The Healthy Everythingtarian

Retype and review.

I always ask questions, then forget to share all your fabulous answers!

Apparently, it turns out most of us would wear black the rest of our lives (besides you Miss Coral and Miss Sage Green); most commenters would love to travel to Europe (minus those girls who would rather go to Africa, Turkey or Egypt); all of us have had our fair share of horrible school pictures (yeah, especially you and you!); and finally, we can all agree that exercise sure keeps us in shape and out of crazytown.

Drool and devour.

2 packets plain Cream of Wheat
2/3 cup water + 2/3 cup skim milk
1/2 cup pumpkin
lotsa cinnamon
1 small sliced naner
2 tbsp. dark choco chips
drizzle maple syrup
dollop of PB

Chomp and chew.

Savor and snarf.

2 slices sprouted spelt bread
1 Barbecue Sunshine patty
spinach
tomato
spicy brown mustard
FSTG Potato Chive Chips

Sip and slurp.

Grande Nonfat Misto (1/2 milk + 1/2 coffee) + 2 pumps of Chai

Break and bite.

Nosh and nibble.

2 large kale leaves
1/2 zucchini
1/4 onion
EVOO + salt + garlic powder
2 eggs
black bean salsa
Ezekiel English muffin

Rest and relax.

Unplug too. That’s what I am off to do with a little novel called The Time Traveler’s Wife.

We all know exercise is good for us.

It keeps the heart kickin’, the muscles sculpted, the lungs breathing, the mind sharp and the everything functioning so we can be our best selves. It’s how each of us views exercise that differs. Some of us do it to fit in our skinny jeans, some of us do it to maintain our sanity, others because they know it’s good for them, some people do it for athletic achievement while some do it for a million and one other reasons.

I won’t lie to y’all. I started exercising for reason #1: to look dayum good in my Levi’s.  However, as the years have passed, my attitude towards exercise has too.  It’s progressed from solely looking good to feeling good.

Now, I view exercise the same way I view my daily multivitamin: as a prescription.

And what better prescription is there?  Just like I take my daily multivitamin, I take my daily dose of exercise.  I can feel when my body hasn’t exercised – something is just off.  Once I’ve sweated out a good run or downward dogged my way through yoga, I can feel Holly coming back, and things seem to fall right back to where they are supposed to be (most of the time ).

When I don’t feel like grinding out a run or hopping on the elliptical, I try to remind myself of this.  Exercise is more than looking good, gaining medals or a reason to socialize – it’s about giving your body the medicine it needs to work it’s best, so you can feel your best.

Alright, alright…enough of the rambling – onto the eats!

1 cup Kashi Heart2Heart
1/4 cup Dylan’s Sunflower Almond Chia granola
1 cup skim milk
1 small sliced banana

These past couple days, lunches have been all about the random snackage…

Two things: notice the pink beet fingers and the Buckingham Palace chocolates (which my co-worker brought me back from jolly ol’ England).  *sigh* London, how I miss thee…

After work, I laid on my bed, ate the rest of the spelt pretzels from the car snackage of Sunday and talked to one of my besties, M.A.S. (her nickname and initials) on the celly.

Then my friend Chris and I popped our pills.  And by pills, I mean our exercise!  In addition to the 5 miles we ran together (9:00/mile pace), I ran an additional 1/2 mile to meet him and then probably another almost 1 1/2 miles home for a grand total of 7 miles on this fine Tuesday eve.

When I got home, I devoured some delish dinner – Sunshine Barbecue patty with avocado + tomato + BBQ sauce alongside a mountain of kale chips!

Now, I am off to relax and head to bed for my doctor’s appointment in the morning.  And by doctor’s appointment, I mean meeting my friend Brett for a 6am 6-mile run.  I told ya, exercise is my Rx peeps!

Why do you exercise?  How do you view exercise? Remember, sharing is caring .

Throughout the past couple weeks, as I’ve delved farther into the fabulous world of food blogging, I’ve been thinking.  Yes, thinking.  Now, don’t be scared.  I am constantly thinking.  My mind doesn’t shut off in fact.  I believe Liz Gilbert said it best on page 132 of “Eat, Pray, Love,” (one of my favorite books eva!).

“Like most humanoids, I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the “monkey mind” – the thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl.  From the distant past to the unknowable future, my mind swings wildly through time, touching on dozens of ideas a minute, unharnessed and undisciplined.”

Food blogging is a funny thing.  For me, it is not only about holding myself accountable for leading a healthy life, exploring a creative outlet and meeting fabulous new friends (because I do, in all honesty, consider you all friends). It is about learning from others, exploring new ideas and making leading a healthy existence FUN.  Because, damn it, we all need more fun and humor in our lives!

I love seeing all the new ideas other bloggers have – from recipes to workouts to funny sayings.  Would I have ever tried TJ’s raw almond butter without the advice of this lady?  Probably not.  Would I have learned to concoct the most creative bowl of oatmeal known to man?  Definitely not.  I mean, I don’t think I had ever used the words “food baby” or “mayjuh” in my life.  Where would I be now without all these people?  All these reasons and all these people are just some of the many reasons why I love food blogging.

However (you just knew this was coming, didn’t ya?), I think what is more important here is to remember that we are all individuals.  Some of us think olives and Amazing Grass taste like poo (that’s me!). Others know they need to avoid sugar.  Some of our tum-tums just can’t take too much dairy.  Others have fought and are fighting against stereotypes both women and men face on a daily basis.  Some of us are too friggin’ hilarious.  Others take such pretty food pictures, I want to eat the computer screen at work.  There are definitely people who are total running machines.  Some people’s spirits just jump right off the computer screen.  The moral is: we are all different.

Which leads me to the main point:  our bodies are also all different.  I encourage every one of you to read blogs, try new things (vegan? vegetarian? meat eating? raw food? fast food? slow food?) and experiment.  Don’t ever be afraid to try something new.  However, don’t get so wrapped up in following certain plans, ideas and people that you forget to stop listening to YOUR body.  Some of our tums can handle more than others, and what works for someone else may or may not work for you.  Don’t ever feel bad or wonder whether you should or should not be eating something.  Your body will tell you that.  For instance, if you haven’t noticed, my consumption of soy has rapidly decreased since starting the blog and skim/oat/almond milk is in abundance.  I figured out soy (more specifically, soy milk) was really hard for my stomach to digest and caused me some, ah, errrr…pooping problems?  We’re all friends here .

So yes, I’ve been thinking.  Not anything too life changing, but something I think I need to remind myself of sometimes.  Listening to my body isn’t always easy, but I feel the extra effort will be well worth the prize: the best, most authentic me I can be.

Until my monkey mind swings back into action onto the blog again, here are the eats from today:

Power breakfast of champions: Zoe's Cranberry Currant Granola w/ vanilla almond milk & a naner

Plus a scoop of TJ's AB for good protein satiety

Gourmet lunch parfait: Stonyfield Organic vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup Zoe's CC granola & mixed berries

One perfectly juicy nectarine for snacking

Zoe's Peanut Butter bar o' goodness for snacky #2

I would marry Chipotle if I could...

Scoop cilantro rice, black beans, fajita veggies, mild salsa (aka tomatoes), lettuce + the best guac eva!

Thanks for listening .  Here is my agenda for the evening:

• Target run (hoping for under $30!!!)
• 3-mile run
• Vinyasa Yoga class
• Beddy bye

Be well my friends .