauce

2 T Vegan Butter

2 T Balsamic Vinegar

2 T Honey

1 T yellow or dijon mustard

Saturday night I had the samething (it was great, but actually had the balsamic vinegar this time, I used apple cider vinegar on Friday night).

I also made Angela's  3 Minute Breakfast Carrot Cake at Oh She Glows for breakfast on Sunday morning.
She is right this is to die for! I love carrot cake & this smelled just like there was one baking while it was cooking in the microwave!

I followed her recipe to the T except I didn't use raisins and I topped my oats with coconut butter. Let me say this one thing, I will be making this over and over again :)

Breakfast Carrot Cake

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 almonds or walnuts

3 carrots peeled and chopped

2 t pure vanilla

1/2 banana

2 t pumpkin pie spice

1 scoop Spirutein protein powder (vanilla)

1 and 1/4 cups almond, soy, rice etc. milk

Blend all ingredients together and pour into microwave safe bowl and microwave for an estimated 3 minutes, I added more almond milk and cashew butter, maple syrup and additional almonds for my toppings.

Sunday night I decided to try a Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi...

Ginger Glaze

3 T honey

3 T soy sauce

3 T balsamic vinegar

1 t ginger

1 clove of garlic chopped

2 t olive oil

Mix together ingredients and marinate fish. Heat oil in large skillet (I used add'l olive oil) & fry fish for about 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with fork. Remove fish from pan and heat leftover marinade until it becomes a glaze constinency and pour over fish.

I had this with some roasted Kabocha Squash....

Baked at 345 degress for 45 - 50 minutes - perfect!

I really enjoyed scooping the squash and mashing it with some vegan butter - love it!!!!

I recently bought a salad dressing mix from a Wildtree party that I went to and let me tell you how much I am really enjoying this stuff. All you do is mix the natural grapeseed oil with some apple cider vinegar along with the Italian Dressing mix and you have a delicious homemade dressing. I have been enjoying this on many salads as of late...

Lastly I have been having plenty of my Green Smoothies after workouts for max. protein absorption.

-1 Banana

-4 strawberries

-2 handfuls of spinach

-chocolate Spirutein protein powder

-T Flax Oil

-1/2 unsweetened almond milk

Amazing how this little green drink can be so packed full of nutrients and enzymes and so delicious at the sametime.

Nichole

It's all pays off

It is such a great feeling to know all your HARD work is finally starting to payoff. I have been in the gym sweating on average 6 days a week for the last 2 months. Let me tell you, it is easy to get comfortable with the cardio sessions and I am trying hard to keep challenging myself...

5 miles on the eliptical machine - CHECK! :) This took me 60 minutes to accomplish but it was a great sweat session to say the least!!

I have a Florida vacation planned for the end of April so I have got more time to tone up before I hit the beach but this girl will not be taking many rest days until then!

The picture above is from my workout yesterday evening and since I have my favorite masseuse coming over this evening to give me a much needed massage, I decided to work out this morning. I must say that I really enjoy my evening work outs better than the morning ones. I am thinking I have a little too much on my mind in the morning, like planning out my work day.

Before my work out I had a Green Smoothie...

- frozen mangos

- frozen strawberries

-2 handfuls of spinach

- 1/2 cup almond milk

- 1 tbsp organic flax oil

- 1 scoop Amazing Grass Chocolate Infusion Amazing Meal

This gave me the energy to really pump out some sweat in the gym this morning, however I had only been 12 hours since I was in the gym for a 2 hour workout session last night, so I was a little tired.

Dinner last night was a large plate of steamed vegetables..

- Carrots

- Asparagus

- Broccoli

- Brussel Sprouts

I couldn't eat this all... but I was hungry right before bedtime so I had a small cup of granola cereal with almond milk, that did the trick and I slept great.

I don't like going to the gym on an empty stomach, I get way too hungry working out and almost feel week. Since I don't eat meat I find it easy for me to work out on a full belly on veggies. I don't feel bloated after eating a ton of vegetables. I think because they are so easily digested that it doesn't give my body cramps when doing cardio.

What are your workout habits? Do you eat before or afterwards? Or possibly both like me?

Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Artic Refuge!

Think of the polar bears... :)

Nichole