Then and Now: My Journey Thus Far :)

Every once in a while, it's a beautiful thing to look back and see how far you've come from the person you were only a few short years ago.

My 21st birthday was a time of great joy and excitement. I had my own apartment, a great job, my amazing boyfriend, and a supportive family; life was really just beginning for me.  I was a point in my where I was just comfortable with everything around me and I let life take it's toll. Enter: alcohol calories, bar food, greasy hangover breakfasts, you get the idea. The weight slowly crept on and before I knew it, I was the heaviest I have ever been.

I'm not proud of the decisions I made back then regarding my health, but I am proud of the one decision I made that changed my entire life: Get healthy. I started a program in May 2012 that was a strict low-carb, nearly no carb diet. I avoided bread, rice, and pasta, and consumed only small portions of fruit and vegetables. My main caloric intake came from protein. Lots of lean chicken breast, turkey, salmon, cheese, and yogurt. In 6 months I had dropped 40 pounds simply from changing the way I ate. I went on the occasional walk during this time, but did little to no other form of exercise. As soon as I ended this program and began eating normally again, the weight began to come right back. Although this diet provided me with drastic results, I've come to realize that this is not a sustainable way to eat or live as a healthy individual. I spent the next several months trying to balance a social life, a full-time job, school, and everything else in between. I found myself stuck and unable to commit to eating right or working out.

Fast forward a few months later to May of 2013, when I found Tone It Up through Lauren Conrad's website. The founders of Tone It Up, Karena and Katrina, two beautiful, fit women had created an online community across the world of women who inspired each other to become the healthy and happy individuals I have grown to admire and draw strength from every day. After trying some of their workouts and recipes, I immediately purchased the Nutrition Plan and dove head first into one of their "Slim Downs". The wealth of information about health and nutrition they provide in the plan really gave me a strong base to start eating healthy again - the right way.  I learned to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats - even a few sweet treats as well! I discovered that being healthy is a daily commitment, and  you have to constantly work at it. Through Tone It Up, I have connected with like-minded women in my area who have become great friends, and an amazing source of motivation for those days when I just don't feel up to the task.

   2011                                           Today!

Since starting Tone It Up, I have not only began eating healthy again, (and going vegan!) I also started incorporating different types of work outs. I didn't want to just lose weight, I wanted to be strong and fit.  I began boxing at a local gym, jogging (yikes!), and strength training. I now have four 5k races, and a 10k under my belt, and this Saturday I'm doing a 5k obstacle course/mud run with a few girlfriends. In the coming months, I have another 10k lined up, and I also plan to sign up for a half marathon by the end of the year. Health and fitness has not only just become a daily part of my life, it is now one of my greatest sources of happiness. I've grown a lot over the past few years, and I've learned to fall in love with my body for the amazing things it has shown me I can do. I've managed to drop the 20 pounds I gained back last year and then some; plus now I've got some baby muscles!!

The past couple years have been a roller coaster, but I'm glad to say that I've found my stride. I've not yet reached my goals, but I'm a lot closer to them then I have ever been. Even when I do get there, I'll just be ready with some new, more challenging goals!  I've already come this far, and I can't wait to share the rest of my journey with you :)

Literally The Best Quesadilla, Ever.

I'm a huge fan of Mexican cuisine. Luckily for me, it is super easy to "veganize" many popular Mexican dishes. I was browsing Pinterest the other day and came across this super delicious looking quesadilla (sans the cheese) that I wanted to try immediately. The recipe is from Love My Vegan Life and she had it right; it really is the best vegan quesadilla!! The best quesadilla in general, for that matter. The hummus really gives it a creaminess so you don't even miss the cheese. You can definitely put all the vegan cheese you want on there, but I preferred it without :)
Anyway, I'll get right to it, here's the recipe:

The Best Vegan Quesadillas
 recipe and photo courtesy of  Love My Vegan Life 

What you'll need:

1 medium red onion, chopped,

10 scallions (green and white parts) chopped,

small bunch of cilantro (depends on your personal taste preferences) chopped

(I just threw all of this into my little ninja chopper so it mixed it all up and chopped it finely, you'll have leftovers of this to use on other recipes! )

 

Flour tortillas (I used Sonoma Traditional Organic Tortillas)

1 can of rinsed organic black beans (or other beans of your choice)

1 package of chipotle hummus (from Trader Joes, if you don’t have it, just add a ½ tsp of taco seasoning to a small container of roasted red pepper hummus) <-- That is what I did, I couldn't find chipotle hummus at Whole Foods.

1 tomato, diced (or fresh tomato salsa)

Onion/scallion/cilantro mix

Taco seasoning

Avocado (or guacamole)

Directions:

Pre-heat a nonstick skillet with a tiny drop of olive oil. Take 2 tortillas, and spread a decent amount of hummus on each of them. Take one and gently placed on heated skillet hummus side up. Start loading – black beans first, tomatoes, onion/scallion/cilantro mix, and be generous with all the ingredients, you want this to be a hearty dinner! Sprinkle some taco seasoning and cover with the other tortilla, hummus side down. Let it sit on the skillet (on a medium low) for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden and warmed up inside.

I topped my quesadilla with fresh avocado and some vegan sour cream. It was so delicious, and I want another one so bad as I'm typing this. I especially loved that this took such a minimal amount of effort to make. If I see more than like 10 ingredients, or a long and tedious list of directions, I just kind of chuckle to myself because that is probably never going to happen. The best part about this recipe though is that it got the boyfriend stamp of approval :) He enjoyed it just as much as I did, and I'm honestly probably going to make it again tonight.

Let me know if you try it!
and I want to know, what other recipes have you successfully veganized?

Recipe: Homemade Chana Masala (Chole)

Last night I had an intense craving for Indian food, specifically, chana masala (or chole). I had some vegan samosas from Whole Foods that were calling my name, and felt nothing would go better with them than chana masala. The problem:  I was much too lazy to go and pick some up. So my only option was to make some. I've never made Indian food at home before and was kind of afraid to. Many of the recipes I looked up called for things I didn't have (coriander seeds, garam masala, etc) but I decided to wing it, and it actually came out pretty well! The best part was I had all of this at home, and  it didn't require me to go to the specialty section of Whole Foods and spend money; plus it was super easy :)  Most of it I just kind of threw in the pan so these are only estimates, do what tastes good to you! For the tomato base I used paste, but next time I would probably use canned peeled tomatoes or something like that. (or fresh)

Homemade Chana Masala (Easy!)
1 can chickpeas
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp Grape seed Oil (or vegetable oil)
1 Tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 small can of tomato paste or 1 can of diced tomatoes w/ liquid.
1 and 1/2 Tbsp Curry powder
1 clove garlic - minced
1 medium red onion - chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Black pepper to taste
Dash of cayenne powder
Dash of cumin powder
Dash of turmeric powder
Water, as needed


Directions:
Heat vegetable oil over medium heat and saute onions until lightly browned. Then, add in the chickpeas, tomato paste or diced tomatoes, curry, garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, and black pepper. Add in the Earth Balance and stir until melted. Lastly, throw in the cilantro and let everything simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the chickpeas are nice and soft. (I noticed my mixture was a little thick, so I threw in some water to thin it out a bit, per my preferences)  Serve with rice, naan, samosas, pizza, whatever your heart desires!

I really enjoyed making this recipe. It was super simple and proves I don't totally suck at making food when I don't have a recipe to follow!

True Life: I'm Addicted to French Fries

As I sit here eating my delicious Vegan Chocolate Cupcake, I am reminded that tomorrow marks the first day of Lent. I have struggled over the past few days with feelings of guilt about what kind of food I eat on a regular basis. I realize that while I do my best to be healthy (like still drinking one green juice a day!), I could definitely make some better decisions when it comes to food. Yes, it may be vegan, but that doesn't mean it is necessarily good. So, for Lent I've decided to give up my most recent vice: french fries. I don't know what has gotten into me, but I'm finding one way or another to get myself some french fries on a much too often basis. Like, almost daily. Its bad. My stomach hates me for it. My skin hates me for it. Generally, I feel pretty shitty about it, but I can't stop myself! I brought lunch to the office today; a healthy and savory eggplant tomato stew. But what did I do instead? I went to get myself a falafel pita and a side of fries... At least it was the "small" size, right?! I swear I could feel my eggplant stew silently judging me from the fridge, uneaten. Anyway, it's clear I have a problem. So I'm making it my mission to avoid the fried sticks of deliciousness for the next six weeks.
I'm pretty competitive by nature, so I feel like this will be an excellent way to challenge myself and start making better choices. Even if that choice is simply not to eat the damn fries.

What will you be giving up for Lent this year? What other ways are you encouraged to say adios the not-so-healthy foods?

Making Progress!

Good morning!

I'm enjoying this rainy Friday morning curled up in my bed with a hot bowl of oatmeal. This will be the last Friday morning I can do this for a while because I've accepted a job back at my previous office starting Monday! I surprised myself by accepting the job, but I think round two will be much better :) I like to stay busy, and with the extra income Jeff and I can manage an apartment together which will be a VERY welcome change from living with the parental unit, as I'm sure many of you can relate.

Anyway, I have some super exciting news!!! I weighed myself this morning and I am OFFICIALLY under 200 lbs!! I weighed in at 199. I still have about 30 pounds I want to lose, but I can't even recall for the life of me the last time I weighed under 200. High school? I'm grateful that I'm tall and have an athletic build because my weight is distributed pretty evenly, however, I'm still technically overweight. My journey to getting healthy is paying off every day; and even though it has been a long, emotional ride, it is so worth it!

I've started incorporating more strength training over the past couple of weeks in addition to all the cardio I've been doing and I'm definitely noticing a difference. I try to do an every other day type of schedule. So strength training one day, next day cardio, next day strength, and so on. Combined with a lean, healthy diet, strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build muscle. When I first started trying to lose weight a few years back, I was so concerned with getting "beefy" that I hardly ever incorporated weights or strength training.  I know now that was a huge mistake! And it was probably why I hit so many plateaus. Your body requires more energy to maintain muscle, so you end up burning more calories throughout the day (AKA it raises your Resting Metabolic Rate). I was so concerned back then with being "skinny" I never even considered the benefits of strength training. If this blog is any indication, I obviously never got skinny! (haha) I know now that what is important is being healthy. I don't want to be a skinny girl anymore. I want to be fit  ...and look awesome naked. 

SoulCycle Class and Hiking Mission Peak :)

This week has been full of pushing limits and stepping out of comfort zones. Thursday night Lauren of Lauren Lives Healthy and I drove to Palo Alto to try out SoulCycle. I had done it one other time and was itching to get back on the bike and have another great experience. Between the friendliness of the staff, and the intense, motivating workout you get in the 45 minute class, it is well worth the drive. Lauren and I got there just in time for class to start, and even though it was challenging, we came out feeling more energized (and SWEATY!) than we had before we went in. It is really unlike any cycling class I have been to in the past, and I would highly recommend it for beginners and more experienced cyclers.

As if I didn't get enough of a leg workout the day before, two of my amazing girl friends and I drove over to Fremont to do the popular, very challenging Mission Peak hike on Friday. I love hiking and unfortunately don't do it enough, so this was definitely a treat.  The weather was absolutely beautiful! After a minor detour while trying to navigate our way to the entrance to the trail, we began our hike in high spirits. It was much harder than I was anticipating. I didn't quite know what to expect, and there were times it looked like we would never get to the top, but we made it!!

 Our view was breathtaking; not only because of how hard we just worked to get there! Clear blue sky, city below us, and a perfect view of exactly how far we had come in just 90 minutes. The way down was full of laughs, good talks, and a feeling of accomplishment all around. I would absolutely recommend this trail for an intense workout and beautiful scenery. Each way is around 4 miles, and it took us beginners 2 hours and 45 minutes from start to finish.  When my legs recover I am definitely looking forward to tackling this trail again!

Hope you all have a great start to your week! :)

Recipe: Vegan Black Bean Tacos

Ahhh! I knew I was putting off a blog post, but I didn't realize how much time had passed. I'm adjusting to a whole new schedule and it has definitely thrown me off my game.
I wanted to share a super simple recipe for a quick weeknight dinner!
I've definitely been in the mood for Mexican food lately, as I've had some variation of it several times within the last week. I got the original idea for tacos from Pinterest, and put my own spin on things :)

Vegan Black Bean Tacos (serves 2)

What you'll need:

4 corn tortillas (I used gluten free tortillas from Whole Foods)
1 can of organic low sodium black beans
1 tomato
1/4 of an onion
1/2 an avocado
Vegan cheese of your choice - I used Daiya cheddar shreds
Optional: add salsa, jalapenos, lime, or vegan sour cream for extra flavors

Instructions:
Rinse and drain can of black beans. In small pot, heat the beans on low. While you're warming the beans up, dice your tomato and onion and slice up your avocado. Warm tortillas in a pan or skillet until nice and hot. Layer beans and then toppings of your choosing and enjoy!

This recipe was so stinkin' easy, filling, and delicious! I'm the laziest cook on the planet, especially when it comes to dinner. The faster I can make it without sacrificing health benefits or flavor, the better. I absolutely enjoyed this dish to the fullest, as did the boyfriend.  I will definitely be making these tacos again in the near future :)

What are your favorite quick go-to dinners? I'd love to hear more ideas!