My first time trying Amazing Grass Amazing Meal. I was EXcited!

In the mix:

Chocolate Amazing Meal [from my awesome box of samples from AG!]
2c ice
1 banana
2c spinach
1, 4oz plain Oikos
1/2t cinnamon
honey squirt
3/4c vanilla hempmilk

It turned out a little runnier than usual because I didn’t add my oats! I wasn’t trying to make it as calorie dense as my usual green monsters because this packet has a little added kick to it. Check out this link to look at the nutrition info. It is really impressive…full of organic rice + hemp protein [my favs!!], fruits + veggies, probiotics, wheat + barley grass and so.much.more. This would definitely make an awesome slurpy snack if you add one packet to 8oz of any type of milk you like!

check.out.that.buBBle.action.

What’s in the spoon???

Ota.bar crumbles of course! Wowow have I missed my ota.bars!!!

I wish I still had the granola bar business going!! It’s a little harder to get it going here in CO because you have to rent kitchen space which is costly. Maybe one day I’ll be able to bring them back somehow!

I actually tried a few new things with the bars and I like them even better now! :)

cinna-fuse [packed with cinnamon…obviously]

Time to experiment.

Tea: I’m not the biggest fan but I’m convinced I just haven’t found the right kind. I probably should up the quality of tea I’m drinking as well. I have tried many-a-teas in my life and only found a few that I can actually somewhat enjoy. My problem is that they usually taste too weak and somewhat bitter. I don’t really like adding sugar to drinks so I will end up drinking about half before I’m done. I recently read Angela’s post on Green teas. I found the information extremely interesting! I never knew there was such a wide variety and difference between green teas. She sold me on all the benefits of tea!

I love that Whole Foods has a bulk loose leaf tea section! It is really going to help me decide what I like in an easier and cheaper way. I realize these are not all green teas. I’m not just exploring the green!

The left tea is Red Rocks Vanilla Almond Rooibos tea by Tea Spot [local Boulder company!]

S. African Red Rooibos

The middle tea is a Green Sencha Superior by Rishi Tea

Japanese Sencha

The right tea is a Green Roasted Mint tea by TeaSpot

Japanese Hojicha tea

I LOVE how informative the websites are for these teas. It is extremely helpful.

Not really being much of a “tea drinker” I wasn’t sure how the Green Sencha was going to taste, as it smelled like freshly cut grass. No joke!

My first sampling was with the Sencha. Would it taste like it smelled?

My new tea-ball, hehe.

Time for a dip! So, what did I think!? I LIKED it…seriously! It had a very mellow but deep flavor and was not bitter. I was thinking in the beginning I would probably have to add honey, but I didn’t feel the need at all. I didn’t even want to add cream!

Tea perfection? Just maybe! It definitely still had an earthy flavor..don’t get me wrong but I tend to like that and have gotten a bit used to it with all my wheat grass consumption :) I would definitely pick this over ANY tea I’ve had in the past. I’m pretty sure there is a HUGE difference when you use loose leaf high quality tea. As always, quality really does make a difference.

A quick lunch + run out the door to take Kenna beans to the vet! WF whole wheat english muffin toasted with apple + monterey jack cheese with 4oz oikos + BRM Apple Blueberry granola.

simple + fabulous

I was in a hurry so I didn’t have time for a full lunch but snacked more when I got back!

What happened to Kenna? She broke a nail!!! Seriously…lame! It was hanging and gross! We covered it with a sock [on Sunday] until today when I made an appointment to go. I happened to stumble on the BEST VET/OFFICE EVER. We have seen a lot of vets over the years and none even came close to comparing with this one.

Poooor doggy. The vet loved Kenna and said she is “full of life.” Completely true. :) So they had to take her nail off, gross! I heard her SCREACH from the room I was waiting in. I think I jumped off the seat. They got her bandaged up and she was back to her normal waggy/bopping self in about 1.2 seconds.

club foot kenna

And now it’s covered with a sock so she doesn’t lick or chew at it. We also have to stick her foot in a plastic bag when she goes outside, LOL. It’s quite the site!

Dakota: Look happy!!!!

Fail.

Dinner! Another completely random night! I threw everything from the produce drawer into this soup and it turned out really well!!

Cauliflower + the kitchen sink veggie soup! [vegan]

1T olive oil
4 shallots, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
1 large carrot, chopped
2c spinach
1 tomato
1T dried basil
1t dried oregano
1/2t garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1/4-1/2t red pepper flakes
28oz veggie stock
1.5c water
1c milk [I used plain rice milk..any will do!]
1/2t pepper
salt to taste

Heat oil over medium and add shallots + celery for about 5min, stirring frequently.
Add broth + water and bring to a boil.
Add cabbage, pepper, carrot, and tomato, bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, basil, black pepper + garlic powder then return to boil and lower to simmer ~20min
Stir in milk + spinach and take out bay leaf.
I used my hand immersion blender right in the pot to puree this soup. You could also use a blender. You might have to add a little at a time to the blender then pour into a bowl and repeat. You can also puree the soup partially if you want to leave some of the chunky veggies.
Bring to a boil + stir then reduce heat + serve.

Not the prettiest color but better in person [blaaah night photos]. You could see flecks from all the veggies that were packed into this hot bowl of yum.

There was a definite little kick from the red pepper flakes and it was loaded with flavor. I might have enjoyed it even more if I would have blended it in the VitaMix. I think it would have led to a slightly smoother consistency…also if you used a thicker milk [2%] it would have helped with the creaminess.

The flavor of the soup pairs PERfectly with goat cheese [which also contradicts that the soup is vegan..woops]. But, oh my gosh. YUM. I toasted bread + spread a little goat cheese for soup croutons. Super delicious and comforting on a cold night in Denver!

What else is going on?? Welllll…I saw a glimmer of hope in the job world today. I don’t know the details yet but I think I have some part time work lined up. When I know more, so will you! ;) All I can say is that I’m REALLY excited about it!

What else……workout time! I’m sure you care about each + every detail of my jobless day!! I decided to join the Denver Rec Centers today. As I said recently it is a GREAT deal. There are rec centers spread all over Denver and you can go to any of them if you are a resident for only $52 for THREE months! Even my broke a$$ can afford that! With training for the 1/2 marathon coming up I need an alternative when weather is crummy, like today.

We got about 4” of snow sunday/monday and although it was almost all gone today it was pretty icy. Another HUGE plus about the gym is that it is .75 miles away and I get to walk through Wash Park to get there :) Not sure what could be better. I had a few close calls with the ice + ground but managed to make it there with my Vibrams in tow! The rec center has a cardio area with really new machines that have fans built into them! There is also a large pool, bball courts, and a large weight area. The treadmills face windows looking over the park. Not too shabby!

3 miles in VFF’s [yippee!! felt great!] @6mph
10min on the bike
3 sets of seated rows, 10 reps each
3 sets of lat pull downs, 12 reps each
3 sets of tricep pull downs, 12 reps each

My plan for the next few weeks is to run about every other day making sure to let my feet/body adapt to the VFF’s properly. I want to stay at 3miles for the next week or so and then increase to 4. I’ll start my actual 1/2 training in early March. Aaaand I have a partner in crime that will be running with me. Laura let me know that she’s IN! We’re going to be doing our weekly long runs together which will make the training so much better.

I’m also going to start back up with weightlifting as you can see above. I really love working out + lifting but have left the lifting out of my life for a little too long. It’s time to get buff again! I think it’s really important to have a strong core and just overall be in great overall shape while preparing for the 1/2. I’ll slowly be bringing it back in! After I walked home [so excited to not use the cAR!!] I whittled my middle!

I had something else to mention but it has slipped my mind…I’m sure you’re deeply saddened! I think this post is long enough….

snooze time

~Ashley