The Blog Plan

Most of the time I’ve been failing to write new posts because I frankly have nothing interesting to report on. It’s usually the same old routine, the same old menu, the same old exercise…seems like a waste of time to post another salad pic. So taking a cue from some of my fave blogs, I’m going to get organized. I love me some structure, with everything in its place. Unfortunately, due to my lack of discipline, things don’t always follow a set plan. So I’m going to stay true to myself and set up categories (is that the right technical term? or maybe theme is a better word) for posts.

This blog was set up to chronicle my journey of living a healthy lifestyle with all the other stuff thrown in too, so the majority of posts will have to do with food, exercising, and motivation (or struggles with it).

I’ve come up with 6 categories for weekly posts (am I getting a bit too ambitious?). So with my ridiculous(-ly bad) sense of humour, and in keeping with the blog name, here are my (not at all clever) attempts to coin some phrases:

Recipangles – Recap of a new recipe I’ve tried that week. This will be my motivation to start cooking new things.
Exercisangles – Review of the my weekly workout plan. Report back of what I did and if I tried anything new.
Inspirangles – Featuring famous inspirational quotes, these posts will be all about motivation.
Entertangles – My take on entertainment – movies, tv shows, Toronto hot spots (restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs), etc.
Blogangles – I love discovering new blogs, so these posts will re-direct you to my fave post of the week at blogs I read.
Shopangles – A discussion of purchases, wish lists, fashion trends, etc.

Let’s be honest, I’m not going to post everyday. But hopefully this structure will help me work up to it. Stay tuned!

holy g-spot it’s the 2010 olympics!

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games are starting today, folks!! Hope you’ll all be watching and supporting your favourite teams (GO TEAM CANADA!!!). I’m more of a summer olympics chick myself, but olympics are olympics, and bonus: there are hot men all over the place regardless (only drawback, they’re usually not half naked). And oh wow, what a coinky-dink, I’m on spring break starting today, so I’ll actually be able to watch quite a bit this year (hopefully).

Anyways, I just wanted to pimp that out since they’re going on just across the country from me! So tune in and enjoy! 🙂

What sports will you be watching??

January in pictures

Amy's No Chicken Noodle Soup with coriander garnish, french bread with earth balance

Butternut squash fries! Yum yum YUM!!

The not so yummy Larabar - Cocoa Coconut Chew

Breaded tilapia fillet, 1/2 C parboiled rice, sauted brussell sprouts, zukes and bitter melon

Lentil soup aka daal with onions, those square chunks are boiled bitter melon, the long green thing is an okra

Wild rice, roast chicken drumsticks, brussell sprouts, zukes, broccoli and red pepper

Loot from my first trip to Whole Foods! Brought home a hearty lunch of potato salad, noodles with tofu, pasta salad and some kind of bean salad

Quick sidebar on my trip to Whole Foods: Wasn’t overly impressed by the selection. It was super expensive and quite a trip since there are only 2 in Toronto (well technically only 1 in Toronto and 1 in Oakville). I randomly headed over after my early morning class finished and I had the rest of the day off so I thought I’d check it out. I wish I’d gone with a game plan though. I couldn’t remember all the fantastic brands/products the blogs rave about, which is the only reason why I’d shop there because my local fruit stands, health food stores and grocery stores all offer organic fruits/veggies and a lot of the popular health food brands, e.g. the Larabars, I found a Luna bar at one health food store, Mary’s organic gluten-free rice crackers (which are very YUM!), etc. What I did like about Whole Foods was their famous prepared foods bar. I brought a nice little container of deliciousness home, along with some really good vegan chocolate mousse, almond butter and a just-add-water minestrone soup mix.

Now back to the show…

Salmon with my new fave go-to veggie side dish: sauted b.sprouts, zukes, broccoli, mushrooms and red peppers (with some basil, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, s&p sprinkled on top)

My mom's homemade veggie and chicken soup

b.sprouts, broc, red pepps

French toast with whole wheat bread

Garlic toast on whole wheat bread with earth balance and fresh pureed garlic

Mixed greens with cukes, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, garlic shrimp, and half a can of mixed beans marinated in a champagne vinaigrette

Delicious pineapple, mandarin orange and weird looking bruised cherries

Gnocchi, cukes, red onions, mushrooms, broccoli, red pepps, tomatoes, avocado

A close-up of the pasta dish showing how the avocado and tomatoes made a nice creamy/pesto-consistency sauce

Spring mix greens, cherry tomatoes, blue berries, shredded rotisserie chicken breast, avocado (yes I'm obsessed with it right now!)

homemade guacomole--avocado, diced red onion & tomatoes, pinch of salt, pepper and paprika, squeeze of lemon/lime

homemade butternut squash and red pepper soup with some quinoa thrown on top, roasted bitter melon and butternut squash fries on the side

Yikes, my stomach’s growling! Hmm…what to have for lunch today? *note to self: don’t forget to take food pics!*

2010 Resolutions

**Here’s that Resolutions post I started during the holidays and never got around to finishing.**

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have mixed feelings about the way my year started out. It’s silly, but I like to believe that the way you start off the year sets the tone for the rest of it. Can’t say that I’ve noticed that to be the truth, really don’t think there’s any stock to that superstition, but I guess it’s a frame of mind. So although I didn’t start the year off eating healthy meals or getting a work out in, this illness has made me lose a few pounds and the fear of another relapse has me fighting my cravings.

Crazy thing is I’m craving veggies! (and chocolate, of course.)

I’ve been spending my resting time getting caught up on tv shows, watching old movies that are playing on tv (I’d forgotten how funny Hitch was!), and getting caught up on my fave blogs. I’ve been particularly inspired by Kath Eats lately. She’s put up some really great meal ideas that I’m dying to try.

I’ve also tried 2 products this week that I’ve read about all over the blog world: Amy’s Kitchen soups and Lara Bars.

Amy’s Kitchen Soup – No Chicken Noodle Soup
Totally loved it! 🙂  It’s not a very hearty soup, more brothy, which was perfect for me. Seasoned well. It’s not spectacular. It’s really just very ordinary, but I was so surprised at how much the soy pieces tasted like chicken. For me, that made it yummy. I also bought the organic minestrone. I’m looking forward to trying that out soon.

Lara Bar – Cocoa coconut
Disappointing. 😦 I’ve heard rave reviews about Lara bars (granted not about this particular flavor) and I was stoked to find that my local health food store carried them, but I don’t know if there was something wrong with just the bar I opened or if they’re all like that (I bought another so I’ll have to check that out and see if it’s just a fluke), it was just disgusting. Well, it tasted okay. I liked that there were whole almond pieces, but I hated the smell of the bar itself. It was almost chemical-like, I don’t know, I can’t describe it, I just didn’t like it. Ruined the taste for me. Had a couple of bites then had to toss it. And I was surprised at the calorie count for the size of the bar. I much prefer my Glo Bars!

Aside from soup, bread and bananas, I’ve ventured into squash territory. A butternut squash I bought last week was just asking to be made into fries, so I sliced it up and baked it. I wish I had a mandolin! That thing is tough to cut.

New Year’s Resolutions for 2010!

* Lose weight – there was a shift in the scale, then I got hurt and couldn’t work out and the scale has not budged.

* Run a 5 K – only got in 2 runs before I hurt my back. I’m gonna give it a try next week and see how the back does.

* Be more positive – I’ve definitely been putting this one into practice, and what a difference! I usually get affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, but either it’s the milder weather or my will to be more positive that has me lighter and happy.

* Get out of my comfort zone – have done this a little related to school and being more proactive, social, etc.

* Meet new people and make some new friends – have met some new people, not quite at the friend stage yet, but getting there.

*Read at least 1 novel a month – kind of happening unintentionally. I’m taking an English course (women’s writing a.k.a feminist literature). January novel – Jane Eyre.

*Blog at least once a week – FAIL! 🙂 Will try to remedy that asap.

Warning: I’ve got a little time on my hands this week and am feeling bloggy, there might be a barrage of posts (at least in the context of my blog LOL) this week, so look out! 😛