ActiveGal

Today's motto was quick and easy.

It was hard getting back in the swing of things, but I am glad that Monday is over with. It is always easier once I get through Monday and get into work mode.

After work I headed to the gym to get back into my routine. You can read about my workout here.

I then headed over to the grocery store to grab a few quick things:

1. Whole wheat pasta

2. Almond Breeze

3. Spinach (It was on sale for $2.29!)

4. Bananas

Can you tell what I have on my breakfast menu for tomorrow? Hint: All that I have left to add is blueberries. That's right, I am looking forward to a wonderful green monster after my early morning run tomorrow.

We finally got home around 8 pm and I had to start a quick and healthy dinner.

Ingredients:
-whole wheat pasta

-1 whole Roma tomato

-1/4 cup pasta sauce

-mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top

It was quick, easy, and delicious!

As promised, here is my workout schedule for the week:
Monday - 4 mile run, upper body weight training
Tuesday - 4 mile run in the A.M.
Wednesday - 40 minute interval run, lower body weight training
Thursday - 3 mile run, BodyPump
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 2-3 mile run, BodyPump
Sunday - 7 mile run (I am considering increasing this depending on how my body is feeling)

Total Miles = 23+ miles
Weight Training - 4 days (2 weight training days and 2 BodyPump classes)

Off to finish watching a movie with the boyfriend and get everything prepared for my 5 am run in the morning. Goodnight!

I have a confession to make. I didn't workout at ALL this weekend.

I feel lazy, but I would be lying if I didn't say in a way I really enjoyed it. The past few weeks have been so crazy it was great to get to sit back and relax for an entire weekend. Don't worry though, starting tomorrow I will be back in my normal swing of things. I don't remember the last time I have taken a weekend off.

I'll be back tomorrow with my complete workout schedule for the week. It is going to be a doozy, but I am really excited about it!

I haven't done a product review in a while, so I thought I would provide one for you. The wonderful people at Zing Bars sent me some samples to try.

I tried the Cranberry Orange Zing Bar at work last week.

Nutritional Information:

(source)

Ingredients:
-Rice Protein Concentrate
-Cranberries (with Apple Juice Concentrate and Sunflower Oil),
-Organic Agave Syrup
-Organic Raw Cashew Butter
-Cashews (with canola oil and sea salt)
-Fruitrim® (Fruit Juices, Natural Gluten Free Dextrins)
-Organic Brown Rice Crisp (Organic Brown Rice, Sea Salt, Organic Brown Rice Syrup)
-Inulin (from Chicory Root)
-Brown Rice Flour
-Vanilla Extract
-Mixed Tocopherols (Natural Vitamin E)
-Organic Orange Oil

Each bar is wheat free, gluten free, soy free, and dairy free.

The bars were created by a team of nutritionists who couldn't find a bar that they were willing to recommend to their patients, so they created one themselves! They state on their website, "We could create our own all-natural nutrition bar. Our take on the perfect snack. A bar with everything we wanted it to have, and nothing we didn’t. A healthy balance of carbs, protein and beneficial fats, but no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. No trans fats, synthetic vitamins, or allergy-aggravating gluten, wheat or soy protein."

I think I was pretty much hooked right there before I even tried the bar.

My Review: I thought this bar was absolutely delicious. I was honestly amazed when I took my first bite because of how wonderful it tasted. It had chunks of cranberries and orange in the bar, and was wonderfully sweet without being too much. They are great first thing in the morning or as a mid-day snack. I even had my boyfriend try them out and he loved them just as much as me.  I would recommend giving them a shot when you have a chance. They are extremely nutritious for you, while tasting good too! I give it an A+!

If you would like more information on these bars, or would like to purchase some of your own, you can visit their website here.

Today I had my very first Green Monster! Ok, I have to admit at first I was VERY skeptic. I kept saying things like "there is NO way you can't taste the spinach?" and "how can ANY smoothie type drink that is green really taste good?" Boy, I was wrong!

I started off by using the recipes that both Caitlin and Angela had suggested too me.

Ingredients

-1 1/2 cups soy milk

-2 cups organic spinach

-1 banana

-Ice

I blended them all together and got this lovely concotion.

At this point, I was still a skeptic.

I took off the lid and realized, it actually smells like bananas!

Time for the big moment. YUMMY! It tatsted just like a banana smoothie. Even though I love bananas, now I really look forward to experimenting and trying new flavors! I'm thinking maybe some blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries?

My next step is to get the boyfriend to try one. He was still a skeptic this morning and wasn't willing to try it. He is my work in progress.

I have a little bit left! Anyone? Anyone?

I always love making some of my favorite recipes, but in a healthier way. One of my favorites is blueberry muffins.  I tried to make these the other night and failed, so I went at it again tonight and finally had success. Muffins can be extremely high in calories and fat when you buy them at the store, so I wanted to slim them down while still keeping the delicious taste.

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-2/3 cups whole wheat flour
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 cup fat free milk (I used soy milk)
-1 large egg
-2 tbsp butter
-2/3 no sugar added apple sauce
-1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

I started out by combining all the wet ingredients into a small bowl.

Milk, egg, apple sauce, and melted butter all combined together. Whisk until smooth.

You the combine all of the dry ingredients together including: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix.

Slowly fold in the blueberries. If you don't fold them carefully you will get some lovely blue/purple muffins. I didn't do as good of a job as I had wanted.

Divide the batter among muffin cups. It should make around 12 muffins.

Put the muffins in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

I'm sorry this picture didn't come out quite as well as I was hoping.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Finally, serve and enjoy! The boyfriend approved of them as well, so that means pretty much just about everyone will eat them!

You can check out my workout for today here. I was supposed to get up at 5 am this morning, yeah that didn't happen. I don't know if my alarm didn't go off or if I turned it off without knowing, but my body was not having it that early this morning.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!

I got back to the gym today. I have been running more outside over the past week, but it felt nice to get back into the gym.

I'd like to wish my wonderful boyfriend a Happy 5 Year Anniversary! Our anniversary is tomorrow. :)

I have been getting some questions about running in the morning. In fact tomorrow morning I will getting up again at 5 a.m. to get my run over with. I used to be pretty nervous about it, in fact I still am a little bit, but I do make sure to take some precautions to feel safe and secure when I am running before the sun is up.

1. Don't wear your Ipod. When you are running early it is best to run without music. It is important to be able to listen around you even if it is in a safe area.

(source)

2. Wear something noticeable. It is important to make sure you can be seen by oncoming cars. There are some great reflective vests out there. I know, they may not be exactly fashion forward but they are very effective in making you visible to cars.

3. Always run against the traffic. This goes along with #2, if you run against traffic you are able to see the cars even before they see you.

4. Follow your gut feeling. There have been many times where I have felt uncomfortable in a certain area. I never second guess myself, I always turn around immediately and run somewhere else. You may be absolutely fine but if you feel uncomfortable or uncertain in an area don't run in it.

5. Stay in lit areas. I always run through a neighborhood nearby my apartment in the mornings. I feel much more comfortable in areas that are lit where you can see all of your surroundings.

(source)

6. Always carry ID with you. There are a couple different ways to do this. You can always carry your drivers license or try out Road ID. Carrying ID is always important and automatically makes you feel a little bit more comfortable.

(source)

7. Run with a buddy. I don't have anyone close enough to run with in the morning, but if you can find a running buddy. You could always take a fur baby along with you too. :)

It is important to take all precautions when running in the morning, but don't forget to enjoy it. Early morning runs to me are the most peaceful feeling. It also feels really good to go through your day knowing that you have your workout behind you!

Feel free to contact me (sara at activegal dot com) with any other questions!

5 a.m. came extremely early this morning; however, I managed to pull myself out of bed and into my running clothes as planned.

I completed a total of 4.0 miles before the sun had even come up. Running in the morning is so peaceful; the world is so still before the craziness of the day begins. I do a lot of thinking when I'm running early and it makes you feel so accomplished to have your workout done before 6:00 am!

I returned home, showered, and devoured a bowl of my crock pot oatmeal.

Crock Pot Oatmeal
-2 cup oats
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-8 cups water

1. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Add bananas or any other topping to serve.

I was very impressed with these oats! It was quick, easy, and was so nice to have breakfast ready for me when I got back from the run.

Lunch was a whole wheat wrap with turkey, cheese, and mustard. It wasn't too fancy, but delicious none the less.

I had a wonderful dinner tonight with a friend of mine. We enjoyed buy one get one free sushi. Sushi is by far my favorite food in the whole wide world! Yes, I love it that much

We got 4 types and shared a bit of each: crazy roll (tuna, shrimp, and spicy mayo on top), spicy tuna roll, salmon roll, and shrimp tempura roll.

I have a major food baby right about now. Sushi sure made getting up this morning worth every minute lost of sleep.

I am off to bake! Tonight's attempt is at a healthier version of Blueberry Muffins. I will be back tomorrow with the verdict!

What is your favorite thing to bake/cook? I love to find healthier versions of our favorite meals and make them.

I can't believe it is already March! It feels like February flew buy.

I'm sorry for not posting last night. We went directly from our run yesterday over to a friends house to watch the hockey game and didn't end up getting home until 10:30. I proceeded to try to fold some laundry and pass out.

Congrats to team USA! I know we came in 2nd, but we played one hell of a game and I am proud of each of them!

I completed 6 miles in 00:56:49.

I was very happy with my time, even though the wind about blew me away at a couple points along the way. There were times where I felt like I was running in place because it was so blustery!

I woke up this morning and ate a yummy Zing bar. This one was Cranberry Orange.

I have to say this was one of the most delicious Zing bars yet. It was sweet and filling for an early morning snack.

Lunch unfortunately was not quite as nutritious. We had a lunch meeting and I wasn't sure what they were going to order. They ended up ordering pizza. I had one slice of onion and jalapeno pizza and half of the slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was just too much meat for me.

Today is a rest day. Not on purpose, we had family obligations after work so I didn't have the time to get my workout in. It's okay though, after yesterday's run it was nice to give me legs a break for today.

I am getting up at 5:00 am tomorrow morning to fit in my 4 run before work! I am not a morning person at all. I am going to take all the precautions tonight to make sure I can get myself out of bed:
-set 2 alarm clocks
-lay out all my running clothes before I go to sleep
-have a bottle of water beside the bed for quick hydration
-charge my iPod
-create some wonderful crock pot oatmeal for the morning

My crock pot oatmeal for the morning contains:
-2 cups oatmeal
-8 cups water
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla
-top with sliced bananas and almonds

Off to get things ready for the morning. Goodnight!

How do you get yourself up in the morning? Do you prefer working out in the morning rather than in the afternoons or evenings? – I usually only work out in the mornings when I have something I have to do in the evening, but I LOVE coming home from work knowing I don't have to rush to the gym.

Happy Saturday! I am sorry this post is coming so late, but we had such a busy past two days that this is the first time I have had a chance to sit down at my computer to post.

We headed to visit my mom for her birthday last night, and then had drinks with my brother. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending so much needed time with my family.

This morning I woke up and completed a 4.0 mile run. It was a hard run. I didn't time it like I normally do, mostly because I knew that it was much slower than I normally run and I didn't want to discourage myself.

I think it is important to time yourself to help yourself reach goals, but at the same time I knew that I would be too hard on myself if I finished slower than I wanted so I ended up stopping my watch a little over halfway through it. I knew that I should be proud to just finish this run, and I didn't want time to influence my feelings about the run.

I came back and we went out to watch the basketball game and I had a turkey sandwich with tomato and lettuce.

It was pretty delicious! We just got back about 45 minutes ago and now we are having a movie night. Sorority Row and Love Happens - can you tell which one I chose and which one the boyfriend decided on?

I'll be back tomorrow night after my 6 mile run tomorrow. I'm bringing my camera so get ready for some pictures! :)

Do you always time your runs? Do you feel timing is important or do you just run to complete? I usually try to time my runs but sometimes I just feel the need without the pressure of wanting to accomplish a certain time.

I promised you pictures would be back today, and they are!

I had some serious motivation problems today. I got home from work and the last thing I wanted to do was go out in the freezing cold and run hills for an hour. The boyfriend and I sat around for about an hour before finally bundling up and heading out to run!

I ran a total of about 5.5 miles with five sets of 0.25 mile up hill springs. KILLER! If you ever want a quick but torturous workout - hills are for you!

I woke up at 7:11 this morning, which is 4 minutes before I am supposed to be walking out the door. Oops! I have no idea if my alarm didn't go off or if I was so tired that I turned it off and didn't realize it.

There was no breakfast this morning :( It was a terrible decision and wasn't made by choice, so I ended up eating my lunch around 11 am.

I had half a leftover Subway sub. It contained whole wheat bread, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard. I was starving and this held me over for a few hours.

Around 2 pm I got hungry again, so I pulled out this new snack that my mom picked up for me to try.

They are called THINaddictives. They are very light but have a wonderful sweat taste to them. They also contain dried cranberries and almonds.

Each pack (two wafers) only have 100 calories, which is always a plus! :)

After our workout, I seriously craving some turkey burgers. Can you guess what we had for dinner?

I brought out the George Forman grill.

Whole wheat hamburger buns.

Turkey burger! It was delicious. Mine contained ketchup, mustard, and mozzarella cheese.

I added some baked beans on the side for something extra.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! We are heading out to dinner tomorrow after work to celebrate my Mom's birthday!

What is your favorite quick but healthy dinner to make?

Tonight is a night full of sports. It started with Switzerland vs. USA hockey. GO USA!! Then Canada vs. Russia which is going on right now. I love hockey and I love the Olympics which makes tonight a really fun night!

I had a really busy day at work. I really thought I was going to break down from the stress a couple times. It was so busy that I never got around to take ANY pictures. I know, I guess that makes me a bad blogger tonight, but I promise tomorrow I will get back on track!

Today was also a rest day because I had to work my second job tonight so I didn't get home till about 8 pm. I was happy to get a rest day though, I worked my abs so much on Monday that I can't laugh or cough without feeling pain. That means I did something right!

There are so many runners out there, they all run for many different reasons, so today I ask you why do you run?

Why do I run?
-Relaxation - running is extremely therapeutic for me. This only applies however when I am running outside, the treadmill doesn't quite do it as much for me.
-It's fun. - Yes, I said it - to me it is fun. I don't find running 20 miles at a time fun, but going for a 5-6 mile run is very enjoyable to me. I don't think you should ever make yourself do any exercise that you don't find enjoyable.
-To stay in shape. - I have found that running consistently has the greatest and quickest effects on my body.
-Confidence. I have gained a lot of confidence for running. I know that I can do whatever I set my mind to. When I first started running I didn't think I could ever run over a mile, now I can go out and run 5 or 6 miles with relative ease.

There are a lot of other aerobic activities I would LOVE to learn and become good at:
-Swimming
-Biking
-Jump rope
-Hiking

I want to focus more on the swimming and the biking, but I would love to try them all.

I will leave you with one picture I did take tonight, I had a late night snack of Oikos Vanilla Yogurt, almonds, granola, and dried cranberries.

Why do you run? If you don't run, what is your favorite time of aerobic activity?