Nutriciously Happy

Weekday Vegan. Mediocre Zumba Enthusiast. Living each day to its fullest.

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Smoothie bowl! This hit the spot and took care of my ice cream craving! This month has been hard. I have tried new vegan recipes each week, and have been struggling to find foods I enjoy with enough protein. Seeds have been a joy. I use hemp sends and chia seeds in various smoothies. They give me protein and I still enjoy the foods! I've grown tired of beans and tofu from too much of them. I was feeling discouraged last week, but I feel that each day I come closer to getting into a routine with foods I love that will treat my body right. This morning I revisited my trusted "bullseye food guide" from four years ago. I am getting back to just regular nutrition. No more gimmicky diets. 5-6 servings of grain, 6-8 oz of protein, 2-3 servings of fruit, 3 servings of veggies. No secrets here. Just straight fuel for my body. I'm ready for a winning week next week! On next weeks menu are more smoothie bowls, PB banana toast, chickpea salad sandwiches, homemade granola bars. I'm starting to figure out this vegan thing.

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Ready for the day! I know it's going to be a long day at work of catching up from the weekend. I packed a black bean burger for lunch and a cilantro lime quinoa bowl for dinner. Lots of snacks to munch on throughout the day! Being prepared is key! There are way too many temptations out there to make a slip up happen! If you fail to plan you plan to fail! Week two of @thedrozshow 21 day breakthrough diet is starting out strong!

[living-fitness]

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Greek quinoa bowl @thedrozshow 21 day breakthrough diet

[aureliism]

[living-fitness]

[healthandfitnesssoul]

Health and fitness blog :)

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Week two of Dr Oz's 21 day breakthrough diet! Contrary to what everyone is telling me, a vegan based diet is not expensive. I spend the same amount every week as I had in the past! It's all about meal prep! Planning what you will be eating for the week and shopping smart! Pictured above is my black bean falafel. (Link to the recipe below). Instead of frying, I baked in the oven on parchment paper for 20 minutes at 350. Can not wait to share more meals with you! http://whatjewwannaeat.com/black-bean-falafel-patties/

[fitness-is-coming-blog]

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

It's fall.  Which means pumpkin scones, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin pie, PUMPKIN EVERYTHING I DON'T EAT!  I wish I could gorge myself on all of the pumpkin flavored things, but we all know that's just silly.  BUT This recipe is only 106 for a serving!  And trust me, the serving size is HUGE!

http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/skinny-halloween-treat-4-ingredient-homemade-pumpkin-frozen-yogurt/

What i did was mix it, and put each serving in a plastic container and froze it.  When I wanted to eat it, I thawed it enough to cut into pieces, then put it in a blender with some water until I got the consistency I wanted.  SO GOOD!  And this is all natural!  It's yogurt and pumpkin, can't get better than that! 

[purenikeworld]

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Lateral X

DYING! HELP! I NEED TO GET OFF! THAT WAS AWESOME!  These are the thoughts I have during my workout on the Lateral X machine!  They just put a new gym in at my school, and this machine had been sitting along side the indoor track and intrigued me! 

I am posting a link to the machine because it is SO hard to explain.  It is basically an elliptical but with a different motion.  I figured I could use my "beat burn:elliptical" app on this machine, and just hopped on one day.  

It is incredibly hard because you are using muscles that are not typically used in a cardio workout.  That is THE BEST part of this in my opinion.  Every form of cardio I do is using the same basic muscles.  This is changing it up, and challenging me to push through.  I end up getting off the machine after my workout is done feeling as if I conquer the world.  I know that I pushed myself and that i just got an amazing workout.  If this machine is at your gym, I suggest you put that "beat burn:elliptical" app on and try it out!  You will not regret it! 

http://www.octanefitness.com/club/products/standing-ellipticals/lateralx-club-model/index.html

[biggestloser-usa]

Oh you two.

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Recipe of the Week!

Tortellini Soup

Incredibly filling and low calorie!  I substituted the cheese tortellini for meat tortellini, but it's totally up to you!  I also subsituted "half and half" for half plain 2% fage and half milk.  So one cup of yogurt and one cup of milk.  Such a super easy, quick, and HEALTHY dinner for cold nights! 

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/171098794/creamy-tomato-tortellini-soup/

[nutriciouslyhappy]

Ahimsa

"Nonviolence. Abstinence from injury that arises out of love for all, harmlessness, the not causing of pain to any living creature in thought, word, or deed at any time"

When presented to my class, my instructor used "healthy eating" as an example of nonviolence.  At first, the thought seemed strange.  How is eating a form of violence?  Simple.  Before I started this journey, I would gorge myself on four full meals a day.  After at least two of these meals, I would eat a plate of desserts.  This is not even including the countless snacks I would have throughout the day.  What was I gaining by eating all of this?  I was not helping my body.  I was putting it in danger!  

Now that I know how to take care of myself, I know that overeating is hurting your body.  You move slower, you aren't getting the correct nutrients that you need.  I was depriving myself of so many good things!  I rarely ate fruit, and NEVER ate vegetables AND I expected my body to function properly.  This is abuse!  I can't imagine living my life like that anymore.  I now think about what the food I am eating is going to do for me.  Food is fuel, but do we want cheap, tampered with gas, or premium?  I'll take premium, despite the higher price.  Sure a bag of chips or frozen pizza taste great, but what are they doing for you?  Have you tried making your own pizza?  Knowing exactly what is going into your body seems a lot safer to me than unwrapping a frozen block that has been sitting in the freezer.  

 It has been almost three years since I have changed not only my body, but my mind.  I LOVE exercise because I know it helps my body, and I love eating healthy because I know it helps my body.  We were given one body to live this life in, and if we expect it to function properly, we must fuel it properly.  

[nutriciouslyhappy]

yoga

This semester, I decided to take yoga as a course for credit.  I have always thought yoga would be an awesome thing to add to my workout, but didn't have the discipline to incorporate it regularly.  I felt that taking yoga for a grade would force me to incorporate it.  It was an amazing decision!  I'm sure you will notice me talking a lot about yoga, and the things I learn from it, but I will be dedicating my next few blog posts to yamas and niyamas, which are the "dos" and "don'ts" of yogic living.  I hope you enjoy.  I will be posting on the subject each week!

[nevergivinguponeatingright--blog]

[healthysnax]