Category: Blog

From Rally to Rally

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A union rally on Wednesday to a bike rally on Sunday( not really but it felt like one!) Aside from creating recipes, working out, and eating clean, I have a regular 9-5 well, 8:30-4:30. I work for Yale University, as a medical coder for Urology within the Department of Surgery. In layman’s terms, I read about, mostly, the male genitalia; vasectomies, circumcisions, kidney stones, etc. Chances are if you stop by my office, you may catch me watching a graphic video on YouTube about a urological procedure, or a diagram of the male anatomy aka peenies. I share an office with another woman, who I can best describe as elegant. She doesn’t swear, she’s soft spoken, she is just delicate. Basically, my opposite and as you can imagine, she is learning a lot from me. She recently learned about a Prince Albert, she was appalled to say the least.

As an employee, I am part of a local union, Local 34. Long story short, our contract is up this year and we need to start negotiations for a new contract without losing our current benefits. Also, the Yale Graduate Students want to be unionized and for the first time in history, a union chapter has been created for them.  On Wednesday, we rallied from a church on the green in New Haven to the Omni Hotel, 800 of us . Rep. Rosa DeLauro, New Haven Probate Judge Jack Keyes, and Attorney General George Jepsen were all present to support the movement.  It was a powerful moment that will be time stamped as part of Yale’s history, and I was there to show my support. I left inspired…

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/03/10/geso-rebrands-itself-local-33/

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Thursday was sushi night, I love sushi and I love sakeeeee! I recently bought seaweed paper so that I can start making my own sushi, I just need a sushi mat. Lots of avocado and mango rolls will be rolled. I have a feeling they won’t look as pretty and I can’t even come close to the presentation this place had. Just look at that picture! They made a tiny teepee surrounded by a tiny log fence, I have never seen anything like it. Delicious rolls, quality sake and a table setting with plush pillows to lean on.

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Grapefruits, Oranges and Lemons;  Limoncello. Grain alcohol, a gallon sized mason jar, citrus and a peeler (a good one)- that’s all you need, so simple! I choose grapefruit, one of my girls went the traditional route with lemons, while the other choose oranges. A good way to try a little bit of everything. Bottomless sangria was provided and a fresh mozzarella demonstration, as well. Both tutorials were simple and gave me more inspiration for my menu planning.  I never would have thought that I could make my own fresh mozz, now i know I can!

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Fitness instructor in training, that’s me! After being asked by my local gym if I would be interested in teaching a 30 minute core class, I thought about it – I realized it meshes perfectly with the dream I am trying to chase.  Coincidentally, the opportunity arose when my blog was birthed, and I don’t believe in coincidences, it’s usually an omen. I did my research on the company that offers the training, I wanted to know if I could teach at other facilities, I wanted to know every little detail. The plan is to use this core class as a stepping stone; build clientele, network with fitness gurus, weigh my options of becoming a personal trainer. These are all the things I thought of when I signed the contract to become certified. I completed a full day of training and the next step is to send in a recording of me teaching a class. Be on the lookout because I am going to openly invite my supporters to participate in a FREE core class. I am looking to inspire others and be inspired….

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As you may know, last week I tried my first spin class. Today, Sunday, I went back and was ready for that bike rally. The gym requires a 24 hour bike reserve, when I originally enrolled the class was fully booked and I was #3 on the waiting list, A WAITING LIST! This morning I received an email confirmation that a bike reserve was available. I found a seat I liked with a clear view of the instructor and not a bunch of asses in the air.  I like to copy the instructors stride to get a feel for how my stride should be. I was enthusiastic about my second ride! Then the music came on, 80’s rock music that is. It was somewhat of a buzz kill, until Alanis Morissette “Ironic” came on. Irony at it’s finest. I pedaled my ass off during that chorus. I wish it was karaoke spin, I would’ve sung to the class. Although the music selection wasn’t to my liking, I kept my momentum and pedaled way beyond my first spin, 17 miles! Woohoo! I love setting the bar and exceeding it more and more. I couldn’t just spin for the day, I choose to hit the barbells in an hour power class immediately following spin. Needless to say, I left the gym beat but stronger than when I walked in that front door…..

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SPIN CYCLE AT THE DISCO

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There are so many different variations  of exercise;  Barre, Yoga, Spinning, Weight Training, etc.  I want to try them all, and yesterday I dipped my toes into the straps of a Schwinn bike, and pedaled just like I did when I was 7 years old trying to keep up with the boys in the neighborhood. Except now, I was in a small, dark, disco room(minus disco ball) on a stationary bike that had too many settings that needed to be adjusted – lift the seat to hip height, push the seat forward, make sure the handlebars are elbow distance from the seat, use less tension then increase tension. WTF? Then came spin shoes- I need shoes to ride this bike, too? I wore my cute Turquoise Nike’s and laced them up tight, I thought that was an important rule. Apparently, they make shoes that just clip right into the other side of the pedal, no strap needed. After finally getting adjusted just to sit, there was a fancy little screen on the bike. Aw snap! I get to track my progress. This was going to be great for me to get an idea of the distance pedaled, RPM’S and calories. It’s always good to know where you stand so you can improve each time thereafter. Now, time to spin….

An hour class, 3 bike positions, a packed disco room, a male instructor who liked the song “bulletproof”( like, a lot) and the bass bumping. My goal going in was to try to ease my way in, I didn’t want to burn myself coming out the gate. I followed the instructors lead with each stride he made, I tried to match his tempo and the tempo of the music. You start off at a laxed pace, and then you start to build momentum, increase the tension with a slight turn of a red knob, and just ride it out. It took me until about mid way through to get a feel for the amount of tension I needed to increase/decrease, there were definitely times where my legs would just burn. Ah-ha, this was the part of the experience I was waiting for, I love the burn.  I would check the time to see how close we were to being done, just so I could judge whether or not I could afford to increase the tension on my bike just a little bit more. That red knob determines dead legs or not. Dead legs weren’t an option, weight lifting the next morning was already pre-meditated. You really start to vibe with the music and ride to the beat. Good music and a good instructor is really all you need for a successful workout. I wish the class was more energetic, my friends need to come so we can take over with our energy and fist pumps #girlsquad.

Wind down time….I did NOT die, like i was told i would. Literally, some woman assured me i was going to die. Now the results on that little screen – I rode 10.4 miles. I look over to my right and this chick did 23 miles, I look to my girl Melly P to the left of me, and she rode like 14 miles. Where I stand, i have no idea, but in my mind I tried something outside of my element and I enjoyed it! I am planning on incorporating it into my fitness regimen, for sure.  From here on out it’s 11 miles + and cranking up that red knob!

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Carriage Chaos

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How can a store be out of carriages? This was obviously a forewarning for the chaos I was about to subject myself to at…. COTSCO. On this particular day, there was limited parking, a crowded cross-walk and a line to get in! What is this, the club? As frustrating as it was to find a place to park, I couldn’t find a carriage anywhere either! I was stalking people leaving the store so that I could sweep in and take theirs. Once inside, the lines were out the wazoo, you couldn’t drive a cart around, AND they only accept cash or AMEX. As hectic as it sounds, it IS the perfect, most cost-effective way, to buy a lot for great price, which is perfect for me for meal prepping. They have a great selection of organic products; fruits, grains,protein powder, and even organic meats. Here are a few examples:

Quinoa at a local grocery store is about $5.99-$9.99 for a small 8oz bag, at COSTCO I bought 3 POUNDS for $7.99! Leafy greens such as, spinach, kale and swiss chard-3 lbs $4.99, it will usually last me a week to a week and a half, and that’s between two people. After years of looking and trying to find a clean protein powder, one that actually tastes good, I stumbled upon Orgain at Costco. Two pounds of quality protein powder range from about $30-$50. However, it is almost nearly impossible  to find an organic, non GMO, clean protein powder and one without added sugar(sucralose) or red#40. COSTCO carries a brand -Orgain, 2.74lbs and guess how much? $29.99, when on sale it is $24.99! Organic, non GMO, 21g plant based protein, no added sugars and it’s chocolate fudge flavor! Then there is edamame pasta, thank you COSTCO for this one, it will change the way you think about pasta and have you never looking back at traditional made pasta-bleached flour pasta. This pasta is made from organic, non GMO green soybeans(edamame) and water. That’s it! In just a 2oz serving, there is 24 grams of protein, it’s super high in fiber and a natural source of iron. It’s great with pesto or even with some fresh garlic and olive oil, so yum! This was also a great deal, for just $9.99 for 2 lbs. These are just some of the examples of how eating clean doesn’t have to be expensive, you just need to shop around.

I plan on sharing more shopping tips and tricks on how to save a buck while eating clean. I am all about a smoking deal.

Shoutouts to the savvy shoppers!

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Meal Prep Sunday

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Every Sunday I go to the gym, come home, have breakfast, go over my menu that I prepared sometime between Friday night and Saturday, get mentally prepared….and then cook. My meal prep usually takes anywhere from 2-3 hours. It includes breakfast, lunch and dinner(for the most part). My meal prep has changed slightly due to the fact, that Boo began a  7 Day Vegan challenge, which it has now been 4 weeks. I incorporated veggie stock to replace chicken stock, I cook my meat protein separately and add it to my portion after. Most of today’s menu consists of vegan meals, sorry guys. I didn’t even plan it that way. The recipes will be posted in the CLEAN EATS section of this site.

Meal prep is a key component to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It keeps you from asking that infamous dreadful question,”what’s for dinner?” A conversation that usually goes like this, ” what do you want to eat?” “I don’t know, what do you want?” and it ends with ordering pizza(which I love) or eating something from a package in the freezer. Meal prep takes all the thought out of trying to figure out what to eat during the week and an easy way to eat clean all week.

Lately, I have been grocery shopping on Saturdays and Boo comes now! I used to run around after the gym on Sundays to grocery shop and then come home and cook by myself-it’s nice to have him at my side aisle by aisle. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco and Stop n Shop are mainly where we have been shopping. You cannot beat the prices of Trader Joe’s, and they have a wide selection of organic produce, organic anything for that matter. My diet is composed of (mostly)all organic food. We are learning more and more about the harmful effects pesticides can reap on the human body especially, cancer. Something else I will touch on later.

I hope you try out some of these dishes, they are easy and have minimal ingredients. Please share any thoughts, comments, suggestions on a meal or this page. Any feedback is very much appreciated. Happy Eats!