Sunday, June 28, 2015

8 weeks of healthy habits week 6

8 Weeks of Healthy Habits!

Welcome to week 6 of our #8weeksofhealthyhabits.  Each week, I will post an overview of the upcoming week's goals with some helpful links and info. The purpose of this challenge is not to be stressful, preachy, or overbearing, just a fun way to incorporate some new ideas.  If you like something that we do, please feel free to incorporate it into your daily/weekly schedule and really make it a new habit. If you're looking to really up your game, try the #DaisyDukeStrong challenge at the bottom of this post.

The fun part about these challenges is the sharing.  See if you can post a thought or a selfie each day to the facebook page about what you're doing.  If you're an Instagram user, you can also post there, using the hashtags #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Week 6:

Sunday: Take some time to reflect on your day & the last week. Write in a journal, or share to your blog.  Journaling on a regular basis can help you gain insight to your own humanity.

Monday: Try a dance workout! Boogie around!

Tuesday: Try having a day with no processed foods. See if you can eat only fresh, whole foods!

Wednesday:  Set your alarm 10 minutes early and do crunches before you get dressed for your day.

Thursday:  Drink a glass of water before each meal.

Friday: Free Fitness! Post a selfie of you doing your favorite activity to the facebook page! Each Friday will be Free Fitness Friday. You get to choose the activity- just get up and do something and share it with the rest of us! If you post to Instagram, don't forget your hashtags, #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Saturday: Socialize today with friends! Talk and laugh with real people.

Daisy Duke Strong Challenge

Now, if you want that extra challenge, here's the week overview of #DaisyDukeStrong! Myself, I did better with these last week. It was easier to break up everything into smaller sets.

Sunday: 130 crunches, 130 squats
Monday: 5 sets of 12-17 push-ups each
Tuesday: 130 crunches, 130 squats
Wednesday: 125 crunches, 125 squats, 5 sets of 12-17 push-ups each
Thursday: 130 crunches, 130 squats
Friday: 135 crunches, 135 squats, 5 sets of 12-17 push-ups each
Saturday: rest day

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Plan June 29- July 5

Monday
Run 4
Yoga
Mango mint smoothie
Beetza
Big Mac Potato

Tuesday
Walk
Yoga & Yin Yoga class
Maple & banana sweet potato
Eggless egg salad
Tropikale bowl

Wednesday
Run 4
Yoga
Cherry blueberry smoothie
Tropikale bowl
Triple green quesidilas

Thursday
Run 5k
Yoga
Peach pie smoothie
Triple green smoothie
Italian burgers

Friday
Run 15
Yoga
Tofu sandwich
Samosas

Saturday
Yoga
Patriotic smoothie
Picnic/ tailgating food

Sunday
Yoga
Mystery smoothie
Roasted veggies and white bean sandwich
Peachy bean quiona salad

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Plan June 22-28

Monday
Yoga
Run 4
Watermelon basil juice
Sunday leftovers
Zucchini crab cakes

Tuesday
Yoga & walk
Mango mint smoothie *
Zucchini crab cakes
Monster tempeh tahini salad

Wednesday
Yoga
Run 4
Breakfast apple mug cake *
Monster tempeh tahini salad
Roasted Pizza chickpeas *

Thursday
Yoga & walk
Chocolate banana spinach smoothie *
Roasted Pizza chickpeas
Cauliflower samosa tacos

Friday
Yoga
Run 14
Tofu sandwich
Cauliflower samosa tacos
Beetza

Saturday
Yoga
Banana split smoothie *
Beetza
Italian pasta salad

Sunday
Yoga
Peach avocado basil roll up
Italian pasta salad
Chickpea "tuna" salad sandwiches

The little stars next to the smoothies are a reminder to myself that I'm going to make an extra smoothie each morning, and freeze it for Mia to take home with her in a few weeks.

Rob told me the other day that he noticed we rarely ate the same recipe twice in a month. That's true. I am always finding & putting together new combinations. So he's been telling me when he really loves something so that I can repeat it. Lately, he's really enjoyed the Italian pasta salad (a Happy Herbivore recipe), my chickpea "tuna" salad sandwiches (my own recipe), and last night he loved something that I just threw together, so I'm recording that recipe here now, that way I can re-create it.

1 package frozen broccoli
1 summer squash, medium size, chopped into 1" pieces
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
~1 c. Cooked rice (I had some leftover in the fridge, didn't measure, but it wasn't a lot)
1 slice daiya vegan swiss cheese, torn in bits (the shredded would have been way handy to use here, but I didn't have any)
1 T nooch
1 T ground flax meal
1 T pink salt

In a skillet, I cooked the broccoli for a few minutes (it came sttaight out of the freezer) then added the squash and beans, and the nooch, flax, and salt, cover and cook a few more minutes. Then I added the rice, and the cheese, but didn't stir, I just covered the skillet and lowerd the burner to the lowest setting, letting the cheese steam and melt into the rice. Then I stirred it just before serving. This made two large servings. If you added more rice and/or a second summer squash, it could have served 4.

I'm still running.  I'm having a mind block about long distances. In the last 2 weeks, I've run LSD runs of over 12 miles each, but getting past 13 seems like a mental barrier. I'm going to try to run 14 on Friday, and have Rob run the last few with me, to get me over my mind block.

Feeling pretty proud also, that I've been doing yoga every single day in June so far! I love it.

One day last week, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, so I took myself on a me-date. I took some kind supplies to the homeless folks on Indiana Square, then treated myself to a movie. I saw Love & Mercy, about Brian Wilson, and it was fantastic. Pet Sounds is my favorite album of all time, and this movie really told a lovely story. I highly recommend it!

Summer solstice

Today is June 21, and where I live, today is the longest day of the year. Summer Solstice. Solstice means the standing still of the sun, and I've always felt very energetic on this day.

New Year's is when most people declare their resolutions. These goals are often quickly forgotten, or else, by January 7, they seem overwhelming or impossible. Maybe because I've been a teacher for so long, but I always thought of the new year beggining over the summer, and that may be why I love the solstice so much. There's also the connection I feel with the sun in other ways. As a child, my dad used to sing me "Sunshine on my shoulder" by John Denver. In High School, my dear friend Jon (AKA Ducky) gave me the nickname "Sunny" which stayed with me for many years.

So today, on this longest day, I like to set intentions for myself for the remainder of the year. These are not resolutions, but  reminders to myself of the human I want to be.

I intend to...
Live each day the best life I can
Practice kindness to all sentient beings, including myself
Allow and inspire creativity
Seek out knowledge
Discover beauty in all that surrounds me, including myself

Monday, June 15, 2015

Will travel for vegan food: Boston book release party!

My friend Kristin Lajeunesse wrote a fantastic memoir about her travels around the country, visiting every vegan restaurant in the U.S., during which time she blogged about the food that was available throughout the country.  
Her book is not just a vegan memoir, but a coming of age story about finding independence and discovering courage within. You can read my review of her book here, and order it from amazon here.

Anyway, Rob and I had the opportunity to go up to Boston for her book release party! We stayed with a lovely couple, Pam & Rob, who shared their Cambridge home with us through AirBnB.


We loved their cat, King Simon. Such a sweetie.
We took the overnight train up, something that I love. Night trains are great because you get to sleep & travel. Even though the sleeping isn't great.
We arrived Friday morning and headed straight to Veggie Galaxy for breakfast! This is an all veg diner, we ate here last April with our friend Courtney. We each got a tofu omlette with house-made vegan cheese. Mine had sweet potato mash and a balsamic glaze, while Rob's had seitan and greens. We went halvsies and shared!
After breakfast, we walked through Harvard Square, and checked out the campus. We had to pay homage to Click & Clack, and looked for their offices in the square, but couldn't find them. Finally, Rob said he was going to ask someone at an information booth, while I stepped into the Curious George shop (Margaret & H.A. Rey lived in Harvard square for many years) to buy post cards for my neices and nephew.  When I came out, we laughed when we realized that the offices of Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe were right above the shop. It's hard to see in the photo...
Next, we had to stop into Sudo shoes, an all-vegan shoe shop! I tried on a nice pair of boots that Rob and I both really liked for dressier occasions, but my eyes kept going back to a pair of water shoes. Finally, I thought to myself, "what do you do more/care more about?" And bought the canoe shoes.


Rob and I have been watching old episodes of Cheers on Netflix (no, we are still in season 3. Diane is still around. Coach is still alive. And it will probably take us a while to progress further, since OITNB Season 3 just came out) and last time we were in Boston, we walked by Cheers, but it wasn't open yet. We had to get a drink there. Rob got a Fisherman's Ale in a dimpled beer mug, and I got a silly drink called a Mayday Malone. Very touristy but fun. We went to the Beacon St. location where the outside opening sequence was shot, but the inside is nothing like it.


Anyway, back to vegan goodness, we had dinner at this really fancy spot, True Bistro. Great, great food. This all vegan establishment really was a cut above. And we lucked out, because I didn't make reservations, and we got the very last table that they seated for the evening. Not only was the food great, but the service was fantastic.
Out waiter let us know that there was one cup of the soup of the day left, so we jumped on that. He brought it out with two spoons. It was a miso mushroom asparagus soup served with bread and olive oil.

Rob ordered the house made ravioli, and I ordered the Thai green curry. The waiter informed me that the curry had a bit of a spicy kick. He wasn't kidding! About halfway through our meals, Rob and I switched plates.

For dessert, we both agreed on splitting the warm chocolate chip banana bread with a scoop of maple pecan ice cream. Wow!

Saturday morning, we had a nice morning at the house, with a breakfast of fruit, cereal, and coffee. Then we went for a run on the minuteman path, which is a great bike/running trail in Cambridge. We also rented commuter bikes this weekend, on which we cruised around. They were a lot of fun.
We took the T out to Fomu, an all-vegan ice cream shop in Allston! I'm a little sad I didn't taste every flavor, but I tasted the avocado flavor and was hooked. The ice creams are all coconut milk based, and their scoops very generous. I tasted avocado, and ordered it. Rob didn't even taste the peanut butter, he knew that was what he wanted.
Before we left, we heard someone order mango habenero, and we had to taste it! It was sweet with a great spicy kick! Even though his belly was full, Rob ordered a scoop of that as well.
Then we scooted over to O2 Yoga, a beautiful yoga studio and vegan cafe just south of Harvard Square. There, not only did we meet Mimi, the owner, who served us sandwiches (I got the North End, a tofu and tapenade on french bread, and Rob got a Choona on Chibtta), but we also met Kristin and her family! We had a great evening! Kristin talked a bit about her writing process, and we ate some vegan cupcakes her mom brought from a bakery in Albany.


Rob has this amazing ability to take fuzzy pictures of every vegan foodie we meet. Kristin joins a long list of other vegans who are in out-of-focus pictures with me.


Sunday, we had a lazy morning, went to the movies & saw Mad Max: Fury Road (Charlize Theron & I have the same haircut!), checked out the Museum of Bad Art, and danced to an impromptu pop up marching band at Davis Square.




We returned to Veggie Galaxy for lunch, where I got the blackened seitan, and Rob ordered the Vegan Ceaser side salad. True to form, we ended up swapping plates.





Sadly, I couldn't eat everything I wanted to try! Clover has a new shop at Central square, Harvard food court has vegan options each day, there are an abundance of vegan food truck options.... sigh.
I did get a midnight vegan burger on the train from the cafe car on the way home. It was okay for a microwaved thing, but I mostly bought it to support veganism!
Not only did I get to eat lots of vegan food in Boston, but I also got to do lots of yoga there. I like being an active human who enjoys walking, running, biking, etc, in new places.
Oh, and we saw the most beautiful gigantic momma swan in the gardens! <3 Boston!
Big thanks to Kristin for such a great weekend! She hooked us up with our stay with Pam through AirBnB, and sent us gift cards to use at Veggie Galaxy, Fomu, Sudo, and True Bistro! 

Sunday, June 14, 2015

8 Weeks of Healthy Habits week 5 overview

8 Weeks of Healthy Habits!

Welcome to week 5 of our #8weeksofhealthyhabits.  Each week, I will post an overview of the upcoming week's goals with some helpful links and info. The purpose of this challenge is not to be stressful, preachy, or overbearing, just a fun way to incorporate some new ideas.  If you like something that we do, please feel free to incorporate it into your daily/weekly schedule and really make it a new habit. If you're looking to really up your game, try the #DaisyDukeStrong challenge at the bottom of this post.

The fun part about these challenges is the sharing.  See if you can post a thought or a selfie each day to the facebook page about what you're doing.  If you're an Instagram user, you can also post there, using the hashtags #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Week 5:

Sunday: Take some time to reflect on your day & the last week. Write in a journal, or share to your blog.  Journaling on a regular basis can help you gain insight to your own humanity.

Monday: Try an AM yoga routine in the morning. A few sun salutations will get the blood flowing and your brain working better than coffee!

Tuesday: Have a monster salad for dinner. What is a monster salad? A salad as big as you can make it! Check out your local farmer's market & see what kinds of freah, local produce you can include! I'll post my recipe for my tempeh tahini salad on my blog.

Wednesday:  Work those arms! I know I frequently forget to work the rest of my body, so I installed a pull up bar above a door in my house. I do a few pull-ups when I pass through the doorway!

Thursday:  Add some fruits, herbs, or veggies to infuse your water. Try prepping this Wednesday night, and letting your water chill overnight. Yum.

Friday: Free Fitness! Post a selfie of you doing your favorite activity to the facebook page! Each Friday will be Free Fitness Friday. You get to choose the activity- just get up and do something and share it with the rest of us! If you post to Instagram, don't forget your hashtags, #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Saturday: Meditate for 10 minutes. You can use one of the apps or programs I've previously mentioned, or just sit quietly for 10 minutes and allow yurself to be.

Daisy Duke Strong Challenge

Now, if you want that extra challenge, here's the week overview of #DaisyDukeStrong! I'll admit, I fell off the squat/crunch wagon last week... :( but I'm determined to get back today. 105 is a steep number to start with, so I'll break these up into smaller chunks.

Sunday: 105 crunches, 105 squats
Monday: 110 crunches, 110 squats, 5 sets of 10-15 push-ups each
Tuesday: 115 crunches, 115 squats
Wednesday: 5 sets of 10-15 push-ups each
Thursday: 115 crunches, 115 squats
Friday: 120 crunches, 120 squats, 5 sets of 10-15 push-ups each
Saturday: 125 crunches, 125 squats

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

8 weeks of healthy habits week 4 overview

8 Weeks of Healthy Habits!

Welcome to week 4 of our #8weeksofhealthyhabits.  Each week, I will post an overview of the upcoming week's goals with some helpful links and info. The purpose of this challenge is not to be stressful, preachy, or overbearing, just a fun way to incorporate some new ideas.  If you like something that we do, please feel free to incorporate it into your daily/weekly schedule and really make it a new habit. If you're looking to really up your game, try the #DaisyDukeStrong challenge at the bottom of this post.

The fun part about these challenges is the sharing.  See if you can post a thought or a selfie each day to the facebook page about what you're doing.  If you're an Instagram user, you can also post there, using the hashtags #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Week 4:

Sunday: Take some time to reflect on your day & the last week. Write in a journal, or share to your blog.  Journaling on a regular basis can help you gain insight to your own humanity.

Monday: Add 1000 steps to your planned activities today. This is about half of a mile, or 10 minutes of walking.

Tuesday: Eat fresh fruit for dessert! Try Banana nice-cream! Blend 2-3 frozen bananas with a date and a couple of drops of vanilla! Yum!

Wednesday:  Play outside for 10 minutes! Go play catch with the kids, the dogs, with yourself! Skip and jump! Run like Phoebe in Friends!

Thursday: Try going without caffeine for the day, kids, try to cut out sugarey sweets. C'mon, just try it. Instead of a cup of coffee in the morning, have some orange juice! This isn't so tough.

Friday: Free Fitness! Post a selfie of you doing your favorite activity to the facebook page! Each Friday will be Free Fitness Friday. You get to choose the activity- just get up and do something and share it with the rest of us! If you post to Instagram, don't forget your hashtags, #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Saturday: Try some PM yoga before bed tonight! Haven't tried legs-up-the-wall yet? Now's your chance!

Daisy Duke Strong Challenge

Now, if you want that extra challenge, here's the week overview of #DaisyDukeStrong!

Sunday: 80 crunches, 80 squats
Monday: 85 crunches, 85 squats, 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups each
Tuesday: 90 crunches, 90 squats
Wednesday: 95 crunches, 95 squats, 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups each
Thursday: 100 crunches, 100 squats
Friday: 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups each
Saturday: 100 crunches, 100 squats

Monday, June 8, 2015

Plan June 15-21

Monday
Run 2.5
Yoga, 85 crunches & squats, 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups
Kale wrap
Scrambled tofu fried rice

Tuesday
Yoga, 90 crunches & squats
Raw, green smoothie
Scrambled tofu fried rice
Italian Pasta salad

Wednesday
Run 4, play outside
Yoga, 95 crunches & squats, 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups
Raw, green smoothie
Italian pasta salad
Chickpea florentine

Thursday
Yoga, 100 crunches & squats
Raw, green smoothie
Chickpea florentine
Mediterranean cakes with quiona tabbouleh

Friday
Run 13
Yoga, 5 sets of 8-12 push-ups
Raw, green smoothie
Mediterranean cakes with quiona tabbouleh
Italian white bean pitas

Saturday
Yoga, 100 crunches & squats
Raw, green smoothie
Banana nice cream
BBQ sweet potato sliders

Sunday
Yoga, 105 crunches & squats
Raw, green smoothie
BBQ sweet potato sliders
Chickpea fries

Also on the agenda this week, OITNB Season 3 just came out, so Rob and I are going to go back to season 1 and watch them all. Slowly.

My dissertation is supposed to be in committee soon, so that's exciting.

It's hot so cooking and running long distances are gross. I am getting a lot of reading done, though.

I also just went up to Boston again for my friend Kristin's book release party, but I'll tell you all about that later.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

#8weeksofhealthyhabits week 3 overview

8 Weeks of Healthy Habits!

Welcome to week 3 of our #8weeksofhealthyhabits.  Each week, I will post an overview of the upcoming week's goals with some helpful links and info. The purpose of this challenge is not to be stressful, preachy, or overbearing, just a fun way to incorporate some new ideas.  If you like something that we do, please feel free to incorporate it into your daily/weekly schedule and really make it a new habit. If you're looking to really up your game, try the #DaisyDukeStrong challenge at the bottom of this post.

The fun part about these challenges is the sharing.  See if you can post a thought or a selfie each day to the facebook page about what you're doing.  If you're an Instagram user, you can also post there, using the hashtags #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits 

Week 3:

Sunday: Take some time to reflect on your day & the last week. Write in a journal, or share to your blog.  Journaling on a regular basis can help you gain insight to your own humanity. You journal doesn't always need to be serious. Think about including little drawings, quotes that inspire you, or lists of goals!


Monday: See how long you can hold a plank! Planks really work the core, and build strength. 


Tuesday: Try a green smoothie for breakfast! I love smoothies! My favorite is kale/banana/vanilla almond milk, but lately I've also been enjoying mango/pineapple/mixed greens/hemp powder.


Wednesday: Walk or run for at least 2 miles. Even if you're walking, this should take you about 40 minutes. You have that time! Walking or running a dedicated 2 miles a day, 4-5 days a week can cause an overall improvement in your health!


Thursday: Try going without alcohol for the evening, kids, try to cut out sugarey sweets. C'mon, just try it. We all know you didn't follow through with the no electronics thing last week. This isn't so tough.

Friday: Free Fitness! Post a selfie of you doing your favorite activity to the facebook page! Each Friday will be Free Fitness Friday. You get to choose the activity- just get up and do something and share it with the rest of us! If you post to Instagram, don't forget your hashtags, #PIG and #8weeksofhealthyhabits

Saturday: Pay it forward. Have you tried this? It's fantastic. Every once in a while I'll pay for the person behind me in the coffee shop drive-through. And I frequently hand out food and clothes to homeless people in DC (Mia came home one day and said, "Mom, I think this homeless lady had the same sweater as me!") Do something nice for a random person. Or moose... check ou this moose family playing in the sprinkler a kind human turned on for them: https://www.thedodo.com/moose-in-sprinkler-1178007896.html


Daisy Duke Strong Challenge

Now, if you want that extra challenge, here's the week overview of #DaisyDukeStrong!

Sunday: 65 crunches, 65 squats
Monday: 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each
Tuesday: 65 crunches, 65 squats
Wednesday: 70 crunches, 70 squats, 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each
Thursday: 75 crunches, 75 squats
Friday: 80 crunches, 80 squats, 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each
Saturday: rest






Plan June 8-14

Monday
Plank, 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each
Yoga
Raw, green fruit smoothie
BBQ tofu & veggies
Potato verde tacos

Tuesday
Run 4, 65 crunches, 65 squats
Yoga
Raw, green fruit smoothie
Potato verde tacos
Thai sweet potato fries

Wednesday
Walk 2, 70 crunches, 70 squats, 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each
Yoga
Raw, green fruit smoothie
Thai sweet potato fries
Fancy grilled "cheese" sandwich with apple & onion

Thursday
Run 12, 75 crunches, 75 squats
Yoga
Raw, green fruit smoothie
Salad
Monster kale walnut wrap

Friday
Walk & yoga, 80 crunches, 80 squats, 5 sets of 6-9 push-ups each

Saturday
Walk & yoga

Sunday
Walk & yoga, 80 crunches, 80 squats

I didn't get my long run in last week. A combitation of thunderstorms, headaches, and a veterans visit made it impossible. As I write this (Sunday) the air pressure is still very wonky, so I'm calling this an off week and will just revamp my mileage. This time of year is when I started to have the headaches. It's frustrating to think that they've gone on this long, but I'm also glad to know that I've learned to deal with them, and with some exceptions (like my long run this week) can mostly just carry on.

I've been trying to focus some of my energy on daily yoga practice. My goal for June was to spend a few minutes every day yoga-ing, but I missed yesterday. Ah, well, today is a new day.

The challenges that I've written for my family are still going. Interestingly enough, those who are participating are doing the #DaisyDukeStrong one. I thought more people would get into the #8weeksofhealthyhabits.  If you want to play along, the link to this week is (http://questingadventures.blogspot.com/2015/06/8weeksofhealthyhabits-week-3-overview.html ) We are in our 3rd of 8 weeks.

Note that there are raw green smoothies for many breakfasts this week. Two different vegan bloggers are doing smoothie related things this month. Fully Raw Kristina is hosting a "Love my body" event, where she encourages you to eat one raw vegan meal a day, and gives lots of recipes, many of which are smoothies. Heather Nichols is hosting a "Smoothiepalooza" where she's sending out recipies for vegan smoothies. Both of these ladies are hosting these events mainly on YouTube.  Check them out!

The end of this week is a little up in the air, with the promise of excitement. That's why I haven't planned those meals yet!