Documentation

Top o' the mornin' to ya! I love St. Patricks Day!! Not for the reason most people do (I'm not a big drinker) but because have always been very proud of my supremely Irish heritage so this day reminds me of my family. It also has always marked the true coming of Spring in my mind , maybe all the green??

I actually had s somewhat different pre-gym snack!Peta with laughing cow and jelly... woah go crazy!

I had in INTENSE bike interval workout, I was just killin it today! I did a 10 minute warm up, 50 minutes of intervals and a 5 minute cool down and then....

HELD PLANK FOR 4:06 BOOM BABY!!!

The intensity continued in this yogurt bowl.

Greek, granny smith (for the green), craisins organic spelt flakes, kashi honey sunchine, cinammon raisin granola, ground flax, a few slated cashews and a big scoop of PB.

Topped with cinnamon and honey... I love amazing yogurt bowls!

I also had a few handfuls of cereal as a I made this along with a little more peanut butter. For Project New Nutrition I have been really on track however I have not seen that much change in physical appearance. I am surprised by this so I am going to start trying to mention or photograph more of what I've been eating (yes it is more than I have been talking about currently) to show how difficult it is to repair a metabolism and gain weight while remaining active.

Erin Go Braugh!

Caitlin

What's your heritage? Is it important to you?

WOO!

Morning, morning, morning! My morning so far has been

Pita with PB2

Bike workout (10 minute warm up, 40 minute intervals)

30 kettlebell swings and 25 burpies

hold plank for 2.5 minutes

WOO good workout!

Mar 15

10 am

34° F

Precip:

10%

11 am

39° F

Precip:

10%

12 pm

44° F

Precip:

10%

1 pm

48° F

Precip:

10%

2 pm

51° F

Precip:

10%

3 pm

51° F

Precip:

10%

4 pm

49° F

Precip:

10%

5 pm

48° F

Precip:

10%

Forcast for today, WOO!

Overnight oats, WOO!

Along with my toy , I got something else in the mail yesterday.

Two sample packets from a give-away! Thanks Kaitlin!

I used one packets, scoops of greek and a splash of milk last night.

This morning I mixed in some coconut extract, cherry chocolate granola, a banana, a drizzle of honey and cinnamon. Amazing mixture! WOO!

**Project New Nutrition Update**

So after 5 days of a ton of cookies and candy with some health mixed in, I feel like my sweet tooth is satisfied. I woke up craving nutrients! I am very happy about this! I'm not saying I will cut sweets by any means but hopefully I'll be able to start transitioning to getting extra calories from whole foods through larger portions and more snacks.

Off to get the day started!

Peace!

Caitlin

What's making you go WOO today?

P.S as I was writing I added more granola and a little scoop of peanut butter to y oats because they were delicious but not doing the job!

Store Brands Rule

Woo I had a great workout! Normally I run on Monday but because I did yesterday I cross trained on the bike on random for 6 miles (26 minutes) and lifted for 40 minutes. I did body weight work last week but after over a week off it felt awesome to hit the weights again!

I had a pita with PB2 before I left.

The best and worst part of grocery shopping? So many options! I had a heck of a time deciding what I wanted for breakfast. Plus my cravings are changing because the weather is finally starting to seem springy!

I settled on cottage cheese mixed with vanilla protein powder, vanilla almond granola , strawberries, raisins and butter toffee almonds. Plus "cheerios"

Save-A-Lot brand, $2 less...

99% same ingredient list

Taste identical

WIN

Pretty busy day ahead but I'm hoping something fun is waiting in the mail for me...

Have a great Monday!

Peace!

Caitlin

What store brands do you buy?

Travel Day Recap

Hi All!! I've missed you today! I currently write to you from Florida enjoying a very beach-y treat that is reveled at the end of this post!

My standard travel days from my school go taxi to bus stop, bus ride to Chicago, fly out of Chicago to wherever I'm going. I set my alarm for 7 this morning but woke at 5:45 with no chance of falling asleep... I was way too excited! So I decided to do some yoga.

I knew that this was going to mean I wasn't going to have time to sit for breakfast probably until I was on the bus so I had 1/2 and apple before I started and then munched on the rest as I got ready through the morning. I also had a mug of green tea to get started!

By 7 I was done with an intense flow, 7:45 in the cab, 8:25 on the bus on my way! Good thing I made breakfast travel friendly and it was the perfect delicious start to my break!

I'm super sad this is gone but I'm not gonna lie, once it got towards the end I have been so excited for these overnight oats!

Last night: oats, greek yogurt, milk, dash of vanilla, stevia packet, the last of the PB

This morning: Kashi honey sunshine, yogi cinnamon raisin granola, a few frozen strawberries that mostly thawed by the time I ate

so amazingly amazing (the girl next to me was trying HARD not to judge, I appreciated it =)).

Grabbed some travel essentials. I'm really excited to read that on the beach, any reviews? Plus if you like gum that kind tastes like watermelon jolly rancher!

Almost got this, I thinks he's cute =)

Interesting school reading and waiting at the airport came with a skim latte (always get one when I travel)

Love Southwest gates =)

I packed lunch

whole wheat pita with laughing cow, fruit spread and the very last of my spinach, the last of my baby carrots (finally!) and chili lime roasted chickpeas. I had the sandwich first on the plane, munched on the carrots throughout the flight and the chickpeas as I waited for my mom's flight to land, worked great!

I also had my favorite warm weather drink to celebrate right when I landed =D.

Venti iced green tea... hi summer time!

I was super late when we finally left the airport so we stopped for asian food along the way

Egg rolls shared for an appetizer because we were starving

Pineapple, tofu, tomatoes, zucchini and snap peas in ginger sauce so good! I finished it because it was actually light being mostly veggies, I only had a bite of the rice.

And to celebrate, also went for a beach staple

Ice Cream! I haven't had ice cream or a big dessert in forever so I went all out and I do not regret my choice =D

Coconut and butter pecan ice cream (amazing amazing amazing) with waffle cone, rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream

Actual ice cream and sprinkles hiding

Me=Too Happy

It's been a good day! Hoping to get a beach run in the the morning, see you then!

Peace!

Caitlin

What are "vacation" foods for you? Ice cream, iced tea, cold cereal, fresh fruit

How was the start to your weekend?

Woah

Woah... I just sat down for about the third time all day, I had no idea how beat I was until that moment!

I decided to get the rest of my stuff in one trip... this cart became my best friend

I spent the morning packing and unpacking. I had work at one so I took a break to get a quick workout in (not that carrying all of that wasn't a workout!) I just did 25 minutes of good cardio on the bike and elliptical and about 20 minutes of compound weight moves.

I had an apple before I left

I got done around lunch time but I had some running around to do so I had this to hold me/ for recovery because I was starving.

Lunch was an easy big salad with spinach, a last veggie chik'n pattie, baby carrots, corn, nooch white win vin and garlic salt.

Look what came in the mail! 5 packs of amazing pita!

Luckily my afternoon class was cut VERY short so I had ample time to unpack my room! Mid-set up I had baby carrots and cinnamon raisin swirl PB

Dinner was my last two eggs!! Good job Caitlin! In this craziness is 2 eggs, cheese, asparagus, onion, garlic, ketchup and Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic salt. I tried to make an omelet but i think the asparagus was too big... that's what she said?

On the side a brown rice wrap with standard smart balance light and fruit spread

Like my new bowl a very nice girl gave me as I was moving out? I think it's so cute!

I'm not sure when I'll post tomorrow because it will be another crazy day... going to Florida and all!! I can't believe it's spring break because I haven't had any kind of winding-down but I'm still way excited!

Off to finish packing quickly then give myself a beach pedicure and finally relax, night!

Peace!

Caitlin

Any fun plans for the weekend?

Was your week insane or fairly chill?

Power Food

Last night for snacking I had honey wheats and cinnamon raisins swirl PB.... why is this the most additive snack ever? Snack redundancy aside (well kind of) I wanted to hit on my new favorite pre-workout snack which is pita with PB2. I have two kinds of pita on hand now and the one that I've been having pre-workout is this one

Joseph's high protein, whole wheat pita with flax and oat bran. It has a great texture and is a good size! And for whatever reason is completely delicious with PB2 so much that I wake up craving this as a snack! I usually just sleepily wolf down my pre-workout snack and savor my breakfast but this snack rocks!

It also has been working amazingly well for my workouts. I have more energy and feel fuller than with others I've tried. I like using the PB2 because while I have no opposition to real PB (obviously) I like that it's lighter for right before a workout. I also am coming to believe that it's the ingredients in this pita that make me feel so great! Oat bran and flax do have great nutritional benefits in health fats and whole grains for a mix that gives you great sustained energy.

Basically I had a power of foods realization last night and proceeded to order a case of these pitas online because they were a "special purchase" and Wal-Mart and I don't know where else I would find them =P.

For my workout this morning I did my cardio/strength circuit with some different moves here and there. I then wanted overnight oats for breakfast but didn't make them last night... that will not stop me!

In this mix

Almost empty yogurt container (maybe 1/3 cup?)

1/3 cup oats

1/2 cup skim milk

Mixed before I hopped in the shower! 30 minute overnight oats? Yes indeed!

Topped with a handful of oat squares, banana, flax, cinnamon and a little drizzle of honey

A little bit soupier than regular overnight oats but just as delicious!

Sugar cookie sleigh ride and green

It's also Friday which mean Fearless Fridays!

This week I was afraid that I would not be able to prepare in time for my bio exam but I actually feel really good going into it! I took my studying slowly but surely and that worked out great! I am also afraid that I will not be able to run tomorrow but we'll see how that goes in the morning...

Standing between me and the weekend...

Class, work, bio exam

let's get it done!

Peace!

Caitlin

How have you experienced the power of food?

What's you fearless Friday for the week?

Whey of Life

I hated my dinner last night... don't try that recipe

This was the bowl before it got washed in the sink... =)

When I got back from work I had a delicious snickty snack of plain chobani, dried mixed berries and a nice smear of PB

I woke up feeling very good and wanting to work hard so as always I implemented the "listen to your body" rule and got a great workout! Before I left I had a pita with PB2. I killed 25 random minutes on the stationary bike and 45 minutes of isolated and compound full body weights. My legs will probably hate me tomorrow but for now we're all happy!

Cinnamon Lovin'

For breakfast I had eggy oats, it had been a while! In the mix

1/3 cup oats

1/4 cup egg whites

1/2 cup skim milk

1 big scoop vanilla whey protein

Splash of vanilla extract

1/2 banana

~2 tbsp raisins

A bunch of cinnamon

Cooked with a lemon tea bag... I'm going for light flavors to trick my body into thinking it's warm out. And a cup of Tazo Zen Green for those antioxidants! Speaking of antioxidants let's have a

Word About Whey

I use a protein supplement in some way almost daily because I lift at least 3 times a week and am a vegetarian. My protein of choice is whey as opposed to brown rice or soy. At first there was not a reason and I would still be open to trying other forms but in reading The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Doctor Johnny Bowden which I got for my birthday and flip through fairly often I came across some great info on whey!  

According to Bowden whey protein no t only helps to build muscles like all protein but it also gives your body the tools to more efficiently build the antioxidant glutathione. This antioxidant is crucial to the immune system and helps to destroy free radicals and carcinogens that may lead to cancer. White blood cells in the liver also use glutathione to detoxify poisons in the body. And to top it all off it had been shown to reduce hypertension in patients.

So if you are considering adding a protein supplement to your diet, consider the cancer fighting effects of whey!

*Note- Whey is a milk derived protein so it is not vegan

Half way through the week, 10 days until FLA!!

Peace!

Caitlin

If you use a protein supplement, which do you prefer?

Opinions on protein intake in general?

Coffee Amazement

Evening! I spent a lovely afternoon out on the town! As I mentioned during my last post I was at my favorite coffee shop where I ended up obtaining this

Sorry for the sideways! I haven't tried it yet but I was told that it's coconut-chocolate-hazelnut and I died... a lot.

Snacks for the afternoon were my latte (I consider it a snack because I would consider a glass of milk one) and a peach chobani.

I got this from B&P's and had it there while doing more studying. I got kicked out of Nikki's because the Beloit International Film Festival is happening and they were doing a screening. It is so much fun to see downtown so lively though! B&P's was actually packed with out-of-towners! So odd and fun! I haven't actually seen any films but maybe next weekend?

I also grabbed a few fun things that will show up throughout the week! Really just a few this time actually, promise.

When I got back I did even a little MORE studying (woo hoo) and then all of a sudden it was 6:15 and I was hungry and hadn't thought up anything! So I went with one of my few purchases of hummus which was needed.

Hummus pita melt with hummus, cheese, lettuce and tomato. Steamed okra and sweet potato chunks. Oh I guess two purchases! Ginger-pear green tea FOR THE WIN.

Tonight I'm going to watch Juno for the millionth time, paint my nails and foam roll... can't wait!

Peace!

Caitlin

Do you like flavored coffee? PerMa will only drink flavored coffee... I like both but it has to be a good flavor. The other one I considered today was butter pecan mmmm.....

Any fun Saturday plans?