Sunday Happenings And a QUICK money saving tip

Hope you're all having a great day thus far. My sunday is rounding out to be quite productive. However, I must confess that yesterday there was whole lot of "leisure" time spent at my apartment just lounging around. I managed to do some cleaning/organizing and did pay some bills but a lot of time was also spent watching pretty useless TV (aside from a couple of somewhat interesting lifetime movies ha!). I downgraded my cable to save money so I am missing a couple of channels that I really loved :(. I am considering bringing back those channels or just finding a way to get them and still make my cable bill cheap enough. I made a quick stop at my aunts house but then came back home and relaxed some more.

Today, however, is going pretty well. Woke up with running on my mind and so off I went for a nice 3.47 miler around my neighborhood. I must admit it was windy and somewhat cold but it was quite a gorgeous day thanks to the sun.

  
There was also a TON of geese just "chilling". Wish I would have taken a photo. It was quite the view. Anyways, here is the run down of my run/walk (I had to stop and walk at certain times because of the wind):

 My first mile was ran in less than 10 minutes which surprised me because last time I checked my average time was around 10-ish so, I am excited that I am getting better (either that or the wind shall be credited for pushing my assets me forward). Post run I immediately took a shower, changed and made a pretty satisfying breakfast:

 

On the plate: 2 eggs (1 with yolk, one without), scrambled with white onions and spinach. I added a little bit of organic ketchup to the eggs, post pic. On the side-- one whole wheat English muffin, toasted w/ a little bit of butter. Plus my cafe and milk on the side (no sugar) on one of my absolute fave cafe cups!

I decided to get ready before breakfast because that way I knew I would need to get out of the house as soon as I was finished. Sometimes I just lounge around in my pajamas and ultimately decide to stay in. That wasnt happening today! (interesting how much we can learn from carefully observing our behavioral patters).

Before leaving the house I noticed my gazillion bananas sitting on top of my fridge (which I had purchased for about $1.29 at the supermarket about a week ago). They were getting extremely ripe (borderline going bad) so I had to rescue them!!!! I mashed up the ones that were the most "mushy" and put them in containers (I see delicious banana bread and muffins in my future). The rest I split them up in to pieces to make smoothies-- put it all in the freezer and you're good to go!:

So here's a money saving tip (you may or may not know this, but here it goes): Next time you're in the supermarket around the vegetable/fruits area, see if the have a section where they place things that are about to expire or "go bad" according to their standards. (I am pretty sure there is an official name for this which I cant remember from the top of my head). You can find all kinds of fruits and veggies but I usually just grab bananas from there. I get a TON for about 99 cents or $1.29. Is pretty crazy. I make smoothies and banana bread from that. Some of the bananas often times arent even ripe yet so I can eat them right away.

By the way--- Aside from my love for health and fitness I am also a HUGE fan of personal finance. My undergrad degree in finance, my MBA pursuit and my dad may or may not have something to do with that ;). I am thinking of starting a series on the blog where I'll share tips on personal finance, and anything else on the matter than may seem interesting. We'll see if I can gather enough material. Let me know if you have any questions or anything you'd like to see on the series regarding money matters.

Anyways, now I am visiting my parents and sis and taking advantage of their washing machine. Sometimes is awesome having family so close :)


Question: Do you have any supermarket "money saving tips" you can share? What do YOU do with ripe bananas?

Ran, Baked, Hair and Nails done-- Are YOU ready, 2013?!

Hey all!!!

So I have to admit today was quite the productive Sunday  Yesterday was supposed to be my last run of 2012 but this morning I woke up with the running bug and I just couldn't say no. It may have something to do with the fact that the sun was beaming through my window and I decided I just couldn't put such a gorgeous day to waste and so off I went for a ~3.45 mile jog/run/walk (in that order). It was quite windy this morning but somehow I managed to pull through. It was just me and another girl running at the track this morning. We smiled at each other a few times (the only two crazy gals running in 30 degree weather on a windy winter morning). She seemed super nice. I kept track of my run with the Nike app but forgot to "end" the run and so, the app kept running for HOURS later to the point that when I realized it was still on I had been "running" for 3 hours. No picture as it wouldn't be accurate. But yeyyy for morning runs! :) Here are a few pics of the track-- you can see the sun in the background. Quite a difference from yesterday!

Post my run I had planned to go to church but by the time I looked at the time it was already so late :(. Not happy about that. Need to get better about going to church. Not because is a "new year" but because I enjoy it and would like to make it a regular part of my life.

I had quite the satisfying breakfast. I used the leftover omelet from yesterday and made myself an omelet-egg mc muffin if that makes any sense (the english muffin was 100% whole wheat). I paired it up with my usual cafe w/ almond milk and it was so delicious. 

To be honest, at least 5 hours later I was still not hungry but made myself eat a pear and a granola bar while I waited to get my hair and nails done (more on that below). 


So last night I was in the mood to bake and so I did what I love to bake best (after carrot care)-- Banana Bread! I used This Recipe from the clean eating magazine website minus the chocolate chunks (because I ate all my chocolate last week).   I loved how it came out like a real loaf. I got super excited and all I have to say it came out sooooooo good! Super moist!!! I am trying to figure out what I did differently because I made muffins a couple of months ago (same recipe) and they were a bit dry.  I dropped some of the egg yolk by mistake (recipe calls for only 2 egg whites) I wonder if that had something to do with how good the loaf came out. To all the bakers out there, what do you think? Anyways, here are some photos of my "masterpiece":

So, back to hair and nails. As I was saying-- I took advantage of the day today to go get my hair and nails done. I know that all salons will likely be super packed tomorrow and I do not want to deal with that craziness on my absolute favorite day of the year! 

Here are a couple pics of my nails:

Wasn't crazy about the color at first but it'll do for now :) (I was thinking of black or something more dramatic but opted for the festive option). I wont be showing my hair until likely my next post because it is currently wrapped (if you are a Latina with curly hair or an African american you know what I am referring to! lol).

I know in a previous post I mentioned I would be embracing my curly hair more. And I am!! I am contemplating this being my last hair blowout for the next 12 months but I am not sure if that's something I can keep up with. Either way, I plan to wear my hair down and curly more often than the past and thats a big deal for me (ive already been keeping up with that!).

After my long day I got to my apartment starving so put together something quick, healthy and delish. I had some leftover whole wheat pasta from the other day. I sauteed a cup of the pasta with red onions, peppers and some curry powder. I added some chunks of ground meat I had brought from my moms home the other day and this hit the spot for sure-- with a side of Avocado, of course:

Now I am lounging on the couch writing this post, having chai tea and a piece or two of my banana bread. I should really share this and stop being so stingy with my food.=)

Thanks for reading :) Will try to post something quick tomorrow if time permits. Otherwise, see you in 2013! (A whole lot of exciting things coming for the blog. Stay tunned!)

Question: What are you doing for new years eve? do you have a yearly tradition or do something different every year? Whats your favorite day of the year?

My last run of the year? Plus- is Snowing!

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you're all having a great day so far! Where is the day going?! Anyways, I meant to wake up a little earlier this morning but somehow when I finally dragged myself out of bed it was around 10 am! ugh! Anyways, I had planned for a run this morning so I immediately got ready, put on my running gear and off I went for a morning jog. One thing I have learned about running in the cold: As long as there is no much wind I am good to go and today was one of those mornings! About half way through my run it began to snow *yeyyy* and this was my very FIRST time running in the snow! So much fun! You can tell I am fairly new to running. I loved every second of my "snow-run". Here are some photos (taken post run):

The final mile run down:

Thankfully I finished before it got too crazy (because it got pretty intense) and then I came back to my apartment and did a short abs and arms workout. Once I was finally done I made myself what I was craving--- Spinach omelet! Filled with moderate amount of cheese, turkey, peppers and onions. I used 2 eggs whites and 1 whole eggs. The omelet was too big so I ate half and saved the rest for later. I accompanied the omelet with 2 slices of sprouted whole wheat bread and a cup of Joe w/ Almond Milk (no sugar):

The omelet up close: 

It was good!

So now I need to get my Saturday started and finish up some cleaning and maybe some shopping. Hope you're all having a good day!

PS: I am thinking of starting a side-blog with only my recipes and will announce it soon. I will post the spinach omelet recipe on there. :)

Question: Do you enjoy running in the snow? Or, do you avoid the outdoors at all cost during the winter months?

Central Park run and a Great Weekend!

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to share a recap on my weekend!

So I have to admit this weekend turned out to be a great one. Saturday morning I woke up early enough and motivated to go for a run around my neighboorhood. The weather was perfect for running!! A little foggy but around 50+ degrees. I dont know what is going on or why is so hot in December but I'll take it for now.

On saturday night I went to sleep over at my mom's house. I actually just went to visit her because she was feeling sick but I ended up sleeping over for the night. In the morning my sister woke me up and asked whether I wanted to go for a run with her and her friends at central park. I somehow got super excited and managed to wake up super early on a sunday morning!

So, let me just share that whenever I go to my moms house I often encounter a whole lot of junk food that I dont have at my apartment. So, lets just say I "indulged" a little bit too much saturday night. I was also super stressed about a presentation I had today (which went amazing bythe way!!!) and so I snacked more than normal. Going for a run on sunday morning was PERFECT!!! Also, despite being a New Yorker Ive never ran in Central Park before so this was a first and I loved every minute of it!!! Here are some pics of my sister and I:

 

 

The Scenery was amazing! it was also kind of a rainy morning so it was just perfect:

 

 

 

We ran a little bit over 4 miles:

 



While at my moms house I also got to see her xmass tree. Loved it! I have yet to put up mine. Waiting on my boyfriend whom I havent been able to see because of exams and school stuff going on. I am hoping to put up my tree soon.

When I got home sunday night I proceeded to prepare for my presentation (that took place today) and did some meal preping for the week involving chicken:

 

 

 

I leave you with a nice message I found today and which I believe to be very true:

 

 

 

Tell me, how was your weekend? :)

The Cold Is No Excuse

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a blessed and peaceful Sunday thus far. I don't know what it is about Sunday mornings---I just love the feeling of tranquility that it can bring. Not sure if I'm alone on that :)

On a different note, I have to confess last night I ate like CRAZY. I am not sure if that time of the month is approaching or whether I am just anxious about life in general or bored, or just plain crazy but my evening pretty much went like this: food + television and I ate so much that at some point I just passed out. I dont want to continue talking about that because whats done is done and all I can do is dust myself off, get up and MOVE ON from that! I love the feeling of being healthy and treating my body well/working out. I wont allow some episodes of overeating to take away the feeling of treating myself well that I know and love so much. I actually wrote out a list of my two choices: continue having a mindless feast or going back to what I know is right and what I know feels amazing. I choose the latter. So, moving on!

This morning I literally got up, dusted off and went for a run. I think this is the coldest I have ever ran outside and I wasn't sure what to expect. I put on some layers and a sweater that has a hoodie and off I went! At first the wind scared me a bit and my hands were cold but after pushing through and with the help of music on my Ipod I ran 3 miles straight and walked an extra mile or so for cool down. This FELT AMAZING. This was my fastest run ever according to my Nike App:

Lessons for today:
1. Dont let the cold ever steer you away from exercise. Layer, Layer, Layer!
2. Invest in some workout clothes for the winter
3. I may actually run faster when is cold out (my miles were UNDER 10 minutes. How cool is that?!)

Thanks for reading! Off I go to make breakfast, clean a bit and do some school work. I also have to do some food prep and wait for my mom whom is visiting me later :).

Question: What is the best tip you can provide about running in the cold?