Tag Archives: smoothie

Brownies don’t bring bliss

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Recall my presentation this afternoon on stevia? It went pretty well. It helps when you bribe people with brownies…

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Lucky for me there were leftovers. I gave the staff I see every day on my way to class the leftover “good” brownies (the ones from the box with sugar) and ended up with a couple of the stevia “brownies” left. In the mix: applesauce, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa, dark chocolate chunks, vanilla and flour. I took the recipe from a site I searched out on google even though it didn’t get the best reviews. Simple. Not really dessert, if you ask me.

More like snack…

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I was hungry before my hair appointment today so I went for it and had one of the goodies. I liked it, even if most of my classmates were not quite as into them. :)

In the past, a brownie for a snack never would have happened. Today, it did. And if it had happened in the past, you know what would have happened? Not the “bliss” I’d expect (the emotional soothing) but probably self loathing or a binge. While the brownie didn’t bring me bliss this afternoon (I don’t think even the best brownies in the world could do that), a couple of things did:

  • getting rid of my mullet

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  • a really good smoothie for dins (pumpkin, yogurt, soy milk, flaxseeds, pumpkin pie spice, and spinach, topped with oats)

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  • an evening at Starbucks with an impromptu study partner (a friend from the gym who has a knack for bringing my stress levels down and making me laugh)
  • a mocha (’nuff said)

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  • finishing a project that’s due tomorrow
  • getting my last source for my article that’s due tomorrow (thank god for helpful people and admitting that you’re a student journalist in a bit of a pickle/rush!)
  • TMI warning!!!!! … a visit from Aunt Flo, NO PILLS/RING/ANYTHING required :) :) :) :)
  • not letting myself get stressed right now even though I “should” be

a little extreme, but you’re laughing. and it’s true.

  • tomorrow being Friday!
See what I’m getting at here?

Your take-aways from this post:

a) Focus on the positive.

b) Eat brownies.

c) Liberate yourself. Cut your hair, run in your sports bra, do something that makes you different.

d) Put spinach in your next smoothie.

e) Smile.

:)


What brought you a little bliss today?
Have you ever baked with stevia?

Full day!

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Hey folks…

For a Saturday, today is BUSY!

This morning, I had a yummy breakfast to start things off followed by a snack and a 3k swim. No big deal…yes big deal, for me! 3k is long but it was LOVELY. I chalk it up to being well fuelled, well rested, and feeling good after writing a draft of a paper due next week all this morning!

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yogurt, all bran, banana, and almond butter

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pre swim crisp bread with jam ... double this

I had a smoothie for lunch (topped with cereal and eaten with a nut butter spoon, have you) but I ended up getting a grumbly tummy shortly after.

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pumpkin, spinach, almond milk smoothie (vegan!) with all bran (overdoing fibre, much) and eaten with a nut butter spoon!

Luckily this afternoon I was at a Performance Nutrition seminar hosted by Jennifer Broxterman, a prof at Brescia (she teaches exercise nutrition) who has her own company specializing in nutrition for active people. I kind of want to be her–she’s a fellow contributor to Runnersfeed.com and takes such a POSITIVE approach to talking about nutrition. I listened to her presentation once before, when I did a crossfit boot camp a few years ago, but it was worth hearing again. And she made us amazing snacks…

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That I can’t wait to recreate and to share my take on the recipes with you! I also want to share some of the tips she gave and whether I post them as a separate post or take them to heart <– the better option — and talk about them as I apply them (her idea of having a veggie bucket with cut up and ready to go veggies in the fridge, and using it up at the end of the week with a pizza dinner on Fridays, for instance) remains to be seen! At any rate, nutrition talks are always good to  refresh your memory even if it’s “old news”–and tips and recipes are the key, I think, to making it applicable and practical to use! I also look at the opportunity to go to these presentations as a chance to see how dieticians practice. Jennifer has a way of speaking and being relatable but really informative and she seems extremely knowledgeable without overwhelming people. Note to self–add her to my list of dietitian role models!

There were lots of friends at the seminar too, which was awesome. Yay. I took a lot away and I’d love to share it all with you right now but I’m already late for KIN FORMAL! That’s right, I need to go get dolled up! To be honest, I don’t have hair to do so I take very little time to get ready. I’m excited for the night of dancing (I just had a coffee so I’m waiting for the burst of caffeinated energy) and even though I feel old/don’t know that many people going, I’m sure it’s going to be fun! Nina is my date, whether she likes it or not…and I never miss an excuse to wear a dress, in case you haven’t noticed!

What are you doing tonight?
How do you choose role models?
Do smoothies fill you up?