So let’s just talk about little changes. The small things you know you should be doing, but aren’t.

1. Drink more water.

I feel stupid even writing this down. It’s basic. It’s cheap free. And it’s so good for you! But you already know that.So let’s talk about how to actually do it.

Less of that… more water.

How: sometimes drinking lukewarm (rather than really cold) water, is easier. This definitely works for me! I also spice it up with lemon or cucumber. Just a hint of flavor really can help. And honestly, just having a giant cup at my desk is probably the easiest way to drink more water without thinking. I’ve swapped my lunch time diet coke for water, and I’m feeling much more energized in the afternoon! Once you get in the habit, it gets easier to do it without thinking.

2. Cut down on night time snacking.

I know I’m not the only one who loves a nighttime snack, but mine can get a little out of control. Not that there is anything wrong with having a snack, but I realized it makes more sense for me to snack in the afternoon, when I need the energy, rather than “saving” those snacks for night time.

Ok ignore this specific type of tea… although I do like this one.

How: I tried to just cut out night time snacking, and it lasted for… maybe 2 days. Instead, I’ve started drinking a cup of decaf tea, and something indulgent, like a piece of dark chocolate. Having a bit of something really delicious is so much more satisfying than a giant bowl of rice cakes. The tea keeps me occupied while blogging and answering e-mails, without feeling like I’ve banned myself from the kitchen.

3. Stop eating the whole box of [cereal/cookies/crackers].

Let’s suppose I’m not the only person who has seen a box of cereal disappear after 2 days, and wondered “Wait… when did I eat all that?” It got to the point where I wouldn’t even buy Peanut Butter Puffins, because I literally wouldn’t know how the box could be gone so fast…

These crackers didn’t stand a chance…

How: Instead of banning yourself from the things you love (and buying things you only sort of like, just to restrain yourself) as soon as you get home from the grocery store, divide the box into individual servings. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but not only does it prevent the mindless “hand-in-the-box-everything-I-pass-it” syndrome, it also makes it’s super easy to grab a baggie when you’re running out the door, and you really do need a fast snack! Just be sure that you’re really portioning out accurate servings! (I use a food scale, which sounds kind of anal, but you’d be surprised at some of those cereal serving sizes!)

Now if only I could pretend like I’d totally conquered these…

What are some small goals you’ve accomplished?

Breakfast

Ahh the smoothie I referenced on Friday!

The Elvis Shake

• 1 banana
• 1 cup soymilk/almond milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp peanut flour
• Pinch of xanthan gum (optional)

Peanut flour is sort of like protein powder, so I used that instead of regular protein powder. It’s pretty awesome, and if you haven’t found some yet, check out this post for more info! If you don’t like the taste of protein powder, I highly recommend this! No chalky taste at all!

Lunch

I’m a huge snacker, so I like to spread out my lunch. I had the rest of my morning shake (what didn’t fit in the glass above, went into the blender bottle) around 11. Then I had the salad and the yogurt around 1, and the apple around 2:30. I’m basically eating all the time.

Dinner

I’ve been using up my veggies by making massive salads, but I get sick of those pretty quickly. I decided to switch things up, and use up my veggies with some noodles, and whip up some 5-ingredient peanut sauce.

I always forget how easy this meal is. And it’s 10 times better than take out, so I really have no excuse. Broccoli might be my most favorite thing ever. (Ok, second to peanut butter. So broccoli covered in peanut sauce is heaven.) Recycled picture from the original recipe. Even if you don’t have fresh veggies on hand, this works great with frozen!

What I Wore

I don’t generally post outfits, because I’m not, and will never be, a fashion blogger. But I got these red shoes at Target yesterday. Sure, they’re my 4th pair of red shoes, but aren’t they cute? A random woman at work told me I looked like Audrey Hepburn. I’ll take it.

What I Want to Make

I’m obviously obsessed with Pinterest, because who isn’t? But this is definitely on my list of things to make.

(original source)

I mean, how clever is that?! It’s a silverware-drawer-sorter-thing-turned-jewelry-holder. Since I’m the worst at organizing my jewelry, I think I’m going to mount this on the inside of my closet. (And if you’re not already following me, what are you waiting for?)

What are you doing this Wednesday?

I made a huge fruit salad, Galen made waffles, and we also had bacon, eggs, and mimosas. You know, typical brunch fare. Galen claims that the “just add water” pancake mix is the best (which might have something to do with the additional butter he mixed into the batter…) and we poured it right into the waffle iron. It’s not a recipe I can really share (other than, “hey, add water and butter to the mix”) but I have to admit, they did turn out pretty fluffy and delicious.

Later in the day, Lindsay and I decided to go check out the Food Truck Derby. The weather started out awesome, but after about 20 minutes of walking around, it started raining, and we high-tailed it out of there before we got to really try any of the food trucks. I’m sure there will be plenty of recaps from some other Virginia Bloggers, but I don’t have much for you!

Since we were still determined to get some food, we decided to try Burger Bach, a new-ish burger place in Carytown. They had a veggie burger (thank goodness) but they also serve grass fed beef and free range chicken, and some delicious looking fries, with various homemade sauces.

Their burgers are served with greens + herb vinaigrette which is awesome. My veggie burger was packed lentils and veggies, which made it tasty and filling, and all the toppings were organic, and the sauces are made in-house. For $8, this burger rivals Carytown Burgers and Fries, although that place will always have a special place in my heart.

So now the important question…

Pancakes or waffles?

We played with tomatillos, tomatoes, various peppers, corn, black beans, onions, and spices.

The recipes still need some perfecting, but we had fun trying them all.

Obviously, we had to make chips too. Which were soaked in oil. Eric responded with “It’s olive oil! It’s healthy!” Sure Eric, sure.

Sprinkled with salt, pepper, & chili powder, they were hard to resist. I would tell you the recipe, but it really just consists of frying corn tortillas in olive oil, and sprinkling with spices. Some say you can’t fry with olive oil. I say, taste one of those chips.

Maybe a little oregano, garlic, and basil? Those were pretty good too…

I’ll definitely need to find a baking strategy soon.

Thankfully, the chips and salsa powered me through Brand Olympics the next day, a fierce competition at the office, which could best be described as field day for grown ups.

Our team: Winstagram. (#winning)

What you see here, is Eric and I holding our 1st place trophies… quite proudly.

And to kick off the weekend, I hit up Gold’s Gym with Brittany. Since she’s having some ankle pain, we traded in our Friday morning run, for a Friday morning gym session. I did a circuit workout, with 1 minute of each move:

Friday Morning Circuit

• Plank
• Mountain climbers
• Reverse fly
• Bicep curls
• Shoulder press
• Lunges + bicep curl
• Sit ups
• “Heels to the heavens” (as Tony Horton calls them)
• Burpees
• Squats

I did that little circuit twice, and then finished with a jog on the treadmill. Not a bad way to start the day!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy a delicious shake that would make Elvis proud…

Recipe to come!

How are you starting your weekend?

Monday, I got an e-mail back from FitFluential, and I’m officially a FitFluential Ambassador! I’m excited, because it’s such an amazing community of bloggers!

I also ran a new PR on the treadmill, did some Jillian Michaels, had a BFF Date with Eric, and found out I’m influential about Unicorns. What? Yes. I don’t make this stuff up.

Yep, that’s my PR! A mile in 8:29 (See above.). I know that’s not fast for most of you, but I was excited aboutit! (And that’s what PRs are all about, right?) I think my weekend off really helped, because I felt so energized at the gym. Seriously, from now on, force me to take rest days, ok? Ok, good.

Anyways, on to my daily eats! This is What I Ate Wednesday Monday.

Breakfast

This breakfast is still keeping me quite satisfied. It’s unbelievably tasty. Same breakfast, same picture. Don’t judge.

• 1 banana
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tbsp cacao bliss coconut butter
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• Whole lotta ice

Lunch

A rushed lunch at work (photographed and packed at home, eaten at my desk while answering e-mails.):

• 1 cup chobani 0%
• 1 scoop protein powder
• Blueberries + Strawberries

It’s so weird how I don’t generally like dairy products, but I could eat greek yogurt every single day.

Afternoon snack:

I have some fruit almost every single afternoon. That whole no-fruit-after-2pm thing would not work for me. Monday, it was an apple. I also had a light string cheese for a little protein. I feel like an idiot when I eat string cheese at work. It’s like eating fun dip. And you just can’t look like a grown up when eating fun dip.

Dinner

For dinner, I consumed a (few) glass(es) of vino from Secco, because it was flight night, and Eric and I hadn’t had a BFF-Date night in forever, so it was long over due. We also do our  best business brainstorming when we’ve had a glass or two of wine. It’s a fact. Don’t mess with the facts. We also had some pizza. It’s all about balance, right?

What are you excited about today?

I wasn’t actually surprised by my lack of exercise. Since my left leg had been bothering me a little bit last week, I figured taking 3 days off wouldn’t kill me.

But that wasn’t all I rested from. I didn’t open my laptop for a solid 48 hours. Not once. (And I didn’t even check my e-mail on my phone.) I also (accidentally) left my phone at home for most of the day on Saturday.

Disconnected. And you know what?

It was fine.

I think my brain needed the digital detox as much as my body needed a rest from working out.

I’m really bad at focusing on one task, and one task only. My phone is always buzzing next to me. I practically begin twitching when I see this:

And obviously, the same reaction is true for e-mails, texts, facebook, wordpress…

Putting my phone down, and keeping my laptop closed allowed me to really spend time with my friends and family, without constantly asking “sorry, what?” as I glance up from my phone, mid-text.

And while I might have been disconnected form the world… I was snapping pictures!

Visiting Alexa’s school (CCAD) for an art show! She’s amazing

Eating the worlds best veggie burger.

And found some words of inspiration. (Kelly, I stole this )

My trip went by way too fast, as it always does, but I’m glad I got to go home and see my family, Alexa, Kelly, and Christine! (Christine, I will definitely be trying that quinoa recipe!!!) Lindsay, we really will meet up one of these days!

Do you ever need a digital detox? Do you miss out on things because you’re too absorbed in your phone or computer?

They have a pretty fantastic happy hour from 3-7, which includes $3 glasses of wine. Yes. $3.

Being the classy girl that I am, that’s pretty much all I need to be convinced. But they also have a great menu, as well as a little patio. Bonus, and bonus. You won’t find much menu info from their website, but that’s because they change it up based on fresh ingredients. You can check the chalkboard when you walk in.

Blogger friends turned real-life friends. Isn’t it fun when that happens?

Although the owner couldn’t be there, she did send us this appetizer on the house, which isn’t on the menu (yet) but we all really enjoyed! It was little tiny bananas, on a bed of greens, with lots of seeds (pumpkin, pepita, and sunflower I think?) and some sort of dressing that was light and lovely. I totally think this deserves to be on the menu!

After I got home, I didn’t feel like making anything fancy, but I still needed a little something before going to bed. I decided to whip up another one of these…

German Chocolate Shake

• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp coconut butter
• 1 tbsp caramel syrup (I use the Torani kind, but you could swap it for honey)
• 2 tbsp unsweetend coconut flakes (plus more for sprinkling on top!)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1-2 handfuls of ice

Toss it all in a blender, and top with a bit more coconut and caramel sauce. It tastes like a milkshake, but is healthy enough to be enjoyed guilt-free.  Click here for the full nutritional info.

I’m heading back home to visit my family in Ohio, so the weekend shall be filled with festivities!

What are you doing this weekend?

Anyways, since I’m going out of town on Friday, I’m really trying to use up all the fresh produce and things that won’t stay good for long. I did a pretty good job, but it meant I ate a lot of really random small meals throughout the day!

Breakfast

Nothing new here folks. o% Chobani, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and a sprinkle of cookie dough granola.

Lunch

I needed to use up some egg whites, so I microwave-scrambled them with a wedge of laughing cow cheese, and topped them with a black bean cake and a little salsa. I know you can’t see the eggs, but I promise they’re at the bottom! I’m not a big fan of eggs in general, but mixed together, this was delicious and packed with 25g of protein! I also had an unpictured and unexciting salad, which was just romaine, a little bit of Brianne’s Caesar dressing, balsamic vinegar, and a few croutons.

Dinner #1

Tuesdays are a little strange, because I have a young professionals group from 6-8, so I took a german chocolate smoothie with me, since I knew I’d be ravenous by the time I got home if I didn’t have something to tide me over. I’ll share the recipe with you sometime soon. This was delicious!

Dinner #2

I went out for drinks and didn’t get home until 9:30, and when I got back, I was craving some “bad for me” food, so I decided to make a light version of an unhealthy snack. I’d done it with zucchini, so why not with cheese? I’m actually not even a huge fan of cheese in general, but for some reason, I was craving mozzarella sticks. I literally have no idea why.

Lighten Up! Mozzarella Sticks

• 2 sticks of light string cheese (I used the Weight Watchers brand)
• 2 tbsp bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp fiber one, blended into a powder (or just substitute more bread crumbs)
• 2 tbsp egg whites
• Oregano, chili powder, basil, garilc
• 1/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce (for dipping)

Cut the string cheese in half, and then length wise (or you can keep it long, I just wanted mini ones!) and pop them in the freezer for a couple minutes. This will keep the cheese from melting all over the pan. Once it’s cold, dip into the egg white, and coat with bread crumbs. Sprinkle with seasoning and pop into the oven on a greased cookie sheet at 400 for about 8-10 minutes, turning half way through.

These were SO good. I think I have a new favorite healthy-pretending-to-be-unhealthy snack. (Above is half the recipe.) The whole recipe is less than 200 calories and so freaking delicious! Not to mention 13g of protein!

What’s your favorite unhealthy snack? Do you have a healthy alternative?

Since I’m really trying to keep an eye on my grocery budget, I was doing some brainstorming for what to do with the Mexican leftovers! I didn’t feel like (another) burrito or stir fry, and I was kind of in the mood for a veggie burger.

I’d made black bean burgers before… so I figured, why wouldn’t it work with refried beans? However, I never have buns in the house, so I’m calling them Bean Cakes. That way, no bun is expected. Fair?

Remixed Black Bean Cakes

• 3/4 cup refried black beans
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup whole grain oats
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (You could omit this if you dont’ have it)
• Dashes of chili powder, red pepper flakes, tabasco sauce, and salt

Preheat the oven to 350, and then toss everything into a bowl. Drop about 1/3 cup of the mixture on to a greased cookie sheet. It should make about 4 large cakes. Then cover with foil, and pop it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, flip the cakes, then back for another 10-15 minutes. Serve anyway you like! I ate mine on a bed of spinach, topped with salsa.

Click here for nutritional info.

Yummm.

Since I made four, I’m hoping to use up the other three during my lunch-packing attempts. I’m really trying to plan ahead and pack leftovers, so I don’t keep buying my lunch at work. Usually, it’s as simple as packing it the night before, so I don’t have to rush to throw something together in the morning.

This was the perfect quick and easy dinner, after I finished a quick run with Eric.

Speaking of running, I managed to complete my goal of 15 miles last week! I was actually harder than I thought, but I’m going to attempt another 15 miles during this week as well. Since I’m leaving for Ohio on Friday, some of those miles might have to be run on Ohio ground (Alexa, Kelly, & Annie… I hope you’re ready for this!) And based on twitter, it seemed like everyone and their mother ran a race this weekend. It’s making me think I should re-awaken my desire to train for a half marathon…

Now I need some ideas for how to use the salad kale I picked up at the farmers market on Saturday… ideas?

So when I bought my iphone, I didn’t even look at the paid apps. I figured there were plenty of free ones. So I pretty much refused to ever shell out .99 cents.

But over time, I realized that there were a few apps worth buying, and these are my favorites. If I’m willing to buy them… I think you’ll find them worthy of a buck or two as well.

Nike + GPS

Oh my gosh, if you don’t have this Nike + GPS, and you run at ALL ,you must download it. Don’t get this confused with the Nike + app that requrires the chip in a Nike shoe. This app works on it’s own. It tracks your distance, route, time, and allows your friends to “cheer you on” (through facebook, although you don’t have to post your runs if you don’t want to).

Livestrong/The Daily Plate

I used the SparkPeople tracker for awhile, but the Livestrong app is a little more convenient and tended to have a better database of food. If you want to track your calories, protein, fiber, anything, this tool is super simple to use. I use it every once in awhile to make sure I’m getting enough protein.

Camera Awesome

Honestly, there are tons of camera apps out there, and I’m not sure which one is my favorite, but I do think Camera Awesome is pretty cool. You can edit pictures right from your phone, apply filters, and take multiple photos really quickly. It has more features than I’ve ever played around with. If you use your iphone as your primary camera, you should consider this one!

All of those are a couple dollars, and I think they’re definitely worth it. (I mean, come on. You get could all three of those for like $6.)

Just this morning, I used my Nike + app for a run with Brittany! We ran a bit slower than normal, since we did the “Lululemon 5k” meet up yesterday. The super laid back 5K actually happens every Thursday night, apparently. (5K and Chardonnay which means it’s perfectly acceptable to stop by Cafe Caturra and grab a glass of vino after the run). Despite the crazy temperatures, we managed to crank out 3 miles with Lindsay and my friend Emily. My legs are definitely going to be sore, but I’m hopefully going to do another 3 miles tomorrow, to meet my goal of 15 miles this week!

What’s your favorite app (paid or free)?