A Taste of Sparkle

My dad, my brother and I tonight, with my bag of farmer’s market goodies!

For under $10, I got:

• 2 fresh baby cucumbers
• a huge bag of snow peas
• a quart of baby new potatoes
• a spring of chocolate mint

I can’t wait to try the chocolate mint in a smoothie! And going along with my Mix up your meals challenge, I got cucumbers (with some falafel combo in mind), snow peas to munch to mix up my usual side of carrots, and potatoes to incorporate into dinner!

Speaking of dinner, we went to a great trattoria and ate outside in the breeze. I brought this delicious crepe that I got at the market for an “appetizer“! I split it with my mom. It was topped with berries and a tiny bit of powdered sugar, and was absolutely delicious!

For dinner, I got the Insalata Mista with balsamic vinaigrette. I topped with with some of the crushed garlic from the olive oil dipping plate, and it was yum. I enjoyed it because I usually don’t take the time to make up a beautiful salad like this, so having it was a bit of a treat.

For the meal, my mom and I split a Margherita thin crust pizza. Now the pizza from this place is just delicious. The mozzarella is fresh, there’s just the right amount of basil, and the crust is paper thin and crunchy. I had two and a half slices, which was just right. Since the crust is so thin, they don’t fill you up as quickly as the doughy, bready crusted pizzas, and you get more of the good stuff!

After dinner, my brother wanted to look around in a sporting goods/bike store and so I browsed around in there too. I’m so glad I did, because I had some good finds! First up are these Brooks sneakers, which were 30% off. I got them for only $80, and they’re purple! They are a neutral cushioning shoe and are a little bit lighter than my current pair of Brooks, but more structured and cushioned than my current Mizunos. I’ve taken to wearing my Brooks on long runs for the cushioning and my Mizunos for shorter runs, or else I end up pretty sore afterwards.

Lastly, I got something I’ve been needing for a while. I brought my bike up to school in April, but I couldn’t find my helmet and I don’t feel safe riding without one. So my poor bike has sat in the bike rack alone for three months. But luckily this bike store had some rockin‘ helmets:

What do you think? That’s right, you know I look super cool!

Check back tomorrow for a new meal/recipe and more great stuff! I’m thinking about having a contest/giveaway soon, but I think I need to build the blog up a tiny bit more first. But it’s coming soon, and I already have the perfect idea!

Sleep tight,

I’m glad today was an easy day, because I was in no mood to run. It was the most humid it’s been all summer here and that combined with my lack of sleep/not drinking enough water made for a tough run! I managed a little over two miles, which is fine. I might do some yoga later to stretch out a bit.

When I got back from my run, I was in no mood for a hot meal! In fact, I was craving this combo:

Yum! Since this isn’t one of my typical meals, I’ll count it for my Mix-up your meals challenge, even though it’s not that creative. I’ll have to make up for it tomorrow!

Here it is, crunchy PB & strawberry preserves on a pita, with a carrot on the side with some almond butter, and 3 tiny squares of Green & Black’s for dessert.

After work, I snacked on half a Larabar and guzzled water to rehydrate myself.

I’m going to the Farmer’s Market today and I plan on picking up some fresh produce to create new meals with. I’m also going out to dinner tonight with my family at a place that has great salads and thin crust pizzas. I’ll update later with my Farmer’s Market goodies!

I am almost recovered from my night of no sleep! It was worth it though, I’m glad I went to the midnight showing.

This morning, I’ve been doing some research on the Alzheimer’s Association’s Run for the Memory campaign. It sounds like I will most likely be running my half-marathon as an individual effort for the cause. While I would love to run one of the ALZ’s sponsored races, I’m already signed up for my half in September and none of theirs really fit my schedule. Luckily, this program allows me to still make a difference by running my individual race!

I think I’ve gotten myself into a rut with meal variety. It’s great to have some go-to options for meals, but eating the same thing every day is already getting a little old. It’s time for a challenge!

Mix Up Your Meal Challenge!

Every day, I’m going to try a new meal for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I would love to try some oats at breakfast, cook up the tempeh I have sitting in my fridge, and try out some new recipes from my cookbooks. Anyone else?

Today I don’t have much time to spend on meal preparation, so I’m going to just do a simple switch-up. I’m planning on a quesadilla with one Joseph’s Flax wheat wrap, some soy cheese, and some kind of mix of veggies. I’ll let you know how it turns out this afternoon!

On the schedule today is an easy 3 mile run, because I took yesterday off due to lack of sleep. A nap was just far more tempting

See you this afternoon!